Tribe to Host Longwood for a Doubleheader on Saturday

05/02/08 9:50AM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - After a week off for exams, the William and Mary baseball team will return to action when it hosts non-conference foe Longwood for a doubleheader at Plumeri Park on Saturday at 4 p.m. W&M (32-13, 15-8) enters the weekend having won 16 of its last 19 contests.

The College will send senior LHP Pete Vernon (5-2) to the hill in the first game, while the Lancers will counter with senior RHP John Farrell. (3-3). W&M sophomore RHP Kevin Landry (2-0) will go against freshman RHP Chris Briere (2-2) in the second contest.

Earlier this season, the College earned a 13-8 victory in 10 innings at Longwood on April 16. In the win, junior Mike Sheridan went 4-for-6 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Junior Tyler Stampone drove in the go-ahead runs in the 10th inning with a two-RBI triple and finished the evening 3-for-5. Junior James Williamson also went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while classmate Ben Guez hit a home run.

Last weekend, the Tribe took two of three games at Towson. During the series, W&M scored 46 runs and posted a .411 team batting average. Additionally, the College hit eight home runs. Six Tribe players recorded multi-hit performances in Saturday’s 20-8 victory, while the top seven hitters in W&M’s lineup had at least two hits in Sunday’s 14-9 win. Sheridan came up big for the Tribe versus the Tigers and was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week. The Dick Howser Trophy Watch List honoree finished the weekend 8-for-15 with two home runs, 10 RBI, nine runs scored and three doubles.

One of the most productive offensive teams in the nation, W&M entered the week leading the nation in doubles (130), while it ranked second in batting average (.347), fourth in hits (541), fifth in slugging percentage (.560) and ninth in runs scored (393). The Tribe also ranked 19th in stolen bases (84) and 20th in home runs (57). Defensively, the College was ninth in double plays turned with 49.

Individually, Mike Sheridan entered the week as the nation’s leader in hits (81), runs scored (65) and RBI (63). The Washington, D.C., native also ranked second in total bases (143), fourth in doubles (21), seventh in batting average (.443) and 13th in slugging percentage (.781). He also ranked as the 10th-toughest player to strike out. Tim Park, also a Dick Howser Trophy Watch List selection, entered the week ranked third in hits (78) and fifth in batting average (.446) and total bases (132). He also ranked among the top 20 in doubles.

Longwood has lost six of its last seven games and enters Saturday’s doubleheader with a 21-19 record. Phil Cerreto leads the team with a .403 batting average, while Robbie Bailey is hitting .343 with 14 stolen bases. Nick von Gersdorff is also hitting better than .300 and has a team-high 34 RBI.

The Tribe is 23-4 at Plumeri Park this season. In those games, W&M is hitting .354 and is averaging more than nine runs per game. Park has played especially well in Williamsburg, as he boasts a .486 batting average in home contests.