WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - After
multiple suspensions of play due to weather, the William and Mary baseball team
defeated Old Dominion Saturday afternoon, 3-2, at Plumeri Park. The Tribe scored two runs in the opening
frame and added another in the bottom half of the fifth as it held off the
visiting Monarchs. With the win, the
College improves its record to 28-17 for the year and 11-11 in CAA action, while
ODU falls to 16-28 on the season and 6-16 in league play.
Junior RHP Brett Koehler (6-1) pitched 6.2 innings, surrendering
just one earned run and six hits, while striking out six. Junior reliever RHP John Farrell notched save
number eight for the season, as the Andover, Mass., native saw 2.1 innings of
work, limiting ODU to just one run on three hits. Old Dominion's Connor Overton (0-3) saw four
innings of action in the loss.
At the plate, freshman first baseman Michael Katz went
2-for-2 with an RBI to lead W&M.
Sophomore third baseman Ryan Lindemuth finished the affair going 1-for-3
with a run batted in, while junior second baseman Kevin Nutter tallied two runs
scored and a hit. Rounding out the
effort was senior left fielder Tadd Bower, who was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Old Dominion got on the scoreboard first with a run in the
opening frame. Senior shortstop Josh
Wright led off the frame with a double off the left field wall and later scored
on a sacrifice fly from senior right fielder Chris Baker.
W&M responded in the bottom half as it plated a pair of
runs to take a 2-1 lead. Nutter got
things going with a leadoff single to left field. After the Monarch's recorded the frame's
first out, Bower reached base after being hit by a Tomchick pitch. With one out and runners on first and second,
Lindemuth plated Nutter after he laced a single off of second base that
ricocheted into center field. Katz then
pushed across Bower with a single to center field for the Tribe's second run of
the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, W&M extended its lead to 3-1
after scoring a run in the frame. With
one out, Nutter drew a base-on-balls and later advanced to second after a balk
was called on the ODU pitcher. After
advancing to third on a Brown groundout to first base, Nutter put the College
ahead, 3-1, after scoring on a Monarch's wild pitch.
When play resumed Saturday afternoon, ODU plated a run in
the eighth as it trimmed the W&M lead down a run. Junior first baseman Austin McGowan drove in
freshman left fielder Josh Eldridge with a single to right field, making the
score 3-2, still in favor of W&M.
In the top of the ninth, Farrell retired the first Monarch
with a strikeout. With one out, junior
pinch hitter Shawn Sizemore reached base after a W&M fielding error. With the tying runner on first and the go
ahead runner at the plate, Farrell induced the next ODU batter into a
game-ending 6-3 double play, preserving W&M's 28th win of the season.
Tribe baseball returns to action later this afternoon as it
continues its three-game set with Old Dominion.
Game-two which was originally scheduled to get underway 30 minutes after
the conclusion of game-one is currently in a rain-delay. When game-two gets underway fans can follow
the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live audio and stats.
