WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary baseball (26-19, 9-9 CAA) will return to Coastal Athletic Conference action in Elon, N.C., over the weekend at Elon (17-26, 6-12 CAA).
The three-game series had a late schedule adjustment to account for forecasted weather in the area, moving Saturday's contest up for a Friday doubleheader to kick off the series. Game one will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 3, and game two will follow immediately after.
The series is still set to conclude at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.
Last Time Out
The Tribe fell to No. 7 North Carolina on the road to begin the week, dropping a 19-2 decision at Boshamer Stadium. Errors got the best of the Tribe, allowing 11 unearned runs to carry the game out of reach of the visitors.
Hoping to break out of its rough patch, the Tribe look to snap its second two-game skid and return to the winning ways which characterized the early conference weekends. In a season which has seen both an eight- and seven-game win streak for just the second time in program history, the Tribe hopes to turn the streak back in its favor.
Doubled Up
The Tribe have played a pair of doubleheaders to open series this year, sweeping both of them against Fordham in early March and Stony Brook to open CAA play.
Over the four games, the Tribe have allowed one or fewer runs in three games, earning 6-1 and 3-1 wins to take down Stony Brook and opening the Fordham series with a 5-0 victory.
National Numbers
Zack Potts (2.06) and
Nate Knowles (2.08) lead the CAA in ERA, each allowing just 13 earned runs in over 56 innings of work. The pair rank 12
th and 13
th in the nation in the statistic, respectively. Hindy's 2.87 ERA also sits atop the conference, trailing only his pair of teammates.
Also ranking nationally, Knowles' impressive 5.27 hits per nine innings is the sixth-best mark in NCAA Division I while his 13.26 strikeouts per nine innings is No. 19.
The team's 281 walks are the seventh best in the country.
Ben Parker leads the statistic on the team with 40 drawn individually, trailing the CAA leader by just one walk.
As a team, the Tribe rank in the top 35 in the nation with 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings (No. 21), 87 HBP (No. 25), 2.49 strikeout-to-walk ratio (No. 31), 8.31 hits per nine innings (No. 33), 4.40 ERA (No. 34) and 1.38 WHIP (No. 35).
Program Leaderboards
The Tribe is continuing to climb the all-time leaderboards, coming up on multiple program-record numbers.
Last season, W&M set program records in single-season walks (299) and HBPs (114). So far in 2024, the Tribe have combined for 281 walks, trailing the program record by just 18 for the second-most in W&M history. With 87 HBPs, the Tribe sit at fifth-most in a season.
The Tribe's pitching staff combined to fan eight Tar Heels in their midweek for the fourth-highest season total strikeouts of 453. The 2024 staff trails the program-record mark of 475 in 2004 by just 22.
Also notable, the offense has combined for 49 home runs, a mark which has only been achieved eight other times in program history, and most recently in 2014 (55).
Milestone Meter
Ben Parker has drawn a team-high 40 walks on the year, adding one against No. 7 North Carolina. The outfielder's mark has only been surpassed six times in program history, as he sits tied with Willie Shaw '13 and 2024 MLB Draft pick
Ben Williamson. The single-season record was set by Brian Rodgers' 54 walks in 1999.
Carter Lovasz earned his fourth save of the year for his 16
th career save. The righty continues to climb toward the program-record 18, a career mark achieved by Joseph Gaouette in 2013-16.
With a career-high nine strikeouts last weekend against UNCW, Knowles raised his single-season-best mark to 83 on the season, continuing to add onto the most since Nick Raquet's 95 in 2017. Knowles is just three punchouts from entering the single-season leaderboard at No. 16, currently held by Whitt Farr's 86 in 2000.
A Dozen Bases
Lucas Carmichael extended his on-base streak to 12 games against No. 7 North Carolina, drawing a walk, leading the Tribe. He eclipsed his previous season-high streak of 11 games and looks to extend it as the Tribe enter the weekend at Elon.
Half-a-dozen bases also marks a team-high streak as
Ben Parker has reached base by a hit in each of the last six games. The centerfielder batted in the pair of Tribe runs at North Carolina Tuesday, extending his streak in the seventh inning.
The Series
The Tribe has won the three most recent weekend series over the Phoenix, twice by a sweep, going 8-1 in the previous regular season meetings against Elon. 2022 saw the Tribe sweep the weekend in their last three-game series in Elon, N.C.
All time, the Tribe trail 24-19 in a series which has grown closer over the past few years. In the last 10 meetings, the Tribe have taken seven. The 11
th most recent game was the first of a doubleheader sweep in 2021.
In conference play, W&M has a 15-13 lead over Elon.
Up Next
The Tribe will return home to Plumeri Park for the final home series of the year against CAA foe Towson on Friday-Sunday, May 10-12.
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