WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team will host a mid-week contest against in-state rival Norfolk State on Tuesday at 6 pm. The game will be broadcasted on Tribe Athletics TV via
Portal Stretch Internet.
Tuesday's game is also student appreciation night and the first 100 will receive a Tribe Baseball t-shirt. Free pizza and soda will also be available for students at the marketing table.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and NSU will meet for the 44
th time in series history on Tuesday. The Green and Gold boasts a 31-12 all-time series lead against the Spartans. Last year, the Tribe split the regular season meeting by claiming a 6-1 triumph in Williamsburg, before suffering a 9-3 setback on the road. Despite dominating majority of the series, W&M is 2-3 with NSU over the last five meetings.
• The Tribe will seek to recover from a tough weekend at James Madison with its 22
nd home game versus the Spartans. W&M is 3-1 in its last four contest at Plumeri Park, improving its home record to 11-11. The Green and Gold also owns a 6-4 ledger in mid-week action.
• Following a solid effort in his first start against Old Dominion, rookie
Justin Pearson has earned another opportunity to throw first on Tuesday night. He hurled three shutout innings with just two hits allowed versus the Monarchs. The Stafford, Va., product sports a 2.87 ERA after allowing five earned runs on 15 hits in 15.2 innings of work.
• A historic moment occurred on Sunday at James Madison as senior
Charlie Fletcher made his record-breaking 97
th appearance in the ninth inning. He replaced
Pete Vernon '08 as the new appearance leader and now ties fourth in the CAA record books. Fletcher tops the CAA with 21 games in relief this year.
• Senior Class AWARD Candidate
Ryan Hall finished 7-for-18 (.389 batting average) in four games last week, leaping to an 11
th place tie in all-time hits (224) at W&M. The right fielder is top 10 in Tribe history in most doubles (t-6
th), sacrifice flies (t-5
th), walks (7
th) and at bats (7
th). His 13 doubles this year tie second in the CAA and 42
nd in the NCAA.
• A quick start is critical for the Tribe in winning games. The Green and Gold is 8-1 when it scores in the first inning and 13-4 in scoring the first run of a game. W&M has also displayed the ability to maintain a lead with a 10-3 mark when ahead after six innings. The Tribe is also 6-3 in night games.
• Junior
Hunter Smith sustained his status as one of the CAA's top run manufactures, generating a three-RBI effort on Saturday. He ties eighth in the league with 26 RBI and also shares a fifth-best standing in home runs (6). The Caldwell, N.J., native has provided big hits for the Tribe as he leads the team with 16 two-out RBI.
• Relief pitcher
Michael Toner is enjoying a standout senior season with the Green and Gold. He has notched career-highs in appearances (16), innings pitched (25.2), and strikeouts (33). The Cummings, Ga., native has allowed just seven earned runs on 25 hits for a 2.45 ERA. He also pitched in a shutout against ETSU (March 16).
• Competing in tight game has been a major story line for W&M in 2018. The Tribe has had a total of 19 matchups decided by just one run and saw seven go extra innings. Five of the last seven games resulted in a one-run decision, and W&M went 3-2 in the recent nail-biting affairs.
• Junior
Colin Lipke is in the midst of a season-high nine-game on base streak. If he reaches safely in his next outing, Lipke will become the third Tribe player to produce a double-digit reached base steak. Freshman
Matt McDermott and Hall both put together a 10-game on base stretch this year.
• McDermott is one of just nine CAA players to triple at least two times this year. As the only freshman to start every game, McDermott ties second on the team in hits (35) and batting .286 in conference play. His nine sacrifice hits also tie eighth in Tribe history.
• W&M will play against another school from the Commonwealth 12 times in 2018. The Tribe plays VCU (L, 4-3), No. 18 Virginia (L, 4-3), Radford (L, 2-1; W, 3-2), Old Dominion (W, 5-2; W, 4-3), James Madison (L, 15-3; L, 5-4; L, 4-3), Norfolk State (April 17), Richmond (April 24), and Virginia Tech (May 15). So far, the Green and Gold is 3-6 versus in-state rivals.
• Three former Tribe players in the pros have received their minor-league assignments, all of them drafted last year. After helping the rookie level Elizabethton Twins capture a league title last summer, Nick Brown '17 will start his second season pitching for the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Parent Club: Minnesota Twins). Third round draft pick Nick Raquet will hurl for the Hagerstown Suns (Parent Club: Washington Nationals), while fifth rounder Cullen Large was assigned to the Lansing Lugnuts (Parent Club: Toronto Blue Jays).
