The William & Mary baseball team manufactured six runs across the first three innings en route to claiming a 10-4 triumph over Big Ten foe Maryland on Wednesday afternoon. The Tribe (1-4) had seven of its nine starters contribute at least one hit, while the pitching staff restricted the Terrapins (2-2) to four in total.
After both teams exchanged a run in the first inning, the Green and Gold built a five-run cushion in the next two frames.
W&M took advantage of a fielding error with a pair of unearned runs in the second inning, before adding on three more in the third. Junior Hunter Smith crushed an RBI triple to center field and was soon platted on a Jason Waldman groundout. Junior Zach Pearson then launched a solo shot to left field to make a 6-1 affair.
The Tribe added plenty of insurance down the stretch with back-to-back two-run frames in the sixth and seventh. W&M juiced the bases with two outs and another Maryland error granted the Tribe two runs. Senior Ryan Hall provided more two-out runs for the Green and Gold behind a single to left field, before he was picked off.
Senior Michael Toner retired the Terrapins in order in the eighth, and sophomore Wade Strain left a runner on second after reaching on an error in the ninth.
Tribe Standouts
A quartet of Tribe players generated multiple hit performances on the afternoon. Senior Craig McLane (3-for-4) and Smith (3-for-5) had three hits apiece. McLane also doubled and Smith posted three RBI. Both Hall and sophomore Patrick Ryan finished 2-for-4 at the dish. Hall doubled and platted three runs as well.
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe scored half of its runs (five) with two-outs.
- Senior Michael Toner paced the W&M arms with four strikeouts in his two innings of work.
- The Green and Gold surrendered only one run and one hit in the last five innings. Each team had two batters reach on an error.
- As a team, W&M boasted a .361 batting average (13-for-36), while UM finished hitting .127 (4-for-33). The Tribe also hit .364 (4-for-11) with two outs.
- The Tribe started almost each inning strong after going 5-for-8 in lead off.
- Andrew Burnick (1-0) was credited with the win as he pitched two scoreless frames and fanned two batters.
- Elloit Zoellner received the loss after giving up three runs (one earned) and two hits.
Notes
Pearson’s home run was the second of his career…Smith recorded the first triple of the season for the Tribe and his second at W&M…The Tribe is now 1-1 at Plumeri Park…W&M closed its all-time series deficit against Maryland to 18-11-1…Junior Nick Butts earned his first career start on the hill…McLane’s three hits represent a career-best…Ryan and Pearson stretched their hitting streak to four in a row…As a team, the Tribe recorded season-highs in both hits and runs.
