SCHEDULE UPDATE: Due to a forecast of inclement weather,William & Mary baseball's seriess at Elon was adjusted tp the 12:30 pm on Friday, 10 am on Saturday and 5:30 pm on Sunday.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team continues its stretch of four road games in five days at Elon to finish out the season. The CAA series with the Phoenix opens on Thursday, May 17 at 12:30 pm, continues on Friday, May 18 at 10 am and concludes on Saturday, May 19 at 5:30 pm.
W&M News and Notes
• As a recently chartered member of the CAA, Elon will face the Tribe for just the 21
st-23
rd time in series history. The Phoenix hold an all-time series edge of 11-9, but the Green and Gold is 7-2 in the last nine meeting. W&M went 3-1 against Elon in 2017 after taking two of three in a weekend series and claiming a postseason triumph, 5-2.
• The Tribe and Phoenix competed against a fair share of similar non-conference opponents. Both teams played Radford, Maryland, High Point and Campbell. In 10 games, the W&M was able to finish with a 6-4 record, including a season sweep of Maryland. On the other hand, the Phoenix inked out a 3-2 mark with its losses occurring against High Point and Maryland.
• The Tribe lineup will look to generate offense against one of the best pitching staff's in the CAA. The Phoenix boasts the third-best ERA (3.30), while leading the association in opposing batting average (.221) and strike outs (527). Friday starter Kyle Brnovich is second in the nation behind 132 K's.
• W&M is coming off one of its best offensive showcases at Virginia Tech on Tuesday. The Tribe tied its season-high 15 hits and homered twice. The top of the lineup imposed its will as the first five batters all tallied multiple hits. However, it's the seventh time the Tribe took a loss despite outhitting an opponent.
• After producing the most effective start of his career, there is strong chance junior
Nick Butts will receive more action of the bullpen in the final series of 2018. Butts hurled a career-high five scoreless innings of one-hit ball. He worked a pair of three up, three down frames and allowed just two base runners to reach scoring position.
• Sophomore
Brandon Raquet has provided a significant amount of power to the Tribe lineup over the last nine games. The outfielder crushed at least on extra base hit in seven of the contests, including four home runs and five doubles. His efforts resulted in a slugging percentage of .718 during the period.
• Junior
Colin Lipke and sophomore
Patrick Ryan are another pair of players that have contributed heavily toward the end of the season. Similar to Raquet, Lipke is on a hot streak during the previous nine outings. Lipke is batting .387 (12-for-31) with two doubles, three home runs and an RBI. In his last seven appearances, Ryan owns a .333 (7-for-21) hitting rate, adding two doubles and two RBI.
• With 23 games decided by one run, W&M has competed in its most tight games in program history. However, the Tribe struggles to come out victorious in close games, holding a 7-16 record in one-run decisions. The second-most one-run games occurred in 2012 with 20.
• Rookie
Matt McDermott is sixth in program history with 10 sacrifice hits. The second baseman has started in every game and leads the team with three triples. He recently matched his season-high three RBI against Delaware (5/11). McDermott is also one of three players to generate a double-digit on-base streak this year.
• Senior
Charlie Fletcher improved his career record in appearances to 104 after receiving the ball on Tuesday night. The Ashburn, Va., native ranks fourth among other active career leaders and is just one appearance away from leaping to third in the CAA record books. Fletcher tops the conference with 27 games in relief this year.
• Senior
Ryan Hall replaced Greg Sexton '07 as the school's new all-time leader in at bats (833). He also holds the highest all-time fielding percentage (.991), while ranking top ten in games started (2nd), hits (7
th), doubles (4th), sacrifice flies (t-5th), walks (6th), and runs scored (t-9th).
• 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.
