PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The William & Mary baseball team scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning, and survived a ninth inning Saint Joseph's rally to erase a four-run deficit and win its non-conference finale, 9-8, on Tuesday afternoon in Philadelphia. With the triumph the Tribe improves to 29-19, while the Hawks fall to 18-28.
 
After the Tribe threatened in the top of the second, third, and fourth innings, Saint Joseph's jumped on the board with four runs in the home half of the fourth. After an unearned run scored, Nate Thomas blasted a three-run homer to give the Hawks a 4-0 cushion.
 
However, W&M chipped away as it scored single runs in the sixth and seventh inning, before its six-run outburst in the eighth. In the deciding frame, W&M got RBIs from sophomore David Hogarth, and seniors Kyle Wrighte, Zach Pearson, and Hunter Smith (two).
 
The Hawks rallied and brought the winning run to the plate in the home half of the ninth inning with nobody out. However, junior Chris Farrell regrouped and got a fielder's choice and a pair of strikeouts to thwart the Hawks comeback.
 
Although he did not factor in the decision, sophomore Jacob Haney threw three perfect innings with two strikeouts in his first start since April. Junior Jamie Sara and sophomores Randy Prosperi and Justin Pearson, who earned the win, all pitched a scoreless frame without allowing a Hawks' hit.
 
W&M Starters – Socher RF, McDermott 2B, Pearson 3B, Smith C, Trehub 1B, Waldman DH, Cone CF, Wrigthe SS, Raquet LF, Haney P
 
Saint Joseph's Starters – Hueth CF, Skermo 2B, Cossetti DH, Cuoci 1B, Thomas 3B, Name RF, Cuppari SS, Vance C, Johnson LF, Meyers P
 
How it Happened
- Despite W&M threatening in the second through fourth innings, Saint Joseph's  opened the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. After an out, Chris Skermo started the rally by reaching on a throwing error, before Andrew Cossetti walked. The next batter Dominic Cuoci singled into right to open the scoring. Nate Thomas followed with a three-run blast over the right-field wall to make it 4-0 Hawks.
- W&M got a run back as it scored its first run in the top of the sixth. Senior Hunter Smith started the inning by reaching on a walk, and moving to third on a one-out double from classmate Jason Waldman. Smith came around to score on a wild pitch.
- The Tribe added another run in the top of the seventh. With one out, back-to-back singles from senior Owen Socher and sophomore Matt McDermott put runners on the corners. Senior Zach Pearson, then, flew out to right field, but it was enough for a sacrifice fly and trimmed SJU's lead to 4-2.
- A six-run eighth inning put W&M on top for the first time in the game. Junior Matthew Trehub led off the inning by getting by a pitch, before sophomore David Hogarth hit a triple to pull the Tribe within one. The next batter, senior Kyle Wrighte tied the game as he shot a single up the middle to score Hogarth. After the second out, Wrighte stole second and came around to score as Socher reached on an error. The rally continued as McDermott walked. Pearson followed with his second RBI on a single to right, before Smith brought two more in on a single up the middle.
- Saint Joesph's plated a run in the home half of the eighth. Tim Johnson and Jake Artz started the inning with back-to-back walks, before a fielder's choice put runners on the corner. Cossetti skied a fly out to centerfield, but it was enough to get SJU back to within 8-5.
- W&M added its ninth run thanks to four walks in the top of the ninth. Hogarth, Wrighte, and Socher all drew walks to load the bases with two outs, before McDermott walked to get the RBI.
- The Hawks made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth as they cut it to one, before the Tribe recorded an out. Thomas led off the inning with a walk, before Kadar Namey singled that had runners on first and second. The rallied continued as Liam Bendo doubled and cleared the bases. A single from Brian Vance put runners on the corners, but a fielder's choice allowed the final Hawks run of the game to score. Junior Chris Farrell fanned the last two SJU hitters to preserve the Tribe's win.
 
Inside the Numbers
- W&M outhit Saint Joseph's 10-6 in the game.
- The Tribe stranded 12 men on base compared to just three for the Hawks.
- Nine of the 10 Tribe players that got an at-bat in the game recorded a hit.
- Sophomore Justin Pearson was credited with his second win of the season after pitching a clean bottom of the seventh inning.
 
Notes
Sophomore Matt McDermott recorded his 10th multi-hit game of the season in the win … He now has driven in 31 runs this season and 48 for his Tribe career … Senior Zach Pearson drove in two runs in the contest for his eighth multi-RBI game of the season … He now has 29 RBI this year and 82 for his career … Classmate Hunter Smith drove in two as well for his team-best 10th multi-RBI game of the season … The senior now has 36 RBI this year and 144 for his Tribe career … Sophomore David Hogarth connected on his first career triple in the game, had his seventh RBI of the year, and 11th of his career … Senior Kyle Wrighte also drove in one and has 24 for the year and 82 for his career … It was just the second time this season Saint Joseph's lost a game having led after seven innings … The victory was the Tribe's 19th non-conference win of the season.
 
What's Ahead
W&M concludes the regular season with a crucial three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at Hofstra on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18. The series gets underway with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, before a final game at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.