WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary Tribe baseball team will began the 2012 season this weekend as
it plays host to the Rhode Island Rams in a three game series. The series gets underway on Friday, Feb. 17,
with the first pitch from Plumeri Park slated for 4 p.m. The teams will then play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. Fans can follow all of the action online a
TribeAthletics.com with live stats and live audio available for all three games.
Pitching Matchups
Friday, Feb. 17 - 4PM
W&M - RHP Brett Koehler (0-0)
URI - LHP Chris Pickering (0-0)
Saturday, Feb. 18 (DH - Game 1) - Noon
W&M - LHP Matt Wainman (0-0)
URI - RHP Kevin Lee (0-0)
Sunday, Feb. 18 (DH - Game 2) - Approx. 3:30PM
W&M - LHP Jason Inghram (0-0)
URI - LHP Anthony Pisani (0-0)
Scouting the Tribe
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team enters the 2012
season poised to compete for a Colonial Athletic Association title. At times during the 2011 season the College
showed signs of its potential, and narrowly missed out on a CAA tournament bid. Entering the 2012 season, W&M was picked
to finish seventh in the CAA, in a poll conducted by the CAA coaches.
In 2012, the College returns a plethora of talent and
experience. Pitching looks to be one the
main strengths for the Green and Gold in 2012.
Junior right-hander Brett Koehler headlines a deep staff that posted a
team ERA of 4.43 last spring. The 2012
CAA All-Preseason selection moves into the starting rotation this year after
flourishing in a bullpen roll last season.
Junior Matt Wainman and freshman Jason Inghram round out the starting
Tribe rotation against the Rhode Island.
At the plate, W&M will be led by senior slugger Tadd
Bower, who in 2011 posted a team-high .314 batting average to go along with
five home runs and nine stolen bases.
Junior center fielder and tri-captain Ryan Brown looks to be viable at
the plate as well. As a sophomore, Brown
started all 55 games and finished the season with a .292 batting average. A versatile weapon on offense, Brown finished
last season with 15 stolen bases, 11 sacrificed bunts and an on base percentage
of .445.
Scouting the Rams
Under the direction of seventh year head coach Jeff Foster
the Rhode Island Rams come to Williamsburg to open the 2012 season. Last year, the Rams posted a record of 31-22
overall, and placed second in the Atlantic 10 with a league ledger of
16-8. For the 2012 campaign, Rhode
Island was picked to finish second again, in a preseason poll voted on by the
A-10 coaches.
This season, Rhode Island returns four players who garnered
All-A-10 accolades last spring. Leading
the group of all-conference returnees is senior Greg Annarummo, who in 2011
earned First- Team All-A-10 honors.
Annarummo finished last season with a batting average of .341 while tallying
59 hits and 34 RBI. Senior outfielder
Jeff Cammans adds to the Rhody production.
In 2011, Cammans was a Second-Team All-A-10 selection. In 2011, Camman's recorded 21 multiple-hit games,
and the finished the year with a .349 batting average, while driving in 30 runs
and stealing 22 bases.
On the mound, the Rams posted a team ERA of 4.11 last spring
and held its opponents to a batting average of .262. Senior southpaw Chris Pickering leads the URI
rotation. Pickering posted a 4-3 record
in 2011, starting nine games in 15 appearances.
Koehler Named
Preseason All-CAA
Prior to the 2012 season, junior hurler Brett Koehler was
tabbed to the Preseason All-CAA Team.
Koehler was one of just three pitchers named to the team. In 2011, Koehler earned Second-Team All-CAA
honors by posting an overall ERA of 2.73 and a CAA ERA of 1.25. Koehler moved to bullpen in the early part of
2011 and finished the season racking up eight saves, which was third most in
the league. Koehler enters the 2012
campaign as the Tribe's Friday starter.
Tommy Smith
Dedication
The Tommy Smith dedication ceremony scheduled for Sunday,
Feb. 19, has been postponed due to the threat of inclement weather. The dedication will still take place this
season at a date to be determined. When
that day comes, the William and Mary Tribe baseball team will honor the life
and contributions of the late Tommy Smith.
Smith was a life-long supporter of the Tribe baseball program, who
recently passed away in late 2011. At
the dedication, tri-captains Sean Aiken, Ryan Brown and Chris Forsten will
present a framed jersey bearing the No.1 and "Smith" on the back, to Smith's
wife, Mrs. Josie Smith.
A Taste of Omaha
After its three-game series with Rhode Island, the College's
next four contest will come against 2011 College World Series participants
Virginia and Florida. W&M will travel
to Charlottesville on Feb. 21 for a mid-week game against the Cavaliers. The following weekend, the College travels to
Florida for a three-game series against the Gators. Last season, Florida fell in the national championship
sereis to SEC foe South Carolina.
2012 CAA Predicted
Order of Finish
1. James Madison (5 first-place
votes)
2. UNCW (2 first-place
votes)
3. Old Dominion (2 first-place
votes)
4. Georgia State (2 first-place
votes)
5.
VCU
6. George
Mason
t7.
Delaware
t7. William and
Mary
9.
Towson
10.
Hofstra
11.
Northeastern
The Series: William
and Mary vs. Rhode Island
This weekend's series against Rhode Island will be the first
meeting between the two schools since the 2010 season. Overall, URI holds a
slim 3-2 advantage over W&M, but four of the five contests have been
decided by three runs or less. The
College's last victory over the Rams occurred during the 2010 campaign when
W&M defeated URI, 5-2. All of the
previous five meetings against Rhode Island have been played in Williamsburg.
