Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 WILLIAMSBURG, VA. – William & Mary's offense would explode for 18 runs over two games Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader sweep of Elon at Plumeri Park. The Tribe would take 6-4 and 12-9 decisions upping their CAA record to 5-6 on the season. 
 
The Green and Gold would use the long ball and a solid outing from Wade Strain to take game one 6-4. Strain tied a career-high with seven strikeouts over 7.0 innings pitched to earn his fourth win of the season. Matt Howat tossed a scoreless eighth and Jack Cone closed the door in the ninth for his third save. 
 
The Tribe swatted a season-high three homers in the opener getting solo shots from Matt Thomas and Jack Cone, and a two-run go-ahead bomb from Ben Williamson in the bottom of the seventh. 
 
In the top of the first Elon jumped on the Green and Gold for a pair of runs. Parker Haskin  singled to right with one out and moved to third on Alex Iadisernia's double to left. Both would score on Cole Reynolds' ground rule double pushed home both runners to give Elon the early edge. 
 
Tribe starter Wade Strain and Elon pitcher Joe Savino traded scoreless frames until the bottom of the fourth when Thomas brought the Tribe within one with a single swing of the bat. Thomas drilled a two-strike two-out pitch over the wall for a solo bomb making the score 2-1. 
 
Strain kept Elon off the board in the fifth giving the Tribe a chance to tie the game in the home half of the inning. Cole Ragone legged out an infield single and stole second putting himself in scoring position. Ragone came home to tie the game on Nic Britt's single into left. 
 
The Phoenix would waste no time regaining the lead as they struck for a pair in the top of the sixth inning. Once again, it would be Reynolds hurting W&M as he lifted a deep drive over the fence in right center for a two-run homer. 
 
In the Tribe half of the seventh, Ragone's wheels produced another Tribe run as he took advantage of an error to reach base for the second time. Ragone would show off his speed scoring from first on a double ripped down the left field line by David Hogarth. With two outs, Ben Williamson jumped on a 3-1 pitch driving it over the wall in left to give the Tribe a 5-4 lead. 
 
In the top of the eighth Matt Howat entered for Strain and worked his way through a lead-off double to strand the tying run at third preserving the lead. The Tribe added some insurance in the bottom half as Jack Cone led off the inning with a solo shot to right center, the team's third long ball of the day. 
 
Cone would take the hill in the top of the ninth and shut the door on the Phoenix to earn his third save of the season and preserve the 6-4 Tribe win.  
 
The second game was a slugfest in which the Tribe jumped out to a large lead and was able to add insurance runs late. Justin Pearson earned the win and Ben Greenspon got his first career save recording the final 10 outs. 
 
It sas the home team striking first for six runs on five hits in the first. Williamson led off the bottom of the first with a single to center. McDermott singled and both players moved up an extra 90 feet on an Elon error. Thomas would walk to load the bases and all three men would score as Mark Trotta ripped a first-pitch fastball into the left field corner for a double. 
 
The relentless Tribe attack continued in the first as Matt Trehub walked with one out. Tyler Solomon doubled to left scoring Trotta and Nic Britt doubled off the wall with a pair of outs to plate Trehub and Solomon capping off the six-run frame. 
 
Elon would get a run back in the top of the second to make it 6-1 W&M. The Green and Gold offense continued to explode in the bottom half adding three runs on a pair of hits. Cone walked and scored on Trotta's second extra-base hit of the game as he roped a triple to left center. Trotta scored on a wild pitch and the Tribe would make it 9-1 as Solomon singled to knock in Trehub for the second time in as many innings. 
 
Elon made a dent in the Tribe lead in the top of the third scoring four runs on four hits. Justin Cassella started things off with a triple to center and scored on Tyler Cranston's RBI groundout. After a pair of singles, Nick Cicci ripped a three-run homer to left making it a 9-5 ball game. 
 
 A double off the wall from Williamson and RBI singles from McDermott and Thomas would plate a pair of runs for the Tribe in the bottom of the third pushing the lead back out to six runs. 
 
After scoreless fourth and fifth innings from Pearson, the Phoenix lineup would break through scoring three times to cut into the Tribe lead. An error and back to back singles would load the bases and Cranston would bring in a pair with a single to right. Later Elon would add a run with a bases loaded walk, but Ben Greenspon would get a big strikeout to end the threat, keeping it an 11-8 game. 
 
The home team manufactured a run in the bottom of the seventh as Hogarth walked and stole second. The speedster would score on Ben Williamson's third hit of the game. Elon answered with a run in the eighth to make it 12-9. Greenspon worked a scoreless ninth to preserve the win. 
 
The two teams will meet tomorrow for the series finale. The Tribe will try to complete the sweep over Elon at 1:00 p.m. at Plumeri Park