HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior Owen Socher delivered a clutch two-out RBI single and a quartet of William & Mary pitchers combined for a shutout. In the end,  the Tribe outlasted Charleston, 1-0, in the longest game in Colonial Athletic Association Championship history late Thursday night at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.
 
The teams traded zeroes for 13 innings as both pitching staffs turned in gems before W&M (33-20) finally broke through. In the top of the 14th, freshman Jack Cone led off the frame with a single through the left side. He moved up to second on a Matt McDermott sacrifice and to third on a ground out to shortstop. Socher provided the big blow punching an 0-1 pitch through the right side for the game's run. 

Redshirt junior Chris Farrell closed it out in the 14th. After a Luke Manzo lead-off single, Farrell forced Dupree Hart and Bradley Dixon to both fly out to right field. With two down, Manzo tried to steal second but slide past the bag and was tagged out by McDermott for the final out of the contest.
 
Farrell picked up his fifth win in relief tossing four scoreless innings and recording a season-high five strikeouts. In total, W&M's pitching staff of Farrell, senior Bodie Sheehan and sophomores Randy Prosperi and Justin Pearson combined for 14 shutout innings, scattering six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
 
Charleston's Griffin McLarty and Sheehan matched goose eggs through 8.1 innings each. McLarty struck out eight allowing only five Tribe hits, while Sheehan limited the Cougars to just four hits and K'ed a pair in the longest outing of his Green and Gold career.
 
W&M had chances in the third on a Kyle Wrighte double and in the fifth after a Cone leadoff single and a sacrifice but could not scratch in either frame. The Tribe had runners at the corner after singles by senior Zach Pearson and junior Matthew Trehub in the sixth. Senior Jason Waldman attempted to squeeze Pearson home, but McLarty made the play to cut the Tribe runner down at the plate.
 
The Cougars first runner did not reach second base until the ninth inning and it finally chased Sheehan. After Manzo led off the frame with a single and moved up on a sacrifice, sophomore Randy Prosperi came on to induce a 6-4-3 double play ball off the bat of Danny Wondrack to end the inning. It was one of three inning-ending double plays for W&M on the night.
 
It looked as though the Cougars found the winner in the 12th inning but a Tribe miscue turned into an impressive defensive play to cut a CofC runner down at the plate. After Hart led off the frame with an infield single, Farrell pitched out as Dixon squared to bunt but the pick-off throw to first was high and down the right-field line. Socher fired to third but the throw went past Zach Pearson. Fortunately, Farrell was backing up the play and fired to the plate to get Hart out.  
 
How It Happened
- The Tribe threatened first putting the first runner in scoring position on a Wrighte double in the third. The senior shortstop just missed giving the Green and Gold the lead as he lifted a ball off the top of the right-field wall with one out. McLarty sandwiched a ground out and a pop out around a Brandon Raquet HBP to end the frame.
- Sheehan retired the first eight Cougars in order before Manzo picked up CofC's first hit of the game with a single to left in the bottom of the third.
- Cone led off the fifth with an opposite-field single to left and moved up 90-feet on a McDermott sacrifice bunt. After a four-pitch walk to Wrighte, McLarty struck out the final two of the frame to strand the Tribe runners.
- The Tribe tried to manufacture a run the sixth. Senior Zach Pearson led off the inning with a single to center and moved around to third on Matthew Trehub's single through the right side with one out. Senior Jason Waldman laid down a bunt to squeeze Pearson home but McLarty jumped on it and cut down the runner at the plate.
- Charleston put base runners on with one out in the sixth and seventh innings, but Sheehan induced inning-ending double-play ground balls in both frames. Zach Pearson started a 5-4-3 DP to end the sixth before Trehub fielded a bouncer at first and went 3-4 for the double play to bring the seventh to a close.
- The Cougars advanced its first baserunner of the night to second base in the ninth. Manzo singled up the middle to lead off the ninth and moved up to second on a Dupree Hart sacrifice bunt. After an intentional walk, the Tribe went to the bullpen. Sophomore Randy Prosperi forced Danny Wondrack into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
- Wrighte reached on an error to start the 10th inning and moved up to second on a Socher sacrifice bunt. After an intentional walk to Raquet, Nathan Ocker retired the last two of the frame.  
- Hart led off the bottom of the 12th inning with an infield single and craziness ensued. W&M pitched out as Bradley Dixon squared to bunt but the pick-off throw to first was high and went down the right-field line. Socher fielded the ball and fired to third but his throw got past Zach Pearson. Fortunately, Farrell was backing up the play and fired home to Hunter Smith to cut down Hart at the plate, denying the Cougar scoring chance.
- W&M threatened with two outs in the 13th. Smith doubled into the left-field corner before CofC issued an international walk to Trehub. Ocker got out of the inning though forcing Waldman into a flyout to center field.
- The Tribe finally scored in the 14th for the game's only run. Cone singled through the left side to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a McDermott sacrifice bunt down the first baseline. The Tribe freshman moved over to third on a Wrighte ground out to short. With two down, Socher came through in the clutch. He punched an 0-1 pitch through the right side to score Cone.
 
W&M Starters – Socher RF, Raquet LF, Pearson 3B, Smith C, Trehub 1B, Waldman DH, McDermott 2B, Wrighte SS, Cone CF, Sheehan P
 
CofC Starters – Hart 2B, Dixon RF, Wondrack C, McRae LF, Davey 1B, Mundy DH, Hunt 3B, Graham CF, Manzo SS
 
Notes
The Tribe played its longest game of the 2019 season … It was the longest game in CAA Tournament history surpassing a 2007 contest between VCU and Delaware that went 13 innings … It marked the Tribe's fourth extra-inning game of the year and W&M improved to 3-1 in those contests … The Tribe and Cougars played extras for the third-straight game, all W&M victories … The Tribe improved to 9-7 in the CAA Championship under head coach Brian Murphy … Senior Bodie Sheehan produced his 10th quality start in 14 outings, allowing no runs on four hits over 8.1 innings while striking out two … It marked the fourth-straight start he allowed one or fewer runs and the sixth such occasion in the last eight games … The 8.1 innings marked the longest outing of Sheehan's career … He lowered his season ERA to 2.07, which ranks 11th in W&M history … The Tribe snapped Charleston's eight-game win streak, while W&M won its fourth straight and eighth in its last nine games … Junior Matthew Trehub picked up his 13th multi-hit game of the season and 19th of his career … Freshman Jack Cone produced his 11th multi-hit game of the season and fourth in four game against the Cougars … W&M turned three double plays on the night and have 58 for the year … Sophomore Matt McDermott tallied a pair of two sacrifices to bring his season total to eight which is a team-high and tied for 15th in school history … Senior Owen Socher extended his hit streak to three games and picked up his eighth RBI of the year … Redshirt junior Chris Farrell pitched four innings for the second time this season and second time in an extra-inning win over Charleston … He threw 4.1 innings scoreless in 4-3 win over Charleston on May 4 … He also struck out five in that contest.
 
Up Next
The Tribe remains in the winners' bracket and takes on No. 5 seed UNCW, who knocked off regular-season champion Elon on Thursday, on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on CAA.TV.