BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The William & Mary baseball team held off a Campbell comeback attempt to take the series opener, 4-2, on Friday afternoon at Jim Perry Stadium. The Tribe (5-10) had seven of its nine starters contribute at least one hit in leading the Camels (4-9) from wire-to-wire.
W&M broke the scoreless tie with a trio of runs in the top of the fifth inning. After juicing the bases with one out, junior
Owen Socher belted a two-RBI single to right field. On the next at bat, classmate
Nick Butts singled through the left side to push across the third run.
The Green and Gold padded its advantage with a one-run frame in the next inning. Senior
Luca Farina knocked a leadoff single to center field, before a grounder placed him in scoring position. Sophomore
Matthew Trehub then brought Farina home courtesy of a single to right field.
Nonetheless, the Camels spoiled the shutout after Christian Jones hit a two-run homer to left field, trimming the Tribe advantage to 4-2. During its final three outs, CU made a strong push to erase the two-run deficit. Sophomore
Wade Strain received the call for the save opportunity and struck out his first batter faced.
However, Strain walked the next batter and then another after inducing a fly out. With the go-ahead run at the plate, sophomore
Patrick Ryan helped Strain secure his first career save by executing the force out at third base.
Tribe Standouts
Freshman
Matt McDermott paced the offense with two hits and a run scored. Socher also drove in two runs for the second time this season. Junior
Bodie Sheehan produced yet another impressive start to improve his record to 1-1.
Sheehan tossed seven innings and struck out four, while scattering five hits and allowing only two runs (both earned). Senior
Charlie Fletcher fanned two batters in a scoreless inning of work and Strain also posted a strikeout in the final stanza.
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe batted .571 (4-for-7) with runners in scoring position and held the Camels to a .167 average (1-for-6).
- The W&M pitching staff retired CU in order four times.
- The Camels' home run was the only extra base hit of the contest.
- Both teams managed just one two-out hit, which was the dinger for the Camels.
- Wes Noble was dealt the loss after logging five innings with five strikeouts, six hits and four runs (all earned).
Notes
The victory marked the Tribe's first 2018 road win…It's also the first time W&M put together back-to-back victories…Sheehan has logged at least seven innings in all four of his starts...Fletcher made his 85
th career appearance and is now 11 short of breaking the program record…McDermott posted his third multi-hit performance…The Tribe is now 8-5 in all-time series history against CU…Strain is the first Tribe player to earn a 2018 save and also ties Fletcher with eight appearances this year.
Up Next
W&M concludes its three-game set at Campbell with a doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 1 pm. The first game will be broadcasted on the Big South Network, while game two will provide an audio-only stream on GoCamels.com.
