W&M to Close Out Non-Conference Slate at Virginia Tech on Tuesday

05/12/08 4:30PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary baseball team will close out its non-conference slate with a contest at Virginia Tech on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

W&M will send RHP Tim Norton (4-1) to the mound, while the Hokies will counter with LHP Andrew Wells (0-3).

The Tribe (35-15, 16-10) has won 10 of its last 11 non-conference games and boasts a 19-5 record outside of league play. In those contests, W&M is hitting .361 (301-for-834) as a team and is averaging nearly 10 runs per game. Mike Sheridan, Tim Park, Ben Guez and James Williamson are all hitting better than .420 in non-conference action.

As a team, the College leads the Colonial Athletic Association in batting average (.349), slugging percentage (.561), on-base percentage (.429), hits (606), doubles (140), triples (17), total bases (975). Additionally, the Tribe ranks second in runs scored (432), RBI (381) and stolen bases (91). Although updated national statistics have not been released yet this week, W&M entered last week leading the nation in batting average (.352), while it ranked second in doubles (135), fourth in slugging percentage (.569), seventh in hits (575), ninth in runs scored (420), and 25th in home runs (62) and stolen bases (86). Defensively, the Tribe was ninth in double plays turned with 52.

Individually, Sheridan leads the conference in hits (88), runs scored (72) doubles (24) and total bases (156), while he ranks second in batting average (.431), slugging percentage (.765), RBI (68). Additionally, he ranks among the league’s top five in on-base percentage (.485) and home runs (14). Park leads the CAA in batting average (.436) and on-base percentage (.498), while he is among the league’s top five in slugging percentage (.738), runs scored (59), hits (85), RBI (59), doubles (22) and total bases (144). Guez also ranks among the CAA’s top five in batting average (.411), on-base percentage (.496), runs scored (68) and hits (83).

Virginia Tech enters Tuesday’s contest with a 21-30 record and has lost seven of its last 10 games. One of those wins, however, came against top-ranked Miami last weekend. Austin Wates leads the Hokies with a .340 batting average, while Sean O’Brien is hitting .332 with seven home runs and 36 RBI.

With 35 wins this season, W&M has already equaled the second-most victories in school history and needs just three more to break the program’s record.