WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary baseball (25-12, 8-4 CAA) returns to the road for another CAA weekend, heading down to Mt. Pleasant, S.C., to take on Charleston (25-20, 9-3 CAA) on Friday-Sunday, April 19-21.
The three-game series will kick off at 4 p.m. on Friday with the series opener in the teams' first meeting since the 2023 Championships.
Last Time Out
The Tribe fell in a 13-inning thriller against No. 9 East Carolina on Tuesday, dropping a one-run game to the top-10 team, 14-13.
In a game which truly took to the term "midweek madness," the Tribe extended a game into the 13
th inning for just the 20
th time in program history and the first time since 2019.
W&M led the Pirates for four innings before they managed to tie the game in the ninth. Having an answer ready each time the Pirates scratched across a run, the Tribe entered the 13
th tied 11-11. ECU posted three runs in the final inning and with only two to respond, the Tribe fell just short.
At the end of each inning, neither team held more than a one-run lead the entire contest. Seven scoring innings produced two Tribe leads, two Pirates leads, and three tie ballgames, while only one inning featured one team scoring without the other – a lone Tribe run in the third frame.
Receiving Votes
After seven weeks of play, the Tribe is receiving votes in NCBWA's Top 25 Poll, marking the team's third mention of the year.
W&M has earned three back-to-back CAA series wins and the highest-ranked victory in W&M history at No. 6 Duke after playing its first games as a team receiving votes in a national poll in program history earlier in the season.
National Numbers
Nate Knowles currently leads not only the Tribe's pitching staff but is among the best arms in the nation in multiple statistics. His 1.52 ERA ranks fourth in the country and his 4.94 hits allowed per nine innings sits at eighth.
Nate Goranson's 1.13 walks per game is also a top-10 mark in the nation, contributing greatly to the team's No. 4 mark in walks, combining for 248.
Zack Potts (0.91), Knowles (0.95) and
Mark Hindy (1.03) take the top three spots in the CAA in WHIP, respectively. All three are top-45 marks in the nation, with Potts leading the group at No. 15 overall.
Pitcher of the Week(s)
Knowles, Friday's projected starter, is the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Week as he earned his second conference recognition in three weeks, following W&M's 3-1 week.
He made two impressive starts, going 4.0 innings at No. 6 Duke and allowing only one run and a pair of hits, before building on that performance with 4.0 no-hit innings in the CAA series-clinching victory against NC A&T.
Streak Watch
Outfielder
Joe Delossantos has produced the longest on-base streak on the Tribe, reaching in all 36 of his appearances, and on Tuesday tied
Ben Parker's team-high hitting streak of the season with a 13-game streak heading into the weekend contest. Catcher
Witt Scafidi also has a double-digit on-base streak, tallying 11 in a row.
Lucas Carmichael and
Henry Jackson have each recorded hits in their last six games, Jackson's extending his season-long streak.
Milestone Meter
Delossantos moved into sixth all-time in W&M history in stolen bases with 52. He trails Rich Schwartzman's fifth-place mark by just one. Smashing his 27
th home run of his career on Sunday, the fifth year took sole possession of No. 10 all-time in program history.
Hit by a pair of pitches against No. 9 East Carolina Tuesday, Carmichael tied for eighth all-time in career HBPs with 28.
Carter Lovasz earned his third save of the year to move into second in W&M history with 15 career saves. The righty sits just three saves behind the program-record 18, a career mark achieved by Joseph Gaouette in 2013-16.
Goranson has thrown out 12 runners in 2024, tying for 7
th in program history in the category with 28.
With 10 strikeouts last week, Knowles brought his season tally to 68, just two shy of his career-best 70 from 2023 in 18.1 fewer innings of work.
The Series
One of the Tribe's newer opponents, but consistent over the last decade, W&M faced Charleston for the first time in the 2014 season. Since then, the teams have played 38 games, in which the Tribe trails 12-26.
In the previous regular season meeting, the Tribe posted a lopsided 12-3 victory over the Cougars at home on March 12, 2023. Last season's CAA Championships featured the most recent meeting between the teams, a 2-1 decision which ended the Tribe's 2023 campaign. In the game,
Corey Adams went 3-4 with an RBI to lead the Tribe's offense.
Historically, the Cougars have held steadfast at home, leading the Tribe 14-4 in the all-time series played in Charleston, S.C. This year, Charleston has posted an 18-8 record at home so far, winning their last five at the CofC Baseball Stadium.
On the season, the Cougars are 25-10 and sit just a game ahead of the Tribe in the CAA standings, tied with Northeastern for second in the league with a 9-3 record.
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