W&M Falls at UNCW, 8-3, in Series Finale

03/23/08 4:55PM

WILMINGTON, N.C. - UNC Wilmington scored seven unanswered runs to earn an 8-3 victory against William and Mary in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Junior Ben Guez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, while classmate Mike Sheridan also homered for W&M (16-8, 7-5). Senior Paul Juliano finished the afternoon 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Jeff Hatcher (3-0) worked 5.0 innings and allowed three earned runs to earn the win, while freshman Tim Norton (3-1) suffered his first collegiate loss.

The Tribe scored two runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. Juliano led off the frame with a single to left, and Guez followed with a two-run blast over the center field fence off a 1-1 offering.

UNCW (17-4, 9-0) got on the scoreboard in the second inning when Nate Hall led off the frame with a solo home run over the center field fence.

W&M reclaimed a two-run advantage, 3-1, in the top of the fourth when Sheridan led off the inning with a solo shot to right off a 0-2 pitch.

The Seahawks answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take their first lead of the game. Mark Carver drew a leadoff walk, and Hall followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Shane French then drove in both runners with a double to left, while he later scored when Cody Stanley grounded out to second.

UNC Wilmington extended its lead to 7-3 with three more runs in the fifth. Daniel Hargrave got things started with a double, and Jason Appel reached on an infield single. After Appel stole second, Hall drew an intentional walk to load the bases. French then forced in a run with a walk, as senior Sean Grieve came on in relief for Norton. Justin Barefoot and Mike Rooney forced in the other two runs when they were hit by pitches.

UNCW added another run in the sixth to push the margin to 8-3. Hargrave led off the inning with a single and advanced on second on a sacrifice bunt by Appel. After Carver singled to put runners on the corners, Hall registered a RBI single to center.

The Tribe will return to action when it plays at VMI on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Box Score