By Dave Johnson

W&M Athletics

In the preview on William & Mary's baseball team posted on this site eight weeks ago, Lucas Carmichael wasn't mentioned until the 15th paragraph. And that was only to say he was "among the candidates" to start at a corner outfield spot.

Thirty-four games into the season, Carmichael's name is at the top of the batting order and second on the team in batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.529) and OPS (.998). He sets the table and makes it harder for pitchers to work around hit machines Ben Williamson and Joe Delossantos.

"It's what I did in high school, and once I got put in that (lead-off) spot, it came back to me," said Carmichael, a sophomore left fielder. "I have the best hitters in the nation right behind me, so it makes the job easier when all you have to do is get on and those guys will drive you through.

"The coaching staff has been really good in keeping on me and making sure I'm held to a certain standard. It's the same standard that everyone else is held to, and they've been really good in coaching me up."

Tribe coach Mike McRae considers Carmichael "a pleasant surprise," but not because he's showing skills no one knew he had.

"We've always known that Lucas had potential," McRae said. "He just hasn't always put it together. We saw flashes, and then he'd give away a couple of at-bats. But he got an opportunity early in the year — he earned an opportunity early in the year — and he's been outstanding for us.

"We put a tremendous value on OPS, and he's obviously pretty high in that category. That's why he's sitting at the top of the order. And when the lineup gets flipped over, and there are guys on base from the bottom of it, Lucas has done a pretty good job of driving them in."
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Although he has the 12th-best batting average in the CAA, hitting isn't Carmichael's only way to reach base. He leads the conference in walks (28) and hit by pitches (14). That's 42 trots to first without moving his bat. Carmichael has reached base at least once in 33 of the Tribe's 34 games.[[

"We're reaping the benefits of that," McRae said.

Carmichael was born in Germany, where his father, Leon, was stationed in the military. Leon met his wife, Susanne, there. She taught her son the language, and today Lucas is fluent in both German and English.

Carmichael played high school ball just outside of Richmond at Matoaca, but it was a constantly interrupted career. He missed his freshman season after undergoing shoulder surgery. His junior season was canceled after the COVID outbreak.

Carmichael also has dealt with Tommy John surgery, the removal a muscular hernia in his hamstring, and hamate bone surgery.

In his freshman season at William & Mary, Carmichael had only 29 at bats. This season, to state the obvious, has been different.

"Honestly, I think a lot of it for me was getting healthy," he said. "I'm finally to the point where I can work, go about my year and build up some steam getting into the season.

"This season was kind of like do-or-die time for me. But once I started playing and it all came back to me, I felt alive again. I wasn't in pain anymore, which helped a lot. I feel like a baseball player again."

He is certainly playing like one. In his last four games, Carmichael is 8-for-14 with seven runs. His on-base percentage in that span is a positively absurd .727.

Next for the Tribe is a three-game homestand against first-place Elon (22-10, 11-3), which is No. 30 in the NCAA's latest RPI. The Phoenix is 12th nationally with a team ERA of 3.54 (W&M is 16th at 3.69) and fifth in fewest walks allowed (2.75 per nine innings).

The games are Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Plumeri Park. W&M (22-12, 7-5) stands in fifth place, but a productive weekend would improve that.

"Every single game matters at the end of the day, but this (series) is special because it's a good team and a good test for us," Carmichael said. "We're in a good position to go out and put on a good show for them and I think it's going to be a great weekend."