WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team hits the road for a three-game series against Colonial Athletic Association rival Delaware this weekend. The set begins on Friday March 31 at 3 p.m., continues on Saturday, April 1 at 1p.m. and concludes on Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
ON TAP
W&M ships out to Delaware for its second straight CAA road three-game series this weekend. The series begins on Friday March 31 at 3 p.m., continues on Saturday, April 1 at 1p.m. and concludes on Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS
Delaware will try to stretch its winning streak after earning its first CAA win against James Madison (10-2) and then dominating Rider (21-6) in mid-week action. The Blue Hens head into the weekend series 13-9 overall and 1-2 in league play. UD is batting an impressive .329 as a team. Doug Trimble leads the offensive charge hitting .400 (36-for-90) with a team-high 10 doubles, four homers and 23 RBI. Jordan Glover paces the squad in home runs (six) and RBI (27). On the mound, Delaware holds a 4.59 team ERA. Friday's starter Brandon Walter leads the team with 36.1 innings and 44 strikeouts. Kevin Milley, who will start on Sunday, boasts a team-low 2.65 ERA, posted 30 strikeouts and has logged 34 innings. Jim Sherman is in his 17
th season as Delaware's head coach. He is 488-403 at the helm of the program.
SERIES HISTORY
W&M and Delaware play each other for the 52
nd-54
th times in series history this weekend. The Tribe leads the all-time series 24-17. Last year, the Green & Gold claimed the weekend series held at Plumeri Park, 2-1. During the 2016 series,
Ryder Miconi paced the Tribe hitting .571 (8-for-14) with two doubles and three runs.
Cullen Large also had strong performance on a .462 batting average (6-for-13), adding six RBI, two doubles, and a home run.
ON DECK
The Tribe complete its four-game road stretch at Commonwealth rival VCU on Tuesday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. Following the mid-week contest, the Tribe returns to Plumeri Park for a CAA three-game weekend series against Elon.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Freshman
Brandon Raquet burst onto the scene during opening weekend at No. 2 Florida to earn CAA Rookie of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 20. Raquet hit .333 (4-for-12), including homer in his first career at-bat.
Patrick Ryan collected the Tribe's second consecutive CAA Rookie of the Week award for the week of Feb. 27. Ryan batted .444 (4-for-9) with four runs and four RBIs to help the Tribe sweep its home opening series against Lafafyette. Sophomore
Bodie Sheehan garnered CAA Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of for the week of March 6, making the third weekly award of the season for W&M. Sheehan carried the Tribe to its only shutout win of the season against Dayton. He fanned a career-high 11 batter and allowed just three hits in 7.2 inning of work. Senior
Daniel Powers picked up a win and his first career save while not allowing a run in 7.2 innings to garner CAA Pitcher of the Week honors for the Week of March 27. The senior right-hander gave up just four hits over 7.0 shutout innings and struck out a career-high 11 in the Tribe's 7-0 victory over VMI last Wednesday.
HALL PASS
Junior
Ryan Hall has emerged as the top batter for the Tribe in the leadoff spot. His recent rampage has risen his batting average to a team-best .393. Hall is riding the team's longest active hitting streak at four games and ties for first on the roster with 10 multiple hit games. He recorded the only five-hit performance of the season and is second-best on the team behind six multi-RBI efforts. The Richmond, Va., has also reached base on every plate appearance in seven games.
CAA OPENER
The Green and Gold opened conference play with a tough three-game series at preseason favorite UNCW last weekend (March 24-26). During the conference title rematch, the Seahawks took the series 2-1. W&M lost 11-1 in series lid-lifter after giving up a season-high four home runs. During the middle game, UNCW escaped with a 6-5 run after sparking a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth. The Tribe avoided a sweep on a 10-9 victory in the series finale, jumping to 9-4 lead and then holding off a late UNCW comeback attempt.
START ME UP
The Tribe offense has gotten off to quick starts in four of its last six games with at least one run scored in the first inning. W&M is 5-2 this season when leading after the first inning.
THE CENTURY MARK
Head Coach
Brian Murphy captured his 100th career win during the series finale at UNCW on Sunday. Murphy has compiled a 101-94 record in the midst of his fourth season as head coach. He guided the program to its first Colonial Athletic Association Championship since 2001 and made an NCAA Regional Final Appearance last year. Murphy's other accolades include 2014 CAA Coach of the Year and 2016 VaSID Coach of the year.
