WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William and Mary baseball team enters the 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament as the No. 2 seed as it is set to open play on Thursday, May 23, at 6:00 p.m. against the winner Wednesday's contest between No. 3 seed Delaware and No. 6 seed James Madison. The 2013 CAA Tournament will be held at Veterans Memorial Park on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.
Media Coverage
Fans can listen to the Tribe's opening game on Thursday, at 5:00 p.m., on their local radio dial on the Tide 92.3 FM with Jay Colley and Wes Kempton on the call. For the remainder of the Tournament, fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live audio and stats. Additionally, fans can watch the action free of charge on CAA.TV. To create a free login to view the Tournament action click here.
Scouting the Tribe
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jamie Pinzino, who was selected as the CAA Co-Coach of the Year, the William and Mary baseball team enters the CAA Tournament with an overall record of 35-20. The Green and Gold earned the tournament's No. 2 seed after posting a league ledger of 17-10, which included a 10-2 mark in conference action at Plumeri Park. The Tribe's 35 wins are the third highest single season total in school history, while its 17 CAA wins are a school record.
At the plate, Michael Katz leads the way with an average of .367, which has included 41 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .539 and 20 doubles. The Falls Church, Va., native has connected on 66 hits to go along with 38 runs scored and three home runs. Junior second baseman Ryan Lindemuth is batting .341 with 35 runs batted in to go along with a team-high 75 hits and 50 runs scored. Senior center fielder Ryan Brown owns an average of .325, which has included 26 RBIs, 56 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. As team, W&M is batting .287 with 320 runs scored, 285 RBIs and 46 stolen bases.
On the mound, W&M is led by senior RHP John Farrell (10-2) who has amassed an ERA of 2.42 in 100.1 innings of work. The Andover, Mass., native became the first W&M pitcher to post 10 wins in a season since Rosy Waugh accomplished the feat during the 1938 campaign. Sophomore LHP Jason Inghram (8-5) owns an ERA of 2.53 and has fanned 94 batters in 92.2 innings of action this spring. In conference play, the Chesapeake, Va., native owns a record of 6-3 and an ERA of 1.89 as he has recorded 68 strikeouts in 62.0 innings of work. Senior RHP Brett Koehler (6-4) has compiled an ERA of 4.12 in 89.2 innings of work this season. As a unit, W&M leads the CAA with a team ERA of 3.60.
The Tournament Field
This season, the Green and Gold posted a mark of 10-5 against the participating tournament teams. Of the Tribe's 10 wins against the tournament field, seven have come on the road. Below are brief recaps of each series:
No. 1 seed UNCW Seahawks (37-19, 18-8)
W&M at UNCW (May 9-11) – UNCW took two-of-three from the Tribe at Brooks field as it won the rubber match, 11-4. After the Seahawks won the opening game, 7-2, the Tribe rebounded nicely with a 5-1 victory in game two. Senior RHP Brett Koehler earned the win after allowing just one run in seven innings of work. For the series, junior second baseman Ryan Lindemuth led the way with an average of .364, which included three RBIs and a home run.
No. 3 seed Delaware Blue Hens (33-20, 15-12)
W&M at Delaware (March 15-17) – The Green and Gold opened conference play on the road at Delaware and fell in game one to one of the nation's best hitting teams, 20-3. However, W&M responded by winning the next two games en route to taking the series. After allowing 20 runs to cross home plate in the series opener, the Tribe's pitching staff held the Blue Hens to just two runs and an average of .167 over the next two games. For the series, senior Jackson Shaver led the way with three RBIs, while junior third baseman Willie Shaw owned an average of .500.
No. 4 seed Towson Tigers (25-28, 14-13)
W&M at Towson (April 5-7) – Towson opened the series against W&M with an impressive 12-4 victory. However, as it had done all season long, the Green and Gold bounced back the following day with a 5-2 triumph over the Tigers. In Saturday's game two, junior second baseman Ryan Lindemuth led the way with a 3-for-4 effort, which included two RBIs and three runs scored. Senior RHP John Farrell improved his record to 7-0 after holding Towson to no runs on three hits in seven innings of work. Senior LHP Matt Wainman picked up his first save of the year after two innings of relief work. Towson prevailed for the series win with a 13-8 win in the finale.
No. 5 seed Northeastern Huskies (28-24, 12-15)
W&M at Northeastern (March 22-24) – The Green and Gold posted the sweep at Northeastern as it defeated the Huskies 1-0 on three consecutive days. In addition, each W&M starting pitcher went the distance in each contest as the Tribe finished the three-game set with three separate complete-game shutouts. In game one, senior RHP Brett Koehler allowed only six hits as he finished the contest with five strikeouts. W&M captured the series the following day as senior RHP John Farrell held NU scoreless after scattering just four hits to go along with seven strikeouts. In the series sweep, sophomore LHP Jason Inghram fanned nine batters and surrendered four hits as W&M posted its third complete game shutout, as in many days, by the count of 1-0.
No. 6 seed James Madison Dukes (24-28, 11-15)
W&M vs. James Madison (April 12-14) – For the second consecutive season, the William and Mary baseball team swept instate rival and CAA counterpart James Madison. Over the course of the three-game set at Plumeri Park, the Green and Gold outscored the Dukes by a combined total of 22-15. The Tribe, who batted .263 for the weekend, connected on 25 hits, which accounted for 20 RBIs. W&M was a perfect 4-of-4 in stolen base attempts as it finished the set with an on-base percentage of .397. On the mound, the Green and Gold surrendered just eight earned runs as it held one of the nation's top scoring teams to just 15 runs over the course of the series.
News and Notes:
- In 18 CAA Tournament appearances, the Green and Gold has compiled a record of 14-35. In 2001, the Tribe captured its one and only tournament title as it defeated James Madison, 6-5, in the championship game at Coy Tillett Sr. Memorial Field in Manteo, N.C. W&M's last appearance in the tournament came during the 2008 season.
- After posting its third highest single-season win total in school history and a school record 17 conference wins, six members of the William and Mary baseball team earned Colonial Athletic Association all-league distinctions on Tuesday night from the league's annual awards banquet. Senior RHP John Farrell earned first-team honors, while junior second baseman Ryan Lindemuth and senior LHP Matt Wainman took home second-team accolades. Sophomore first baseman Michael Katz and classmate LHP Jason Inghram were third-team recipients, while freshman catcher Ryan Hissey was tabbed to the all-rookie squad. Additionally, W&M head coach Jamie Pinzino was honored as the CAA Co-Coach of the Year.
- Sophomore LHP Jason Inghram and freshman catcher Ryan Hissey earned CAA weekly awards on Monday afternoon. For the third time this season, Inghram was named the pitcher of the week after going seven strong innings in the series finale against Georgia State in which he held the Panthers to one hit to go along with 10 strikeouts. Hissey garnered rookie of the week distinctions for the fourth time this year, after batting .538 in the GSU series, which included four RBIs, a slugging percentage of .615 and an on-base percentage of .571.
- This week's visit to Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va., will be the Tribe's second trip to the complex since its opening in 2010. In its first trip to Veterans Memorial Park, W&M completed a three-game sweep, its first ever on the road, of James Madison last season.
