WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary baseball (25-15, 8-7 CAA) is set to host its first ranked weekend opponent of 2024 in CAA foe UNCW (26-15, 12-3 CAA), named No. 24 in the country by Perfect Game.
The Tribe Sports Network will air on FloBaseball for all CAA home games. The Tribe's complete FloBaseball schedule is available
here. Coverage begins approximately 10 minutes prior to scheduled first pitch with insights from Head Coach
Mike McRae and his staff.
Single-game tickets can be purchased at
TribeAthletics.com.
On Sundays, following W&M games at Plumeri Park, kids can run the bases! To sign up your child to run the bases,
click here.
Last Time Out
The Tribe was bested in a midweek matchup against VMI on Tuesday, falling 14-5.
With a pair of home runs off the bats of
Joe Delossantos and
Luca Trigiani, the Tribe brought its season total to 47, tying 2022's mark for 10th-most in a single season in program history.
The offense's three walks, drawn by
Ben Parker,
Henry Jackson and
Trey Christman, overtook the 262 walks from 2016 for fourth-most in a single season in program history with a total of 263.
Midseason Recognition
Sophomore reliever
Owen Pierce was one of 59 NCAA DI pitchers named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year midseason watch list.
The righty has had an impressive sophomore campaign, leading the team with five saves. He touts a 2.76 ERA, allowing just nine earned runs over 29.1 innings of work. Pierce has struck out 31 while giving up 24 hits. In his 13 appearances, he has posted nine scoreless outings, three of them without allowing a hit.
Walk It Out
Centerfielder
Ben Parker drew his 37th walk of the year, leading the Tribe and jumping onto the single-season leaderboard, tying five Tribe players at No. 13. The mark was met most recently by current teammate
Lucas Carmichael (45) and Tribe baseball alum and 2023 MLB Draft pick
Ben Williamson (40) in 2023 but hadn't been achieved since 2016 before that.
Seeing Double (Digits)
Parker and fellow outfielder Delossantos have each belted 10 home runs on the year, leading the Tribe. Delossantos' 10
th eclipsed his career high mark of 9 in 2022, while Parker's single-season best was 15 in 2023 as a senior at Whitman College, a mark which ranked No. 15 in NCAA DIII.
The pair quickly approaches the single-season leaderboard, as only 19 players in W&M history have hit 12 or more home runs in a single season, most recently accomplished a season ago by Williamson (12).
1-2-3
Starters
Nate Knowles and
Zack Potts and reliever
Mark Hindy rank in the top three spots in the CAA in ERA. Knowles, Friday's projected starter, has a 1.93 ERA which ranks No. 11 in the country and he touts a perfect 6-0 record. Potts, expected to get the nod on Saturday for the Tribe, also has a top-20 ERA as hit 2.17 ranks 18
th in the country. Hindy's 2.72 ERA is third in the conference, which has been achieved in 43.0 innings of work while fanning 52 batters.
Strike 'Em Out
With 6 strikeouts at Charleston last weekend, Knowles eclipsed his career-high mark of 70 in 2023, raising his tally to 74 on the season. His 70 led the team a season ago, which was the most since Nick Raquet's in 2017. Besting his career numbers from his sophomore campaign, Knowles is just 12 punchouts from entering the single-season leaderboard at 16, currently held by Whitt Farr's 86 in 2000.
Outstanding Outfield
A trio of outfielders lead the Tribe's offense by average in Parker, Delossantos and grad student
Henry Jackson. All three hitting above .300, Parker's .344 batting average is a team high and ranks ninth in the CAA.
In W&M's most recent home weekend, all three outfielders belted home runs to propel the team to a series-clinching victory over NC A&T.
The Series
In the all-time series, the Tribe trails 37-88.
Since 2021, the host team has taken the series win in every meeting. A year ago, the Seahawks swept a three-game series in Wilmington, N.C., while W&M took the lone series in 2022 at Plumeri Park. Splitting the year, each team took a 2-1 series win at home in the pair of 2021 weekend matchups.
The teams have been playing as CAA opponents since the league's first season in baseball in 1986, but the series stretches back to the first game played in Wilmington in March of 1982.
In the Tribe's most recent win against the Seahawks, a six-run rally in the eighth inning allowed a Jack Cone solo home run to secure a series victory by the walk-off.
Up Next
The Tribe will return to the road for its third ranked ACC midweek of the season on Tuesday, May 1, at No. 12 North Carolina. Heading to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the first time since the teams' previous matchup in 2016.
Follow the Tribe
Follow William & Mary baseball on Twitter/X
(@WMTribeBaseball), Instagram
(@WMTribeBaseball) and Facebook
(/WMTribeBaseball) for more information, gameday updates and Tribe baseball content.
