WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After six weekends at home to start its 2024 campaign, William & Mary baseball will kick off a four-game road slate with an away midweek game at VCU.
The first of two meetings in as many weeks between the teams, the Tribe will head to Richmond for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday, March 26. W&M will then host VCU in its return home for the second game next Tuesday, April 2, at Plumeri Park.
Last Time Out
The Tribe opened conference play over the weekend, picking up a series victory over Stony Brook with a dominant showing in the first two games.
Nate Knowles,
Mark Hindy,
Carter Lovasz,
Zack Potts and
Owen Pierce combined to allow two runs, only one of which was earned, in both games of the conference-opening doubleheader Friday, while holding the Seawolves to six hits and four walks. The staff recorded 18-strikeouts on the day.
Knowles, Hindy and Lovasz threw the Tribe's third combined two-hitter of the season without allowing an earned run in the first contest, taking down the Seawolves 6-1.
Pierce closed the second game with three perfect innings, following a team-high 6.0 innings of work from Potts.
Earning wins on Friday, Hindy and Potts each notched their fourth of the season and Pierce recorded his fourth save.
Josiah Seguin, now back-to-back CAA Rookie of the Week, went 3-3 with a run in the second game, leading the Tribe on the day.
Luca Trigiani,
Kevin Francella and
Witt Scafidi also picked up multi-hit games.
W&M fell in the final game of the weekend, 12-3, ending their win streak at seven games.
Rookie of the Week(s)
Josiah Seguin earned his second-straight CAA Rookie of the Week title on Monday, March 25.
After knocking down his first career hit eight games ago, Seguin has posted a team-leading .429 average at the plate. In eight games, Seguin has paced the Tribe with 12 hits, five extra-base hits, three home runs, 23 total bases and three HBP.
In W&M's 3-1 week, Seguin followed his impressive performance from a week earlier with an equally remarkable effort, slashing .500/.625/.833 and leading the team with six hits, six runs and five RBI. His home run, two HBP and 10 total bases tied for the most on the Tribe during the week. He also added his second double of the year.
In his first glimpse of CAA action, the freshman hit .500 (4-8) with a walk and a pair of HBPs to find his way on base 63.6% of the time, a team-high mark. He struck out only once in 11 plate appearances on the weekend.
League Leading
Through the first week of conference play, W&M leads the CAA in seven statistics and sits at second in the league seven more. Among those, eight are ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA, reaching as high as second in the nation.
Most notably on the national scale, the Tribe's 176 walks trail the national leader by only 11. W&M also falls in the top 10 nationally and leads the league with a .443 on base percentage. The Green & Gold's 52 HBP are No. 12 in the nation and 15 sacrifice flies are a top-24 mark, both of which lead the CAA.
Another top-22 mark is hits allowed per nine innings, posting a 7.80 mark through 25 games, which is first in the CAA. The team's 4.03 ERA is No. 24 in the nation, while their 2.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio leads the conference.
About The Rams
Head Coach
Mike McRae arrived to W&M by the way of VCU, working as a pitching coach for the Rams in 2018-2021.
Since taking over as head coach of the Tribe, McRae's squad has won two of the three meeting between the teams, currently on a two-game winning streak in a series which has been largely dominated by the Rams since 2010.
VCU has posted a 16-8 record on the season so far, with 10 of those wins and just two losses coming in their home ballpark.
The Rams are coming off only their second series loss of the season, falling in a pair of games at Xavier, but taking the final game of the series. The only other losing weekend was to No. 13 NC State on the road in the season opener.
In common opponents, the Rams posted a 16-6, eight-inning victory over Longwood on Feb. 20, before they fell, 0-4, in the next meeting on March 12. Tribe took down the Lancers the following day in seven innings, 20-6. VCU swept the Central Virginia Classic weekend, earning wins over Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut State and Boston College, outscoring the trio 26-3 on the weekend.
The Series
The Tribe trails in the all-time series 55-63-1, first meeting the Rams on March 30, 1907.
In the last 10 meetings, the Tribe are 4-6, with the two most recent wins snapping a five-game streak of VCU victories.
50 meetings between the teams have been as conference opponents, as VCU played in the CAA before transitioning to the Atlantic 10 in 2012. In those matchups, the Tribe has taken 20.
Playing every year since 2016, apart from the shortened 2020 season, the Tribe and Rams are quite familiar opponents.
Up Next
The Tribe will continue their road trip for the first away weekend of 2024 at Delaware on Friday-Sunday, March 29-31, in the second CAA matchup of the year.
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