WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team escaped with a doubleheader sweep of CAA foe Towson by one-run scores of 8-7 and 5-4 on Friday. The Tribe (13-19, 3-5) jumped out to a five-run advantage in both games to clinch the series against the Tigers (6-22, 3-5).
Game One: W&M 8, Towson 7
The Green and Gold scored six of its eight runs on the long ball in the series lid-lifter. Junior
Hunter Smith launched a leadoff bomb to left field for the first homer of the game in the second inning. In the bottom of the third, junior
Zach Pearson belted an RBI single, before classmate
Colin Lipke crushed a three-RBI dinger to center field, putting W&M up 5-0.
The Tigers scored two runs in the fourth, but the Tribe pushed it to a 7-2 affair behind the third home run. Senior
Ryan Hall led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to left center to set up Pearson for a two-RBI rocket to left field and another five-run margin.
W&M manufactured the run that proved to be the difference late in the eighth inning. Sophomore
Patrick Ryan drew a walk, junior
Jason Waldman was hit by a pitch and classmate
Owen Socher also walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, rookie
Matt McDermott walked in a run to make it an 8-2 game.
However, things got really hairy in the top of ninth after Towson produced a five-run rally and had the game-winning run on first base with two outs. Nonetheless, sophomore
Wade Strain induced a grounder to third base to seal the victory.
Junior
Bodie Sheehan (2-3) picked up the win after hurling 6.0 innings with four strikeouts and allowing just two runs (both earned) on seven hits. David Marriggi (1-4) was charged with the loss, yielding eight hits and seven runs (all earned) in 6.0 innings. Strain received his fifth save of 2018.
Game Two: W&M 5, Towson 4
The Tribe collected five extra base hits and grabbed another big lead in the early going to complete the sweep. In the first innings Lipke drove in a run courtesy of a RBI double to left center, before a failure to protect first base allowed McDermott to record a RBI bunt single in the second.
McDermott continued his exceptional performance in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, sophomore
Brandon Raquet drew a walk, advanced on a wild pitch and moved 90 feet from home following a Scoher single through the left side. On the next at bat, McDermott platted both runners by blasting a triple to left center, granting W&M a 5-0 lead.
Regardless, the Tigers clawed back into the game on two-run frames in the fifth and sixth inning. Richie Palacios hit a two-run homer and two RBI singles scored the next pair of runs, slicing the margin to 5-4.
The Green and Gold was unable to add insurance, but it didn't matter thanks to excellent relief effort from senior
Michael Toner and Strain. Toner conceded just one hit and fanned three batters in 2.1 innings of work. In the top of the ninth, Strain was called upon for his second save of the day as he surrendered a leadoff double, but retired the next three on grounders.
Sophomore
Chris Farrell (2-1) went 5.0 innings with three strikeouts, five hits, and two runs (both earned) in garnering the win. Bo Plagge (1-3) was credited with the loss after giving up all five runs on five hits in 3.2 innings. As previously mentioned, Strain picked up the save for his sixth of the year.
Tribe Standouts
McDermott and Lipke enjoyed the most offensive production during the doubleheader. McDermott hit .571 (4-for-7) with a double, triple and four RBI. The Little Falls, N.J., product also boasted a 1.000 slugging percentage and .625 on base rate.
Lipke batted .429 (3-for-7), adding two doubles, a home run and four RBI for a 1.143 slugging percentage. Pearson and Smith both tallied two hits with a home run, but Pearson also drove in three runs. Hall double twice to go along with an RBI, while Socher also collected two hits.
Notes
The Tribe secured its first conference series win and doubleheader sweep of 2018 ...The Green and Gold improves to 8-1 after scoring in the first inning, 12-4 when tacking on the first run, 10-3 after leading through six innings and 5-2 in night games…W&M has now competed in 16 one-run decisions...Senior
Charlie Fletcher made his 93
rd career appearance in game one and is four short of breaking the school record…Hall ties 15
th in Tribe history with 217 career hits and eighth behind 53 collegiate doubles…Lipke doubled twice in a game for the second time this year – the first effort occurred against Lehigh (March 14)…W&M's three home runs in game one rank 13
th in program history…The Tribe increased its all-time series lead against Towson to 37-20.
Up Next
The three-game set will conclude on Sunday, April 8 at 1 pm. The contest will be broadcasted on Tribe Athletics TV via Portal Stretch.
