WILLIAMSBURG, Va. –The William & Mary baseball team begins Colonial Athletic Association play with a home series against Northeastern this weekend. The conference series opens on Friday, March 22 at 6 pm, continues on Saturday, March 23 at 4 pm, and concludes on Sunday March 24 at 1 pm.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M and NU square off for the 36
th-38
th time in series history. The Tribe edges the Huskies with an all-time series lead of 18-17. Over the last two seasons, NU has claimed five wins in a row against the Tribe – three games were decided by two runs or less. In Williamsburg, the series is deadlocked at 7-7. The Tribe swept all four meetings against the Huskies in 2016, including an elimination win in the conference tournament.
• It is the third time the Tribe will host a weekend set against a program from the New England region. W&M opened the season with matchups against Marist and Sacred Heart in the first two weeks. The Green and Gold is 3-1 against northeastern teams so far.
• With an impressive record of 14-4, the Tribe ranks 19
th in the NCAA in win-loss percentage (.778). W&M will head into conference action with its strongest overall record since 2004. In '04, the Tribe opened CAA play with a 16-3 ledger (.842). The hot start to the season is due in large part to a nine-game winning streak, the longest stretch of consecutive wins since 2001.
• The Green and Gold generated 10-plus hits for the seventh time in a win at VCU (3/19). During the road win, seven of nine batters knocked at least one base hit. On top of that, three separate players recorded multiple hits. W&M produced a balanced offense of at least seven batters recording one base hit or more in seven games.
• This weekend marks the start of a five-game homestand. It is the second stint of five straight home games this year. W&M has already played a heavy set of games at Plumeri Park in the last two weeks. During the last eight games, six of them were held in Williamsburg.
• After surrendering only one earned run at VCU, the W&M pitching staff maintains the top ERA (3.47) in the CAA. The recent triumph was the 11
th time the Tribe held an opponent to three runs or less. The bullpen has been vital to the success with a 7-2 record and six saves as a group.
• Rookie
Zach Tsakounis represents the Tribe as one of the top pitchers in the nation. The Arlington, Va., native ranks 32
nd in Division I with an ERA of 1.03. After six appearances with three starts, he has totaled 26.1 innings pitched, 27 strikeouts and a .169 opposing batting average. Tsakounis is also the only CAA pitcher with at least three wins and a save.
• Sophomore
Randy Prosperi and junior
Chris Farrell have earned the most activity out of the bullpen. Propseri ranks second in the CAA with 10 appearances and has logged 10 innings of relief. The Fairfax, Va. product owns an unblemished 3-0 record and totals 13 strikeouts. Farrell has served as the closer, tossing 8.1 shutout innings in that role. He has saved three of seven games finished, which ranks fourth in the league.
• Senior
Hunter Smith owns the hardest swing in the CAA. The catcher leads the conference with a .696 slugging percentage and ties first with five home runs. Smith is also top three in the association in RBI and doubles. He has homered twice in a game on two occasions, both times leading to a W&M victory. Smith now ranks 15
th in program annals in career homers.
• Freshman
Hunter Hart is steadily improving with each game. The first baseman is riding a nine-game on-base streak and owns the second-best batting average (.310) on the team. Over the last nine games, Hart totals 10 hits, a double and six RBI across 28 at bats. He is also a threat on the base path with a team-high five stolen bases.
• Senior
Bodie Sheehan will replace
Will Malerich '97 for third most games started in program history this weekend. His next start on the hill will be the 50
th of his career and needs only five more to become the all-time leader. With 9.1 more innings, the left-handed pitcher will become the seventh in school history to reach 300 innings pitched. Sheehan is also on track to accumulate 200 career strikeouts as he is only eight away.
• The Tribe claimed its second Power Five win of the season after splitting a doubleheader with West Virginia on March 16. The Green and Gold scored five late runs to rally for a 6-4 win. It was the first time the Tribe defeated the Mountaineers since 1968. W&M defeated its first Power Five opponent at Virginia (2/26), 9-3.
• W&M has had three players collect CAA Weekly Awards in the first four weeks of the season. Two freshmen pitchers in
Tristan Snyder and Tsakounis garnered CAA Rookie of the Week honors. The other award went to sophomore
Matt McDermott as the CAA Player of the Week for the week of March 8.
• Plumeri Park, the home of the Tribe Baseball, turns 20 this spring. The anniversary will be celebrated and recognized over the course of the season. The facility was constructed in large part due to the generous donation by Mr. Joseph J. Plumeri II in the autumn of 1996. It is now considered one of the finest baseball facilities in the region, consistently receiving upgrades over the course of time. W&M has enjoyed a lot of success at Plumeri Park with a 386-1999 (.660) since its completion.
