By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- When William & Mary opens its baseball season Friday at Charlotte, it will have been 353 days since its last game. Plenty has changed since then, both here and around the world, but the Tribe's roster remains pretty much the same.

So does everyone else's thanks to an NCAA rule that allowed 2019-20 spring athletes who lost their seasons an extra year of eligibility. W&M returns eight of its top 10 hitters and four of its top five pitchers from 2020's abbreviated season.

"It's an interesting time all over college baseball with the opportunity for seniors to come back," Tribe coach Brian Murphy said. "There are a lot of really veteran teams.
"We have some experienced guys back, whether it's returning seniors or guys who got some experience early in their career. We should have some guys who have at least done it before, which is probably more common than not this year."

The most significant departures are left fielder Brandon Racquet, who hit .328 with four home runs in 61 at bats, and pitcher Chris Farrell, who had a 0.42 ERA in 21.1 innings. Neither will be easy to replace, but Murphy has plenty of experienced options.

Taking over for Raquet in left field will be Hunter Hart, a starter at first base last season as a sophomore. When the season was stopped, he ranked first in the CAA in average (.417), second in RBI (17 in 12 games) and fourth in on-base percentage (.500).

In center field will be Jack Cone, who hit .326 as the leadoff man. Matt Thomas (.276, 15 walks), who played center last season, will take over in right.

Returning at first base is Tyler Solomon, a switch-hitter who goes 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. He hit .231 for the season but in what turned out to be the season's final game, Solomon went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs against Virginia Tech.

"We're counting on him to be a big presence in the middle of the lineup," Murphy said.

Across the diamond, Ben Williamson will be at third base. After batting .160 (4-for-25) in his first seven games, he hit .364 (8-for-22) in his final six.

Matt McDermott (.319, eight stolen bases), who started all 17 games in 2020 at second base, will move over to shortstop this season. "He should be really good there," Murphy said.

That leaves a vacancy at second base. David Hogarth and Cole Ragone are among the possibilities there, and Murphy expects a starter to emerge after some early games.


At catcher, rock solid Matthew Trehub is back for his fifth season. He batted .325 with 10 RBI in 14 games. Defensively, where he also played some first base, he didn't commit an error.
"Defense needs to be a strength for us," Murphy said. "We have strength up the middle, which is a good place to start."

Pitching looks to be a little hazy. Cone, who led the team with 22 innings and three wins last season, won't be ready to pitch for another few weeks because "a variety of things," Murphy said.
Left-hander Zach Tsakounis, who made the CAA's All-Rookie team in 2019 but pitched only two innings last season, is recovering from a broken non-throwing hand. Presently, he's able to pitch but not wear a glove. Murphy expects him to miss at least the first week of the season.

Wade Strain, who made only one appearance last year before an injury ended his season, was 6-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 2019. Murphy is hoping Ben Greenspon (0-0, 4.50) can "make a big jump and pitch in the rotation" as a weekend starter.

Other veterans include Jacob Haney (15 strikeouts in 17.1 innings), Justin Pearson (2-1, 2.92 in 2019), and Randy Prosperi (3-2, 3.52 in '19). Matt Howat, who threw a perfect inning against Virginia with two strikeouts last season as a freshman, also could be a factor.

"We have some guys returning, but we're a little bit thinned out right now with some injuries and guys behind the 8-ball because they had to quarantine in preseason," Murphy said. "We'll get better as we go, hopefully."

The Tribe was picked last in the CAA's South Division behind UNC Wilmington, Charleston, Elon, and James Madison. The division's five teams have won seven of the last nine Colonial championships.
"Wilmington returns the most seniors I think of anybody and (its) whole rotation," Murphy said. "They had some guys who were supposed to get drafted, but with the shortened draft, they didn't end up going.

"Charleston was off to a great start last year. Elon was the best team in the league the last time we played the whole thing out, and JMU has a really talented club. We've got a chance to play each of those guys six times. Hopefully, if we can get them all in, we'll have a pretty good idea of how everybody stacks up."

The Tribe will open the season Saturday with a doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. and take the field Sunday for the series finale at 1:00 p.m. Be sure to check @WMTribeBaseball on Twitter for any potential schedule changes.