WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Junior Wade Strain twirled a complete game as the William & Mary baseball team topped James Madison 7-1 in the series lid-lifter at Plumeri Park on Friday afternoon. The Tribe improves to 21-12, 5-5 in Colonial Athletic Association play, while the Dukes drop to 18-17, 2-8 in league action.
 
Strain was masterful on the mound as he took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning. Although he surrendered a run, the junior tossed the Tribe's first complete game since Daniel Powers had a CG against Northeastern on May 27, 2016. Strain allowed one run on three hits and fanned seven Dukes, including the final out of the game.
 
Offensively, the Tribe did all of their damage in two innings. W&M scored three in bottom of the second aided by a freshman Jack Cone triple, before having four guys cross the plate with a triple from sophomore Matt McDermott in the sixth.
 
Individually, junior Matthew Trehub (2-for-4) and Cone had multi-hit games. Cone went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while McDermott added four RBIs.
 
W&M Lineup – Thomas RF, Socher LF, Smith DH, Pearson 3B, Trehub C, Hart 1B, Cone CF, McDermott 2B, Wrighte SS, Strain P
 
JMU Lineup – Dabney 3B, Morgan C, Brown DH, Harju 1B, Dipasupil 2B, Semones SS, Cepullio RF, Sigler LF, Griffin CF, Kelly P
 
How it Happened
- W&M opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Zach Pearson led off the inning with a walk, before moving to third on a single from junior Matthew Trehub. A balk brought home the first run of the game, but after an out freshman Jack Cone smoked a triple down the right field line to plate Trehub. The final run of the inning came across as sophomore Matt McDermott executed a squeeze play to perfection.
- The Tribe broke the game open with a one-out rally in the home half of the sixth inning. A double by Trehub, a hit by pitch by freshman Hunter Hart and a single from Cone loaded the bases. The next batter, McDermott tripled to the right-centerfield gap, clearing the bases. On his way to the third, the ball got away from the third-baseman allowing McDermott to score and give the Tribe a 7-0 lead.
- James Madison soured Strain's shutout bid with a pair of doubles and a run in the top of the ninth inning. Back-to-back doubles Kyle Novack and Harry Brown trimmed the Tribe lead to 7-1.
 
Inside the Numbers
- W&M outhit the Duke 7-3 in the ball game.
- The Tribe had a pair of triples in the game to bring its season total 13 for the season.
- W&M left four runners on base compared to just three for James Madison.
- Junior Wade Strain faced just 31 batters in the game, four over the minimum.
 
Notes
Junior Wade Strain threw his first career complete game in the ball game … It was the first for a Tribe pitcher since May 27, 2016 … His seven K's were a season-high and tied his career-best for the third time … It was righty's third quality start of the season …  Senior Owen Socher moved his on-base streak to a team-high 20 straight games as he was hit by a pitch … Sophomore Matt McDermott tied his career-high with four RBI, accomplishing the feat each of the last two weekends …  McDermott had his first triple of the season and the fourth of his career … Freshman Jack Cone set a new high in hits with three … He also connected on his first career triple.
 
What's Ahead
W&M and James Madison continue their three-game series tomorrow, Saturday, April 13 at 4 p.m. The series is set to conclude on Sunday, April 14 with a 1 p.m. first pitch.