WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Fresh off a Power Five win, the William & Mary baseball team continues its road swing with a three-game series at High Point this weekend. Due to a forecast of inclement weather, the series was adjusted to start on Friday, March 1
st at 3 pm, and conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 2
nd at 1 pm.
The broadcast for each game is available on ESPN+ for paying subscribers.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and High Point will collide for the 11
th-13
th time in series history this weekend. The matchup has been evenly matched with the all-time series margin at 5-5. Last season, W&M claimed the series-opener in 12 innings, before rolling to an 11-run victory in the series finale. However, the Tribe is only 1-2 in High Point N.C.
• The Tribe has experienced an offensive outburst in its last two wins. W&M recorded season-highs of 13 hits and 12 runs against Sacred Heart on Feb. 24. The Sunday win was followed up with nine runs on 12 hits at ACC rival Virginia on Feb. 26. As a result, the Tribe ranks top five in the CAA in batting average (.241), slugging percentage (.403), and on-base percentage (.351).
• With a 5-1 record, the Green and Gold is off to its best start since 2008. It is the second-highest win percentage (.833) in the CAA standings. Strong pitching and defense have been the staple with no more than three runs surrendered in each win. Three of the five wins were also decided by more than four runs. During the '08 season, W&M opened up with an unbeaten ledger of 6-0.
• A key part of the great start was a significant six-run victory at UVA on Tuesday. The last time W&M defeated Virginia was after eliminating the Cavaliers from their own NCAA Regional site in the 2016 postseason. It was also the largest margin of victory since 2000, which held an identical final score.
• The W&M bullpen deserves a lot of credit for shutting down its opponents. The 'pen carries a 2.36 ERA with a 4-1 record across 26.2 innings pitched. Sophomores
Randy Prosperi and
Justin Pearson and juniors
Chris Farrell and
Jamie Sara have yet to surrender a run in their relief appearances. In addition, opponents have been restricted to a .213 batting average against the bullpen. This effort allows the Green and Gold to lead the CAA with a team ERA of 3.00.
• Five games in and junior
Brandon Raquet is one of the best players in the CAA. His national rankings include sixth in on-base percentage (.696) and 20
th in slugging percentage. The Boalsburg, Pa., product holds the third-best batting average in the conference. He has drawn a walk multiple times in three-consecutive games, slotting top three in the association. Raquet also contributed a double in the last two wins.
• Senior
Bodie Sheehan continues his climb up the program's all-time start list. Following his recent start on Sunday, he now ties fifth with 46 career starts. He is nine starts away from becoming W&M's all-time leader. In addition, Sheehan ranks second in the CAA after totaling 12.2 innings of work over the past two weekends.
• Rookie LHP
Zach Tsakounis has looked nothing like a freshman in his first two appearances. After pitching 11 innings out of the bullpen, Tsakounis owns is a 2-0 record with a 0.82 ERA, nine strikeouts and only one run on six hits. He was brilliant at UVA after hurling 6.1 innings of one-run ball with a season-high seven strikeouts.
• Freshmen
Hunter Hart,
Matt Thomas and
Jack Cone have played in all six games and are all contributing heavily. Hart enjoyed the best game of his young career at Virginia with a 3-for-4 effort, one RBI and three runs scored. Thomas has had at least one base hit in 4 of the six games and owns a .370 on-base percentage. Cone ranks first in the CAA with two triples and scored the go-ahead run in a win over Marist (2/17).
• The Tribe already has one player with a CAA weekly award. Freshman
Tristan Snyder earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors for the week Feb. 18. He held Marist to just three hits and struck out six in 4.2 shutout innings. The Bumpass, Va., native fanned five across the last three innings.
