Tribe Falls to UNCW, 9-2

03/21/08 10:30PM

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The William and Mary baseball team had its seven-game conference winning streak snapped with a 9-2 loss at UNC Wilmington on Friday evening.

Leading the Tribe (16-6, 7-3) were seniors Greg Maliniak and Tim Park, who both went 2-for-3 with a RBI. Junior Ben Guez also had a pair of hits, while classmate Tyler Stampone went 2-for-5 with a run scored.

UNCW’s Seth Frankoff (4-0) worked 7.0 innings and allowed just one earned run, while senior Pete Vernon (3-1) suffered the loss.

The Tribe took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Stampone led off with a single to left center, and Guez followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. After junior Mike Sheridan was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Park plated Stampone with a sacrifice fly to center.

UNCW (15-4, 7-0) answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Rhett Miller doubled down the right field line to begin the frame, and Mark Carver later hit a one-out, two-run blast over the left center field fence.

The Seahawks extended their advantage to 4-1 with two runs in the fourth. Nate Hall was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, and Justin Barefoot drove him in with a two-run home run to right off a 1-0 offering.

UNC Wilmington added pair of runs in the following frame. Daniel Hargrave drew a walk to lead off the inning, and Jason Appel reached on an error. Hargrave later scored when Vernon’s pickoff attempt got away, while Appel was plated by a Carver RBI single up the middle.

UNCW pushed the lead to 7-1 with another run in the sixth. Mike Rooney got things started when he reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored when Vernon’s pickoff attempt got away.

The Seahawks tallied another run in the seventh when Carver led off the inning with a solo home run down the left field line off a 1-0 pitch.

With Cameron Roth on the mound in relief, the College narrowed the margin to 8-2 with a run in the eighth. Sheridan reached on an error to begin the frame, and Park singled to center to put runners on the corners. After junior Rob Nickle lined out to third, Maliniak plated Sheridan when he grounded out to first.

UNC Wilmington scored the contest’s final run in the bottom half of the inning. With sophomore Cole Franklin on in relief, Hargrave registered a one-out solo home run to left field off a 2-2 pitch.

The teams will play again on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Box Score