WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary baseball will open its 2024 season with a three-game series against Holy Cross at home on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 16-18 at Plumeri Park as Head Coach
Mike McRae and his staff of
Paul Panik,
Daniel Sweeney and Kevin Ketvertis enter their third seasons with the program.
The Tribe opens a 56-game slate, which will feature 32 opportunities to see the Tribe at Plumeri Park and 24 road contests. Nine of the Tribe's 2024 opponents appeared in the 2023 postseason, including Virginia, who made a Men's College World Series appearance ranked seventh nationally, and Duke, who advanced to Super Regionals.
Single-game tickets can be purchased at
TribeAthletics.com.
Clear Bag Policy
William & Mary Athletics, in conjunction with the William & Mary Police Department, has implemented a clear bag policy that regulates the size and type of bag that may be carried into W&M Athletics facilities during the 2023-24 year, including Busch Field, Kaplan Arena, Martin Family Stadium, Plumeri Park, and Zable Stadium. Information as well as approved and prohibited items is available at
TribeAthletics.com.
Preseason Recognition
A trio of Tribe pitchers received preseason recognition ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Nate Knowles and
Carter Lovasz have appeared on multiple preseason stories ahead of their junior years, the duo looks to continue to distinguish themselves among the nation's top arms following their tremendous 2023 seasons.
Lovasz was tabbed No. 33 on D1Baseball's Top 50 Relief Pitchers as well as named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. Knowles was also recognized by D1Baseball in preseason player rankings, coming in at No. 140 among the Top 150 Starting Pitchers. The duo was named to the Preseason All-CAA team.
Freshman right-hander
Hank Lippman was dubbed one of 20 CAA impact freshman by D1Baseball.
Season Outlook
William & Mary added 28 new faces ahead of 2024, bringing in a talented group of eight graduate transfers, six undergrad transfers and 14 freshmen.
With strength of schedule a power of the Tribe, four of the Tribe's 2024 opponents are consensus top 17 in preseason rankings (Duke, East Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia), reaching as high as No. 10 (Virginia, Baseball America/Perfect Game), with two others receiving votes (Campbell, UNCW).
William & Mary was picked seventh in the preseason CAA poll, in what has become one of the nation's premier baseball conferences. Last spring, the Coastal was the seventh-highest conference in the RPI, one spot below the Big Ten. More from
TRIBE SCRIBE: W&M Baseball to Rely on Pitching, Newcomers in Ever-Competitive CAA.
A Year in Review
With William & Mary baseball coming off a 32-win season, Head Coach
Mike McRae's third-year staff brought in a class of 28 newcomers, adding depth and experience to an already talented roster.
Following a dominant display of pitching a season ago, the Tribe's new arms to expand upon a staff which finished ninth in the nation with a 4.17 ERA in 2023. The staff limited opponents to three or fewer runs in 22 contests, surrendering only a single run in six of them and producing a shutout from Knowles and Lovasz.
Despite the storyline behind the 2023 campaign building on the mound, the Tribe offense contributed to some record wins, producing ten double-digit scores, and twice scoring over 30 runs in a single game.
The Tribe finished an even 15-15 in conference, winning seven conference weekend series, and securing a ranked midweek win over then-No. 15 Campbell to take down the Fighting Camels, 3-2. With the addition of Campbell to the conference, the Tribe will look to face them once more in the final week of the regular season, this time as CAA foe. More from
Tribe Baseball 2024 Position Preview.
25 Years of Home-Field Advantage
Last season, the Tribe posted a whopping 22-8 record at home, including a pair of wins to conclude its final home weekend. With 32 chances to watch the Green & Gold play at beautiful Plumeri Park, the Tribe looks to continue capitalizing on the home-field advantage to extend its winning streak at home.
The Tribe are set to open the season with six consecutive home weekends, featuring eight opponents, and a pair of home midweek contests in late February and early March.
Wednesday, March 20 marks exactly 25 years since the public dedication of the program's beloved home field. On that date in 1999, the Tribe defeated Penn State, 16-10, in its inaugural game at Plumeri Park. Although W&M will be on the road at Norfolk State on the dedication's 25
th anniversary, it hosts Quinnipiac and Stony Brook in the surrounding weekends.
Series Notes
Head Coach Ed Kahovec is entering his eighth year at the helm of the Holy Cross program as the Crusaders are coming off a 16-35 campaign and a 6-19 bid in the Patriot League.
The series stretches back at the first meeting in 1921, but the Tribe are set to face the Crusaders for the first time since 2016. In the most recent matchup against Holy Cross, the Green & Gold earned a victory to conclude a weekend sweep (8-5, 6-5, 12-11) at Plumeri Park.
Trailing in the all-time series 6-12, the Tribe hold a much closer tally in home games, posting a 5-8 record over 13 games. Over the previous six meetings, the Tribe have gone 5-1, dropping only a one-run game in 1997.
The Crusaders return three of their top hitters in sophomore Jack Toomey, Chris Baillargeon and Sean Scanlon.
Toomey, who slashed .312/.417/.547 in 2023 with a team-leading 26 extra base hits, including seven home runs, enters his sophomore year in the outfield. Scanlon, a junior two-way, started every game for Holy Cross and drew a whopping 38 walks, tied for the team lead, while hitting .297 and belting six home runs on top of his 18 doubles.
Scanlon also spearheaded the pitching staff, tying for second most in innings pitched (40.2) while making 15 starts for a 5.31 ERA. Sophomore righty Danny Macchiarola also returns to the staff after a 14-appearance (5-start) freshman campaign in which he led the team in innings pitched (45) while fanning 37.
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