CHARLESTON, S.C..- For the second straight outing, Wade Strain was dominant and the Tribe's bats came alive late in the game as William & Mary bested College of Charleston 7-3 in the CAA opener Friday afternoon. 
 
Strain picked up his second straight win tossing 7.1 innings allowing just two earned runs and striking out a career-high seven batters. Jack Cone and Matt McDermott set the tone offensively for the Tribe each contributing a pair of hits and RBIs. 
 
The Tribe threatened in the first inning as Ben Williamson ripped the first pitch of the ballgame into left field for a double. Jack Cone would bunt Williamson to third and walks from Tyler Solomon and Matt McDermott would load the bases, but Charleston starter Ty Good was able to work out of the jam unscathted. 
 
Strain allowed a triple in the first inning but was able to work out of the jam to keep the game knotted 0-0. The tie would not last long as Donald Hansis gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the second. 
 
In the top of the third the Tribe answered as Cone singled and moved to second on a wild pitch before scoring on Solomon's double into right center. The two teams would trade scoreless innings as both Strain and Good settled in for their respective teams. 
 
In the top half of the sixth, McDermott roped a double down the left field line but the Tribe was unable to push him around to score as the game stayed even at 1-1. College of Charleston took advantage of the Tribe's inability to score and regained the lead in the sixth as Ari Sechopoulos would reach on an error and later score on a sacrifice fly. 
 
In the seventh the Tribe's offense came alive as Williamson and Solomon would walk before Matt Trehub was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two strikes and two outs McDermott roped a single up the middle scoring Williamson and Solomon to give the Tribe a 3-2 lead. Hunter Hart would smash a double to right to plate Trehub and McDermott. 
 
The Green and Gold would add to the lead in the eighth when David Hogarth singled to leadoff the inning. Phil Conti reached on an error pushing Hogarth to second and both would score on Cone's triple to deep right making it a 7-2 game. 
 
Harrison Hawkins would hit a solo blast in the Cougars' half of the eighth inning but it was the only offense Charleston could muster as Justin Pearson came on in relief to record the final two outs of the inning. Pearson would retire the side in the ninth to secure the 7-3 win. 
 
In the ballgame, Jack Cone and Matt McDermott extended their hitting streaks to four games and Ben Williamson hit safely for his third straight game. McDermott recorded his third multi-hit game of the season while Cone dished out multiple hits for the second time in 2021. 
 
William & Mary will look to keep the momentum from Friday's win going into Saturday's doubleheader with the Cougars. The teams will meet for game one at 2:00 p.m. in Charleston.