WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team welcomes East Tennessee State for its final non-conference home series this weekend. The three-game set begins on Friday, March 16 at 6 pm, continues on Saturday, March 17 at 4 pm and concludes on Sunday, March 18 at 1 pm.
Streaming and live stats links are available for each game on the Tribe Baseball
schedule page. It's also decades weekend as each contest will celebrate a particular era. The themes will consist of the '60s on Friday, '70s on Saturday and '80s on Sunday. Fans born during the corresponding decade can purchase $2 tickets. For more information on upcoming promotions
click here.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and ETSU will meet for the sixth-eighth time in their brief series history. The Buccaneers hold a 4-1 all-time series lead over the Tribe. This weekend will mark the first time the Bucs make a trip to Williamsburg. The last four contest were held in Johnson City, Tenn., and the inaugural meeting took place on a neutral field. Last year, ETSU swept the Green and Gold during a three-game set.
• The Tribe has been rolling in its last six home games, sporting a 4-2 ledger during the stretch. W&M claimed three wins against Big South Conference members High Point and Radford, before its recent mid-week triumph over Lehigh. In addition, two of the victories occurred in extra innings, while the other pair were decided by double-digit runs.
• The Green and Gold belted a season-high four doubles on Wednesday night versus the Mountain Hawks. Junior
Colin Lipke was the third Tribe player to double twice in a game. The previous two were junior
Zach Pearson and senior
Ryan Hall in the weekend opener at then-ranked No. 12 Clemson. W&M ranks fifth-best in the Colonial Athletic Association with 27 doubles.
• Junior
Hunter Smith is performing well in key moments as he leads the team with eight two-out RBI. The Caldwell, N.J., native delivered the biggest hit of the year so far after crushing a walk-off RBI double in a 10-inning win against Radford (March 7). Furthermore, Smith paces the Tribe behind four multi-RBI performances.
•The W&M pitching staff maintained its top three ranking in the CAA in strikeouts with a 138. The staff combined for a total of eight K's, while allowing a season-low three hits versus Lehigh. Sophomore
Chris Farrell fanned three batters en route to his first career win,
Robert White and
Andrew Burnick tallied two each in one inning and
Jamie Sara added another during his scoreless frame.
• Senior
Charlie Fletcher recorded his 84th career appearance last weekend at Campbell and ties second in Tribe history. With 13 more calls to the mound, Fletcher will set a new program standard. He has allowed just one run (earned) in his last seven appearances and surrendered only three hits since Feb. 23.
• Hall is approaching another career milestone with two doubles short of reaching 50 in total. Only 11 other W&M players have been able to reach the mark. Hall has doubled seven times in 2018, tying 43
rd in the nation and third in the CAA. The Richmond, Va., product is also top 15 in Tribe history in sac flies (12
th), walks (11
th), at bats (13
th) and games started (15
th). Additionally, Hall is 12 hits away from slotting top 15 in program history.
• Sophomore
Wade Strain has evolved into a legit closing option for the Green and Gold. The Burke, Va., native ties second in the CAA in both appearances (8) and games finished (6). Strain was a key factor in helping the Tribe claim a pair of victories last week. He earned the win in a 10-inning affair versus Radford, tossing the last two innings and striking out the side to leave runners on second and third in the 10th. He also garnered his first career save at Campbell after protecting a 4-2 advantage in the bottom of the ninth.
• The Tribe defense ties 21
st in the nation behind 17 converted double plays. W&M turned a season-high three double plays in its extra-inning affair at then-ranked No. 18 Virginia. In total, the Green and Gold has executed at least one double plays in 12 of its first 18 games.
• The Green and Gold has had four of its games decided in extra innings so far this year. Two of the contest were against nationally-ranked opponents in ACC members Clemson (10 innings) and Virginia (12 innings). After ending up on the winning side of its last two, the Tribe is 2-2 in games sent to extras.
• Junior
Bodie Sheehan was named CAA Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 20. He went seven strong innings with four strikeouts, an earned run and three hits on Feb. 16 at No. 12 Clemson. The honor marks the third weekly conference award of his career. Furthermore, Sheehan has fanned 12 batters in a conference-leading 14 innings of work.
• A trio of Tribe Baseball players earned preseason recognition from the Colonial Athletic Association, highlighted by sophomore
Brandon Raquet making the All-Conference Team. Hall and Smith both received Honorable Mention distinctions. In the predicted order of finish, the Tribe tied fifth with Elon with 37 points. UNCW (six first-place votes) is the preseason favorite, followed by Delaware (three first-place votes) and College of Charleston rounding out the top three.
