TOWSON, Md. – The William & Mary baseball team opened a crucial three-game Colonial Athletic Association series with a 5-2 victory over Towson on Friday afternoon at Schuerholz Park in Towson, Md. With the win, the Tribe improved to 24-18, 6-10 in CAA play, while the Tigers drop to 11-30, 5-8 in league action.
 
Junior Wade Strain picked up his fourth win of the season on the mound for W&M. The junior cruised through seven innings allowing only five hits and had four strikeouts. His only blemish was a solo homer in the bottom of the third inning.
 
Offensively, the Tribe had three players record multi-hit games in the win. Juniors Matthew Trehub and Brandon Raquet, as well as sophomore Matt McDermott, went 2-for-4. Trehub connected on his second homer of the season to break the game open in the eighth.
 
Towson's only two runs came on solo homers. Isaiah Winikur homered in the third before Brad Powers added a solo blast in the ninth.
 
W&M Lineup – Socher RF, Cone CF, Pearson 3B, Smith C, Trehub 1B, Waldman DH, Raquet LF, McDermott 2B, Wrighte SS, Strain P
 
Towson Lineup – Fields CF, Masters SS, Piazza 3B, Cabrera 2B, Powers 1B, Miller DH, Martinez C, Flacco RF, Winikur LF, Seilis P
 
How it Happened
- W&M scored a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. A leadoff walk to senior Hunter Smith and junior Matthew Trehub singled to set the table. After an out, junior Brandon Raquet shot a single up the middle to score Smith. The next batter, sophomore Matt McDermott grounded into a fielder's choice, but it brought around Trehub for the RBI.
- Towson cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third thanks to the long ball. Isaiah Winikur launched a one-out homer over the centerfield fence to cut the score to 2-1.
- A two-out rally in the top of the fourth regained a two-run advantage for the Tribe. Raquet sparked the inning as he tripled to right-centerfield. The next batter, McDermott singled to third base to make it 3-1.
- The Tribe added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Freshman Jack Cone led off the inning by reaching second on a two-base error and moved up 90 feet on a groundout. With two outs, Trehub blasted a two-run homer over the right-centerfield wall.
- Towson hit its second homer of the day in the bottom of the ninth. Brad Powers lifted a solo shot over the right-field wall to cut the final score to 5-2.
 
Inside the Numbers
- W&M outhit Towson 8-7 in the win.
- Both teams left five men on base on the afternoon.
- W&M made no errors in the game and improved to 8-4 when they don't commit an error.
- Sophomore Randy Prosperi pitched the final two innings allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts.
 
Notes
Senior Zach Pearson extended his hitting streak to six games with a single in the third inning … Junior Matthew Trehub recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the season and fifth multi-RBI game of the season … His two-run homer in the eighth inning was his second of the year and the fourth of his Tribe career … The junior now has 18 RBI this year and 42 for his career … Classmate Brandon Raquet had his fifth multi-hit game of the season, including his third triple of the year and eighth of his career … He drove in his 15th RBI of the season and the 53rd of his career … Sophomore Matt McDermott had his ninth multi-hit game of the season and seventh multi-RBI game of the year … McDermott now has 27 RBI this year and 44 for his Tribe career … Junior Wade Strain turned his fourth quality start of the season.
 
What's Ahead
W&M and Towson continue their three-game set tomorrow, Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. The series finale is slated for Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m.