RICHMOND, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team fell 12-2 at Richmond on Wednesday afternoon at Pitt Field in Richmond, Va. With the setback, the Tribe falls to 23-18, while the Spiders improve to 21-16-1.
Richmond took the lead for good with a four-run third inning. A pair of two-RBI bloop singles from Tyler Plantier and Kyle Schmidt brought in the four runs in the third.
W&M got on the board in the top of the first inning with a two-out rally. A two-out walk to senior
Hunter Smith put a runner on, before classmate
Zach Pearson belted his first homer of the season over the left-centerfield wall.
The Spiders' Lowell Schipper was credited with his first win of the season. Schipper went five innings allowing two runs on one-hit with seven strikeouts in the game.
W&M Starters – Socher RF, Trehub C, Smith DH, Pearson 3B, Raquet LF, Hart 1B, McDermott 2B, Hogarth CF, Wrighte SS, Cone P
Richmond Starters – Schulefand RF, Bruhl 2B, Plantier 3B, Forte CF, Schmidt C, Lee LF, Cook 1B, Hipsman DH, Ready SS, Schipper P
How It Happened
- For the second straight day W&M scored in the top of the first inning. With two outs, senior
Hunter Smith drew a walk. The next batter, classmate
Zach Pearson cracked a two-run jack over the left-centerfield wall to give the Tribe a 2-0 cushion.
- Richmond came right back and scored a run in the bottom of the inning. Jordan Schulefand led of the inning with a single, before reaching third on a failed pick-off attempt. Sage Bruhl, followed, with a single to left to bring in the Spiders' first run.
- The Spiders took the lead with four runs in the bottom of the third. The rally started with an infield single from Johnny Hipsman, after an out Schulefand reached on a bunt single, and Bruhl walked to load the bases. The next batter, Tyler Plantier blooped a single to center to give UofR the lead. The rally for Richmond continued as Anthony Forte singled to right to reload the bases. Another bloop single to center this time from Kyle Schmidt made it 5-2.
- UofR extended its lead in the home half of the fourth with a homer. Hipsman led off the inning with a homer over the right field wall.
- The Spiders made it three straight innings with a run as they tacked on one in the fifth. D.J. Lee led off the inning with walk, before he stole second, and advanced to third on a fly out. After Hipsman was hit by a pitch he took off for second, but the throw went into to center to score Lee.
- Richmond added one more in the bottom of the seventh inning with its third unearned run. With one-out, Lee reached second on an error, before moving to third on an infield single from Cook. The next batter, Hipsman flew out to right, but it was deep enough to plate Lee.
- The Spiders added four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Schmidt and Lee were credited with RBIs, while UofR added a run on a double play and a wild pitch as well.
Inside the Numbers
- Richmond outhit W&M 13-2 in the ball game.
- Six of the seven Tribe base runners reached with two-outs.
- The Tribe committed a season-high tying five errors in the game, and allowed three unearned runs.
- Freshman
Jack Cone, who was making his first start on the mound for the Tribe was saddled with his second loss of the season. He went 2.1 innings allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits with a strikeout.
Notes
Senior
Zach Pearson hit his first homer of the season and the fourth of his career in the top of the first … Pearson drove in multiple runs for the second straight day in the ninth time this season … The Houston, Texas native has hit safely in five straight … The senior, who had the Tribe's only two hits, had his team-best 14th multi-hit game of the season … It was the ninth time this season W&M has recorded more than two double plays as it turned three in a game as it had double plays in the first, seventh, and eighth innings … The Tribe has now turned 36 double plays this season.
What's Ahead
W&M concludes its five-game road swing as it travels to Towson for a CAA weekend series this weekend. The set gets underway on Friday, April 26 at 3 p.m., continues Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m., before concluding on Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m.
