William & Mary Athletics

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Louie Bartletti hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning but it was not enough as Elon rallied late to defeat William & Mary 7-5 on Sunday afternoon at Plumeri Park. 

Owen Pierce got the start for the Tribe (20-25, 11-13 CAA) and worked a pair of scoreless innings. He pitched effectively with traffic on the basepaths, stranding three runners and striking out two.

W&M scored the game's first runs in the bottom of the second when Kevin Francella blooped an RBI single to left field that scored Bartletti, with Witt Scafidi also crossing the plate on a throwing error for a 2-0 lead.

Zach Boyd took the ball in the third and put up zeroes in his first two innings. Elon (19-27, 10-17) took the lead with three runs in the fifth, capped off by a two-run homer from Jared Hall.

W&M quickly answered with an RBI groundout by Jamie Laskofski in the home half of fifth that tied the game at 3-3.

In the sixth, Bartletti gave the Tribe the lead back with a solo home run to right field.

The seventh inning was costly for the Tribe, however, as the Phoenix rallied for four runs on two hits to take a 7-4 lead.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of Laskofski in the seventh cut into the deficit, but the Green & Gold could get no closer. Elon's Michael Staiano locked down the save, going 2 ⅓ innings of shutout ball.

Cole Hansen was the winning pitcher for the Phoenix. W&M's Tom Bourque took the loss.

STAT NUGGETS

• Charlie Seneker pitched 3.0 innings in relief, scattering three hits and striking out two.
• Francella went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
• Bartletti and Scafidi both went 2-for-4.

UP NEXT
W&M hosts George Mason on Tuesday at 6 p.m at Plumeri Park.