WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team will host Towson for its second consecutive Colonial Athletic Association home series this weekend. Due to inclement weather on Saturday, a doubleheader will be played on Friday at 3 pm and 6 pm, before the three-game set concludes on Sunday at 1 pm.
Each contest will be broadcasted on Tribe Athletics TV via
Stretch Internet. Make sure to check out the promotions schedule for by clicking
here for in-game and post-game festivities. The weekend will be highlighted by the Tribe Club Oyster Roast on Friday and Strikeout ALS on Sunday.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and Towson will meet for the 56
th-58
th time in series history this weekend. The Green and Gold boasts a 35-20 all-time series lead against the Tigers. The Tribe blasted four home runs in taking two of three games from TU last year. Since 2015, all but two games were decided by five runs or more.
• The Green and Gold improved to 3-3 in extra-inning games after outlasting Maryland in 11 on Tuesday. It's also the first time the Tribe has won in extras on the road. The victory completed a season sweep of the Terrapins. Additionally, W&M is 7-1 after scoring in the first inning, which occurred in College Park, Maryland
• With two more knocks,
Ryan Hall will rank top 15 in program history in most career hits. He has tallied 215 career hits and also doubled for the 51st time at W&M. The Senior CLASS Award Candidate ranks top 10 all-time in sacrifice flies (t-5th), at bats (9th), walks (7th), doubles (t-9th) and games started (10th). Additionally, Hall is currently riding an eight-game on base streak and has reached in his first at bat in five straight games, three times on an extra base hit.
• Junior
Hunter Smith is one of the CAA's top run manufacturers as he ties eighth in the league with 21 RBI. The cleanup hitter specializes in the deep ball, tying for fifth in the conference on five homers. Smith also owns a .426 slugging percentage and paces the Tribe in two-out RBI (13).
• The Tribe is in the midst of its third and final five-game homestand of the season. W&M has spent much 2018 in the comfortable confines of Plumeri Park with 18 of its 30 games in Williamsburg. However, the Green and Gold will close out with 13 of its last 21 games on the road, including a big trip to No. 8 North Carolina State (May 4-6).
• In just his second weekend start, sophomore
Chris Farrell held UNCW, one of the CAA's top three offenses, to just a run. The righty from Great Falls, Va., tied his career-high six strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work. For the season, Farrell owns a 3.00 ERA and a 1-1 record, while holding batters to a .247 average.
• Junior
Zach Pearson is off to a tremendous start in CAA play. After six games, he is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with a triple and five RBI. Pearson also boasts a .526 slugging percentage and a .429 on base rate against conference opponents. He totaled three multi-hit performances against two of the league's top three pitching staffs in UNCW and Charleston.
• In a close game, it's almost guaranteed that the Tribe will gave the ball to sophomore
Wade Strain in the final innings. The closer is third-best in the CAA in saves (4) and ranks second in both appearances (15) and games finished (11). His most recent save occurred on Tuesday night in the 11-inning win at Maryland. After surrendering a leadoff single and hitting a batter, Strain retired the next three Terrapins on a strikeout and two grounders to seal the triumph.
• Senior
Charlie Fletcher brought his career appearance total to 92 after tossing an inning at Maryland. The Ashburn, Va., native is closing in on the program record and needs five more nods to become W&M's new appearance leader. Fletcher also provided a critical relief effort in Saturday's game (March 31), blanking UNCW in the last 1.1 innings to keep the Tribe down just one run. He paces the conference with 16 games in relief.
• Junior
Bodie Sheehan has been one of most effective hurlers in the association with a CAA-leading 48.0 innings pitched. The Virginia Beach, Va., native is also exceptional at finding the strike zone after walking just six batters, which ties second in the league. Sheehan is the only Tribe player to collect a weekly award after being named CAA Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 20) following an exceptional Friday start at then-ranked No. 12 Clemson.
• 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).
• 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.
