WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team was dealt a 9-4 setback against CAA rival Northeastern on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies (12-10, 2-0) scored six runs in the last three innings to pull away from the Tribe (14-6, 0-2).
The Tribe conceded two runs in the opening frame, but swiftly knotted up the score by the second inning. In the bottom of the first, senior
Hunter Smith drew a two-out walk before classmate
Zach Pearson drilled an RBI double to left field. W&M pushed across another two-out run in the home half of the second. Rookie
Matt Thomas walked to set up senior
Kyle Wrighte for an RBI double to tie the contest at 2-all.
Regardless, the Huskies used back-to-back three-run frames in the seventh and eighth inning to break the game open. During the seventh, NU loaded the bases before Ian Fair hit a sac fly to center field. The next two runs were manufactured via RBI double by Jake Farrell and a sac fly from Corey DiLoreto. NU used three hits and a W&M error to plate three more runs in the eighth.
Junior
Wade Strain (2-2) took the loss after lasting 6.1 innings with five strikeouts, eight hits, and six runs (four earned). Junior Sean Mellen (3-0) fanned nine batters and allowed only two runs on three hits in six innings for the win. Sophomore Brandon Dufault earned a save after tossing the last three innings.
Tribe Standouts
Pearson drove in three of the four W&M runs during a 2-for-4 effort that included a double. Wrighte also notched two hits with an RBI double. Smith reached base twice on a double and walk. Freshman
Rojo Prarie logged a scoreless inning with two strikeouts out of the bullpen
Notes
It is the first time the Tribe suffered back-to-back losses … Strain recorded a season-high in innings pitched … Pearson has totaled two extra-base hits and three RBI during the conference series … Prarie made his collegiate debut on the mound in the ninth inning … Wrighte produced his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
Up Next
The weekend series will conclude on Sunday, March 24 at 1 pm.
