NEWARK, Del. – For the third straight day, the William & Mary baseball team dropped a one-run game to close out the series at Delaware, 9-8, on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Hens sent 10 to the plate and scored five runs in the fourth inning to erase a two-run deficit and earn in the series sweep.
 
After Delaware (11-19, 5-4 CAA) struck first with two in the opening frame, W&M scored four unanswered including a three-run fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Sophomores Matt McDermott and David Hogarth provided RBI singles in the frame.
 
The Blue Hens responded with five in the bottom of the frame. Delaware's first five batters registered hits, including a pair of the extra-base variety. All five came around to score, and the Blue Hens added two more runs in the sixth to open up a 9-4 lead.
 
W&M (20-10, 4-5 CAA) rallied with four runs over the final two innings. McDermott, who finished with a career-high four RBIs, drove in three runs during the stretch, including a run-scoring double in the eighth and a two-RBI single in the ninth.
 
Delaware's Derek Wakeley, who picked up the win with four scoreless innings on Friday night, pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and despite allowing two runs in the ninth, registered the save in preserving the Blue Hen lead. Brandon Walter earned the win, allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings and striking out six.
 
W&M Starters – Thomas RF, Socher LF, Smith DH, Pearson 3B, Lipke 1B, Trehub C, McDermott 2B, Hogarth CF, Wright SS, Tsakounis P
 Delaware Starters  - Mohollen CF, Bowern 2B, Hutchins LF, Carpenter 1B, Vaccone SS, Goan C, Miller DH, Lesher 3B, Colmery RF, Walter P

How It Happened
- Delaware struck first with two runs in the first inning. Jordan Hutchins drove in the first run of the game with a double to right field and came around to score two batters later on a ground out.
- W&M scored four unanswered to take the lead. Senior Owen Socher plated the Tribe's first run in the second on a sacrifice fly to left field. Freshman Matt Thomas came in to score, sliding around the tag of Blue Hen catcher Jack Goan at the plate.
- The Tribe scored three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Seniors Zach Pearson and Colin Lipke reached on a hit-by-pitch and four-pitch walk, respectively, before moving up a base on a Matthew Trehub sac bunt. McDermott's infield single to the right side drove in Pearson to tie the game at two, and Lipke came home on a wild pitch. Hogarth provided the final RBI of the inning with a single through the left side to plate McDermott.
- The Blue Hens responded by batting around in the bottom the fourth, scoring five runs. UD collected five-straight hits to start the inning, bringing home three of the five runs. Austin Colmery tripled to lead off the frame and scored on a Kevin Mohollen double down the left field line. Erik Bowren, Joseph Carpenter and Goan added RBI singles for the home team.
- Delaware tacked on a pair of important runs in the sixth. After a Zack Miller double to left field, Zach Lesher brought him around on a triple to right center field. He came home on a Colmery single to give the Blue Hens a 9-4 lead.
- W&M scored two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings but could not overcome the five-run deficit. After Lipke led off the eighth with a double to the left-field gap, McDermott just missed a home run, launching a ball off the left-field fence to cut the deficit to 9-5. W&M twice loaded the bases, but only McDermott came across on a Thomas fielder's choice.
- In the ninth, Lipke walked and Trehub doubled to right center field to give W&M two runners in scoring position. McDermott provided the big blow of the inning with a two-run single to left field. Wakeley retired the final two Tribe hitters via a fly out and strikeout to preserve the Blue Hen win.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Delaware outhit the Tribe, 12-11, including a 5-4 advantage in extra-base hits.
- Both teams had chances as W&M left 10 runners on base and the Blue Hens stranded 11.
- The Tribe bullpen pitched five innings and allowed just two earned runs. Sophomores Randall Prosperi (1.2) and Justin Pearson (1.0) pitched scoreless frames. In total during the series, the Tribe pen allowed just two runs in nine innings.
- UD's Brandon Walter earned the win, allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings and striking out six.
- Freshman Zach Tsakounis took the loss, allowing six runs over three innings of work.
 
Notes
Sophomore Matt McDermott led the way offensively for W&M, going 3-for-5 at the plate with a career-high four RBIs … He accounted for six of the Tribe's eight runs with a pair of runs scored … Senior Colin Lipke went 2-for-3 on the day and collected a pair of doubles … His three runs scores were a career-high, while it marked the third time in his career that he recorded multiple extra-base hits … Sophomore Randall Prosperi did not allow a run in his four-straight appearance out of bullpen … He threw 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball in the Delaware series … Senior Owen Socher, who drove in his third run of the year with a sac fly in the third inning, picked up his 11th HBP of the season, including sixth over the last four games … Sophomore David Hogarth tallied his fifth RBI of the year and first in CAA play.
 
What's Ahead
The Tribe will have two road mid-week games at Maryland on Tuesday and George Washington on Wednesday. W&M's game against the Terrapins is set for a 4 p.m. start time, while the Tribe-Colonials match-up carries a 3 p.m. start time.
 
W&M returns to CAA play with a three-game set at home against James Madison, April 12-14.