WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Making its third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and its first as an at-large selection, the William and Mary baseball team will open its tournament slate against Mississippi in the Raleigh Regional on Friday, May 31, at 2 p.m. Fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live stats and audio, as Wes Kempton and Kris Sears will be on the call.
Additionally, ESPN3 will stream each and every game in all 16 regionals this season. Furthermore, the new Bases Loaded platform launched by ESPN will provide live cut-ins and highlights from numerous games from around the country.
Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe enters the Raleigh Regional against Ole Miss on Friday with an overall record of 37-22. The Green and Gold is just one victory shy of setting a new school record for wins as it currently shares the distinction with the 2004 squad. The Tribe did set a new program standard with 17 Colonial Athletic Association wins this year as it finished second in the regular season standings. Last weekend, W&M posted a mark of 2-2 in the CAA Tournament as it fell in the championship round to Towson.
At the plate, junior second baseman Ryan Lindemuth continues to swing a hot bat as the Burke, Va., native owns a season average of .363. In 59 games this season, Lindemuth has connected on 86 hits, 58 runs scored and 47 RBIs. Sophomore first baseman Michael Katz is batting .365 with 47 RBIs, 22 doubles and five home runs. Senior center fielder Ryan Brown has scored a team best 61 runs on an average of .329, while junior third baseman Willie Shaw is batting .305 with 37 RBIs. As a unit, the Green and Gold owns an average of .296.
Senior RHP John Farrell (11-2) became the first pitcher in program history to post 10 or more wins in a season since 1938 as the Andover, Mass., native is just one win shy of tying W&M's all-time single season mark of 12. In 109.1 innings of work, Farrell has compiled an ERA of 2.80 to go along with 86 strikeouts and just 13 walks. Sophomore LHP Jason Inghram (8-6), who is projected to start against Ole Miss, owns an ERA of 3.46 through 96.1 innings of action this spring. The Chesapeake, Va., native has fanned 96 batters and has held the opposition to a batting average of .242. Senior RHP Brett Koehler (6-5) rounds out the rotation with an ERA 4.44 as the Glen Gardner, N.J., native has surrendered just 11 walks in 101.1 innings of work. Senior LHP Matt Wainman will make an impact out of the bullpen as the Woodbridge, Va., native has posted eight saves on the season.
The Raleigh Regional
#1 N.C. State (44-14)
The Wolfpack play host to one of the nation's 16 regionals this weekend with a record of 44-14. In its bid to reach the ACC Championship game last Saturday night, N.C. State fell to North Carolina, 2-1, in 18 innings. The contest went down in the record books as the longest ACC Tournament game ever, which was played at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. Sophomore LHP Carlos Rodon was outstanding against the Tar Heels as he worked the first 10 innings of game, in which he allowed only one hit to go along with 14 strikeouts.
Rodon headlined the Pack's All-ACC First-Team selections as the Holly Springs, N.C., native owns a record of 8-2, an ERA of 3.48, and a single season school record of 151 strikeouts in 101.0 innings of work this season. Sophomore infielder Trea Turner was also a first-team league selection as he leads N.C. State with an average of .376 to go along with 40 RBIs, 59 runs scored and six home runs. Nationally, N.C. State ranks third in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (8.8), while its hits allowed per nine innings (7.17) stands eighth. N.C. State will be making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament this weekend as it posted a home record of 25-8 this season.
#2 Ole Miss (37-22)
Under the direction of Mike Blanco, who is in his 13th season at Ole Miss, the Rebels will make its 18th tournament appearance when it opens play against the Tribe in the Raleigh Regional. At the start of the season, Mississippi climbed all the way to No. 6 in the national rankings after starting the year 19-1. The Rebels finished the season with an overall record of 37-22, which included a mark of 15-15 in SEC play.
On Tuesday, junior Stuart Tanner was named to the All-SEC First-Team as the Eunice, La., native is batting .381 on the season with 50 RBIs, 44 runs scored, 15 doubles and five home runs. Senior Andrew Mistone took home second-team accolades on an average .316, which has included 34 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 12 doubles. Collectively, Ole Miss is batting .276 on the year. On the mound, junior RHP Bobby Wahl has comprised a record of 9-0 on an ERA of 1.99. The Springfield, Va., native has fanned 76 batters in 90.2 innings pitched in 2013 as he garnered SEC second-team distinctions.
#4 Binghamton (30-23)
The Bearcats punched its ticket to the Raleigh Regional with a 4-0 win over Maine in the American East Championship game. This will be Binghamton's second tournament appearance as the Bearcats last made the 64-team field back in 2009. Under the direction of head coach Tim Sinicki (21st season), Binghamton has captured the American East title twice in the last five years as it has reached the 30-win milestone on three occasions in the last seven seasons. The last three innings of play have belonged to BU this season. Binghamton is outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 89-40 over the course of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings in 2013.
Sophomore Jake Thomas leads the Bearcat bats with an average of .382, which ranks 28th in the nation. The Merrick, N.Y., native has tallied 36 RBIs, 42 runs scored and five home runs in 170 at-bats this year. Junior Daniel Nevares is batting .314 on the season with 34 runs batted in to go along with 19 doubles. As a team, Binghamton owns an average of .266. On the bump, junior Jack Rogalla (5-4) has amassed an ERA of 2.82 in 83.0 innings of work, while senior RHP Jake Lambert owns a record of 7-2, which includes 76 strikeouts in 94.2 innings of work.
Doak Field at Dail Park
The 2013 Raleigh Regional will be contested on Doak Field at Dail Park, which is the home for N.C. State baseball. Originally opened in 1966, Doak Field underwent renovations in 2004 and now seats a capacity of 2,500 as its overflow potential exceeds 3,000. With a grass playing surface the facility dimensions are 320-feet down the left field line, 400-feet to straight away center and 330-feet down the right field line. For directions to Doak Field at Dail Park click here.
W&M in the NCAA Tournament
The Green and Gold will be making its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament when it opens play against Mississippi on Friday at 2 p.m. For the first time in program history, W&M earned an at-large selection on Monday afternoon as it qualified for the 2001 (CAA) and 1983 (ECAC South) NCAA Tournaments after winning automatic bids. In the Tribe's 2001 appearance as the CAA Champions, W&M traveled to the Clemson Regional where it fell to Clemson (4-1) and South Alabama (8-4). William and Mary made its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1983 as it represented the ECAC South after a 10-8 championship game victory over Georgetown in Harrisonburg, Va. As a participant in the East Regional (Chapel Hill, N.C.), the Tribe opened play with an 11-0 setback against North Carolina before falling to instate and league counterpart James Madison, 13-8, who went on to make its first and only appearance in the College World Serie
