W&M Defeats St. Joseph's, 6-3

02/23/08 8:40PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary baseball team earned a 6-3 victory against St. Joseph’s in the second game of the season-opening doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Plumeri Park. Earlier in the afternoon, W&M (2-0) won the first contest, 9-4.

The Tribe hurlers pitched effectively throughout the game, limiting the Hawks (0-2) to three hits. Starter Kevin Landry, a sophomore out of Vienna, Va., allowed just two earned runs in the 4.2 innings. Winning pitcher Patrick Kantakevich relieved Landry in the fifth inning and struck out third basemen David Valesente, the only batter he faced. Sean Grieve pitched a perfect final two innings to get the save, striking out three in the process.

St. Joseph’s seemed in control early in the game, as Drew Smith brought in Jeremy Jakubowski with a single in the first inning, and Chris Cashman scored on a Jakubowski double play in the third inning, giving the Hawks a 2-0 lead after three.

The Tribe began its rally in the fourth inning with a score. Robbie Nickle, the hero from Game 1, walked and stole second, leading to a clutch two-out, RBI double by Lanny Stanfield.

St. Joe’s responded in the fifth with an RBI single by Jakubowski that scored Mike Blahusch. However, W&M took the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning. Ben Guez led off with a walk, and Mike Sheridan, who finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, immediately followed with a single. Tim Park hit an infield grounder, but because of a throwing error by Valesente, Sheridan was able to advance to third and Guez scored. Two batters later, Greg Maliniak brought in Sheridan with a single, which advanced Park to second. With two outs, Stanfield hit another grounder to the infield that Blahusch threw away, allowing Park to score to give the College a 4-3 advantage through five innings.

The College tacked on two more runs in the sixth frame. With two outs, Sheridan was hit by a pitch and Park followed with a walk. Nickle then continued his strong start to the season with a two-run triple. The Midlothian, Va., native finished the day 5-for-7 with five RBI and three runs scored.

The Tribe finishes off its series against St. Joseph’s on Sunday with another doubleheader at Plumeri Park. The first game starts at noon.

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