WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team closes out its home slate with a CAA series against defending conference champion Delaware this weekend. The three-game set opens with a doubleheader on Friday, May 11 at 3 pm and finishes on Sunday, May 13 at 1 pm.
The Tribe will celebrate senior day prior to first pitch of the series finale. Each game will be streamed on Tribe Athletics TV via
Stretch Internet.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and Delaware will meet for the 54
th-56
th time in series history. It's been a closely contested matchup with the Tribe holding a 28-25 all-time series edge. In the last six games, the two teams are even at 3-3. Last year, the Blue Hens claimed the last two games to win the series.
• During its final home game on May 13
th, the Tribe will recognize its senior class with a pre-game ceremony. The eight-men group consists of
Andrew Burnick,
Ryan Hall,
Luca Farina,
Charlie Fletcher,
Christopher Lohr,
Craig McLane,
Michael Toner, and
Robert White. Over their time in Williamsburg, this year's class has compiled 100 wins, won the 2014 CAA regular season title, captured the 2016 CAA Tournament crown and made the 2016 NCAA Regional Finals.
• The Green and Gold had little trouble sending baseballs out of the park after blasting four home runs for the second straight weekend at nationally-ranked NC State. During game two, the Tribe produced a home run parade of three in a row off the bats of juniors
Colin Lipke and
Hunter Smith and Hall
. Sophomore
Brandon Raquet also went yard in the series finale.
• Over the last 10 games, Raquet has shown why he entered 2018 as a Preseason All-CAA selection. Raquet is hitting .333 (12-for-26) and doing so with power behind a .778 slugging percentage. The Boalsburg, Pa., product amassed five doubles, a triple, three home runs and six RBI during the stretch. He also crushed at least one extra base hit in his last five appearances.
• Hall is closing in on the school's all-time record for most at bats. He has stepped to the plate 818 times and needs seven more at bats to set a new standard. The Richmond, Va., native already owns the program's highest career fielding percentage (.991), while ranking top ten in most games started (t-third), hits (eighth), doubles (fourth), walks (sixth), sacrifice flies (10
th) and runs scored (10
th).
• With 22 games decided by one run, W&M has competed in the most close games in program history. However, the Tribe struggles to come out victorious in tight games, holding a 7-15 record in one-run decisions. The second-most one-run games occurred in 2012 with 20.
• Junior
Hunter Smith is the seventh-best run manufacture in the CAA with 32 RBI. The Caldwell, N.J., native has performed best in pressure moments as 20 of his RBI occurred with two outs. The catcher also provides a big bat for the Tribe lineup as he boasts the fourth most home runs (9) in the association. Smith also the top clutch hitter on the team due to his 20 two-out RBI.
• After lasting just two innings two weekends ago, sophomore
Wade Strain hurled a career-high seven vs. a NC State squad that currently ranks 20
th in the NCAA in batting average (.299). Strain matched his career-best seven strikeouts, while holding the Wolfpack to three runs on four hits. The righty retired the side in order through four consecutive innings and allowed just one runner to reach scoring position across six frames.
• Senior
Charlie Fletcher advanced his all-time appearance record to 101 on Sunday. The Ashburn, Va., native is fourth in the nation among active career leaders and in the CAA records. He also tops the conference and is 32
nd in the NCAA with 25 games in relief this year.
• Junior
Bodie Sheehan stands top 20 in a pair of NCAA statistical rankings. The lefty is 19
th in the country in starts (15) and 15
th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.16). CAA-wise, Sheehan stands second in walks (10) and fourth in innings pitched (77.1).
• Enough data has been gathered to determine that W&M performs best when ahead. The Tribe owns a record of 8-4 when scoring in the first inning and 13-7 when the squad tacks on the first run of a game. W&M is also 11-4 when leading after six innings. The Green and Gold has overcome a deficit on just two occasions.
• The Tribe has four former players competing at the professional level, three of them were drafted last year. After helping the rookie level Elizabethton Twins capture a league title last summer, Nick Brown '17 now pitches for the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Parent Club: Minnesota Twins). Third round draft pick Nick Raquet hurls for the Hagerstown Suns (Parent Club: Washington Nationals), while fifth rounder Cullen Large plays with the Lansing Lugnuts (Parent Club: Toronto Blue Jays). Ryan Hissey, also a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, was recently assigned to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
