WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team closes out a five-game road swing with a mid-week tilt at Hampton Roads rival Norfolk State on Tuesday at 3 pm.
SCHEDULE UPDATE: The Tribe canceled its Wednesday (March 6) trip to Radford due to forecast of very cold conditions.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M (8-1) and NSU (0-9) will face off for the 42
nd time in series history on Tuesday afternoon. The Tribe has dominated the Spartans with a 30-11 all-time series lead. However, the series has been even lately with a 3-3 record over the last six matchups. Last year, W&M erased a four-run deficit to pull away with a 10-4 victory (April 17, 2018).
• The Tribe is not letting up on its early season success. The 2004 season marked the last time W&M won eight of its first nine games. It's also the first time the Tribe won its first four road games. The five-game winning streak has the Tribe with the top winning percentage (0.889) in the CAA.
• The W&M pitching staff had already solidified its echelon, but the offense is starting to heat up as well. Over the course of five-straight wins, the Tribe has batted .335, homered four times and scored 39 runs. The surge in production vaulted the Tribe from eighth to third in the CAA in hitting (. 274). The Green and Gold also rank top five in the league in hits (82), doubles (18), triples (5) and home runs (6).
• So far, the Tribe pitching staff is one of the best in the nation. The team ERA of 2.67 ranks 26
thin Division I. The efforts has been bolstered by an outstanding bullpen. The 'pen has accounted for five wins, three saves and 40 strikeouts across 37 innings pitched. Juniors
Chris Farrell and
Jamie Sara and sophomore
Justin Pearson each earned a save last weekend. The trio has also combined for 12.1 shutout innings.
• Senior
Zach Pearson and
Hunter Smith and junior
Brandon Raquet are the most reliable bats in the lineup. Pearson leads the CAA with a .406 batting average (13-for-32) and is riding a six-game hitting streak. Raquet ranks second in the conference on a .526 on-base percentage. Smith ties first in the CAA with three home runs and second in slugging percentage (.629).
•Sophomore
Matt McDermott has also been a key spark to W&M winning its last five games. During the stretch, he batted .556 (10-for-18) with six RBI and a double. The second baseman enjoyed a career effort of four hits, three RBI and a double at Virginia. He followed up with back-to-back multi-hit games against High Point. McDermott is on a five-game hitting streak.
• Senior
Bodie Sheehan improved to fourth in program history in career starts (47), tying
Whit Farr '02. With 11 more strikeouts, he will become the 13
th pitcher in W&M annals to reach 200 career strikeouts. Sheehan currently owns a 2.45 ERA, 1-0 record and ranks second in the CAA with 181. Innings pitched.
• 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.
• 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.
