By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
William & Mary's baseball team began conference play by taking two of three games against Northeastern and UNC Wilmington. The Huskies won the CAA championship in 2021, and the Seahawks were runner-up. They were picked first and second coming into this season.

That might have set up a trap last weekend against Towson, which had lost six of its last seven games. Instead, W&M stayed with the plan and swept the Tigers back to Maryland.

"Those first two series made us say, 'If those are the two favorites, what does that mean for us?'" first-year coach Mike McRae said. "And it made us say, 'Now we have to go into a weekend thinking there are greater expectations.'

"It's kind of a double-edged coin. But fortunately, we responded very well this past weekend."

In the three-game sweep, William & Mary scored 33 runs on 41 hits to Towson's seven runs on 16 hits. Third baseman Cole Ragone went 7-for-14, outfielder/pitcher Jack Cone 6-for-10, and first baseman Tyler Solomon and designated hitter Mark Trotta 6-for-11.

The Tribe's pitchers allowed four earned runs in 27 innings. W&M never trailed in the three-game set at Plumeri Park.

At 7-2, W&M is off to its best conference start since 2014. The Tribe (16-12 overall) will travel to George Washington for a Tuesday afternoon game before a three-game weekend series at Charleston. The Cougars (19-12, 7-2) are tied for first place with W&M in the Colonial standings.

Pitching was a major issue for W&M last season with an ERA of 5.88, 5.46 in conference games. But with a different philosophy has come different results. In nine conference games, the Tribe leads the CAA in ERA (2.93) and opponent's batting average (.196).

Every game, McRae's strategy is for his starting pitcher to go no more than four or five innings. Only twice this season has a Tribe starter worked into the sixth. In last week's sweep of Towson, W&M used 11 different pitchers with none throwing more than 4 1/3 innings.

"It's not always the same guys in the same order," McRae said. "It's about giving different teams different looks and avoiding the third time through the order.

"It's also about trying to maximize innings for our best group of pitchers. We'll utilize them on mid-week games, and it shouldn't impact our weekend."

Take left-hander Zack Tsakounis. On March 22, a Tuesday, he pitched three innings as the starter in a win at Duke. That Saturday, he worked three innings of relief in a home win over UNC Wilmington.

In the abbreviated 2021 season, Tsakounis pitched 62 innings in 11 appearances, 10 of which were starts. This season, he's worked 33 2/3 innings in 10 games (six starts). His average start has a lasted 3 2/3 innings, but that's by design.

"I'm still trying to get six innings out of him in a week, but I'm trying to do it in a manner to make him more effective," McRae said. "When we presented it to him that way, he seemed to grasp it.

"He realized he'll still pitch every weekend. But he'll also have a chance to pitch on a Tuesday and put us in a position to win some ballgames."

The Tribe isn't winning solely on pitching. In conference games, W&M is first in batting average (.299) and on-base percentage (.406) and second in runs (66). Counting all games, the Tribe is third in hitting (.271) and runs (195).

Ragone is fifth in the CAA with a batting average of .360. McRae credits him with sticking to it after struggling in the preseason. Maybe the biggest surprise at the pate has been outfielder Joe Delossantos, who after hitting .133 last year has more than doubled his average to .272.

Almost halfway through the conference schedule, it's all coming together.

"I think it's a combination now of confidence and excitement," McRae said. "Hopefully it'll continue."