WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – For the third time in 2018, the William & Mary baseball team will visit a nationally-ranked opponent in its trip to No. 5 North Carolina State for a weekend set. The first two games start at 6:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, before concluding on Sunday with a 1 pm first pitch.
NC State ranked fifth in this week's Perfect Game Poll. Each game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra via
Watch ESPN.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and N.C. State will meet for just the 21
st-23
rd time in series history this weekend. The Tribe trails the Wolfpack in all-time series history by an 18-2 margin. The last time these two teams faced off was in the 2013 NCAA Raleigh Regional. W&M was edged, 1-0, in its second game, before falling in the Regional Final, 9-2.
• The Green and Gold takes on its third ACC program this season and second in a three-game series. The Tribe met then-ranked No. 12 Clemson (2/18-20) and previously-ranked No. 18 Virginia (2/28) in the opening month of the year. W&M dropped all four games by a total of four runs. The Tribe also travels to Virginia Tech on May
• The Tribe homered four times in its last two games against Hofstra. Sophomore
Brandon Raquet led the way with his first two dingers of 2018 in as many days. In the series finale, juniors
Hunter Smith and
Jason Waldman both blasted two-RBI bombs. The three homers on Sunday tied a season-high for the Tribe.
• Smith is top six in the Colonial Athletic Association in RBI and home runs. He ties sixth in the conference behind a career-high 8 homers, including three against CAA opponents. The Caldwell, N.J., product is sixth-best on 31 RBI. He also leads the Tribe with 19 two-out RBI.
• Senior
Charlie Fletcher is fifth in the NCAA among active appearance leaders (99). He also has a strong standing in the CAA record books as fourth-best. For the year, Fletcher tops the Association with 23 games in relief.
• The Green and Gold is on the road in seven of its last nine play dates. W&M will hold one more three-game series against Delaware (May, 11 & 13), before concluding 2018 with a four-game homestand. Of its 44 games, 26 were held in Plumeri Park.
• Senior
Ryan Hall moved to eighth place for most hits (230) in W&M history. The four-year starter also stands top 10 in doubles (t-4
th), games started (t-4
th), sacrifice flies (t-5
th), walks (6
th) and runs scored (10
th). Hall continues to churn out doubles at a high rate as he ranks third in the CAA with 14.
• Junior LHP
Bodie Sheehan is one of the best in the nation at finding the strike zone. The Virginia Beach, Va., product ranks seventh in the NCAA in walks allowed per nine innings (0.88) and 18
th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.71). Sheehan is also third among CAA hurlers in innings pitched (72.0) and second for walks allowed (7). Against Hofstra (4/27), he held an opponent to just one run (unearned) for the second time and tied his season-best eight strikeouts.
• Following a 1-0 setback vs. Hofstra on April 27, the Tribe has now played in 22 one-run games. The only problem is W&M is 7-15 in these tight games. It's the most one-run games dating back to 2003 – the closest year was 2012 with 20. The Green and Gold has also played extra innings on seven occasions.
• Enough data has been gathered to determine that W&M performs best when ahead. The Tribe owns a record of 8-3 when scoring in the first inning and 13-5 when the squad tacks on the first run of a game. W&M is also 11-3 when leading after six innings. The Green and Gold has overcome a deficit on just two occasions.
• Senior
Michael Toner is enjoying an outstanding senior campaign for the Green and Gold. The Cumming, Ga., native has registered season-bests in ERA (2.32), appearances (19), innings pitched (31.0) and strikeouts (41) out of the bullpen. Toner also pitched in a shutout against East Tennessee (3/16). Additionally, he has allowed just two earned runs over his last 13 innings.
• 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.
