NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The William & Mary baseball team fell in its California finale 11-7 at Cal State Northridge on Saturday afternoon in California. With the loss the Tribe falls to 6-10 while the Matadors improve to 12-3.
Offensively, junior Charley Gould and freshman Hunter Smith led the Tribe with two hits apiece. Sophomore Ryan Hall led the team with three RBI, while Gould was also credited with a run batted in.
W&M manufactured a run in the top of the first inning. Junior Charles Ameer, who was leading off for the first time this season, led off the game with a double, moving to third on a groundout. A wild pitch with two outs gave the Tribe an early 1-0 lead.
Cal State Northridge responded with six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Fred Smith led off the inning with a single, moving to second on an error that allowed Yuske Akitoshi to reach. Three consecutive hits allowed for the first four runs of the inning. Back-to-back groundouts gave the Matadors a 6-1 lead after one.
CSUN added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Justin Toerner led off the inning with a walk, moving to second on a single from Nolan Bumstead. A single from Michael Russo drove home the first run, before Elias Orona had a sacrifice fly that made the score 8-1.
W&M came storming back and scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning, cutting the deficit to a run. Freshman Jason Waldman led off the inning with a single, moving up 90 feet when senior Josh Smith was hit by a pitch. An error allowed for Waldman to score on what could have been a double play ball. The second Matador error of the inning allowed for the Tribe’s second run to score. A double from Hall cleared the bases. After an out, junior Ryan Miconi tripled cutting the score to 8-7.
The Matadors plated a two-out run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Toerner started the rally with a double. He came around to score on a single by Bumstead, which made the score 9-7.
CSUN added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Orona led off the inning with double, moving to second on a single from Smith. Akitoshi followed with a sac fly, before the bases were loaded and a walk to Toener made the score 11-7.
Junior Daniel Powers was saddled with his third loss of the season. He pitched one inning allowing six runs (four earned) on four hits.
Andrew Weston earned the win for the Matadors pitching an inning 1.2 allowing two hits with one strikeout. Fred Smith led the Matadors with four hits, while Toerner and Bumstead each had three.
The Green and Gold returns to Williamsburg for a mid-week game on Tuesday against Norfolk State. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. W&M then hits the road for a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at Elon starting on Friday.
