Kantakevich Ties Saves Records as Tribe Claims Doubleheader Against Longwood

05/03/08 11:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Senior RHP Pat Kantakevich equaled the school record for career saves (11) and saves in a season (nine), as the William and Mary baseball team won both games of its doubleheader against Longwood at Plumeri Park on Saturday. The Tribe earned a 13-9 victory in the first game and a 14-1 triumph in the second contest (seven innings).

With the win, W&M improves to 34-13 overall and needs just four more wins to break the single-season school record. Additionally, the Tribe has now won 18 of its last 21 games and is 25-4 at Plumeri Park this season.

During its last five contests, the College is averaging nearly 15 runs per game and is hitting .425 as a team (85-for-200).

Junior Ben Guez had an outstanding afternoon against Longwood and finished the afternoon 8-for-10 with two home runs, six runs scored and three RBI. Senior Greg Maliniak extended his hitting streak to 12 games and went 4-for-7 with a home run.

Six Tribe players had at least two hits in the first game. Guez went 4-for-5 with a home run and four runs scored, while classmate Mike Sheridan also homered and went 2-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored. Senior Greg Maliniak posted a big effort, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBI, while junior Rob Nickle went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Senior Tim Park and junior James Williamson both finished the game 2-for-4.

Junior RHP Jeremy Neustifter (4-2) earned the win during the opening game, while Kantakevich registered his record-tying save. Kantakevich closed out the victory with 2.0 scoreless innings of work with four strikeouts.

Guez once again led the way in the second game, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Junior Lanny Stanfield went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Sheridan posted a 3-for-4 effort with a pair of RBI and runs scored. Nickle went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore Chris Jensen went 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs scored.

Sophomore RHP Kevin Landry was nearly perfect on the mound in the 14-1 triumph, as he allowed just one earned run on three hits and no walks in 6.0 innings pitched. After allowing a leadoff home run to begin the contest, the Vienna, Va., native retired 17 of the next 19 batters he faced and struck out eight.

Longwood took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning of the opening game. Robbie Bailey led off the contest with a double down the left field line, and Phil Cerreto drove him in with a two-out single to center. Casey Havers followed with a double to right center that brought in the second run.

The Tribe utilized a pair of Longwood errors in the bottom half of the inning to get a run back. Guez got things started when he reached on an infield single to short and advanced to second on the play when the throw to first got away. Sheridan then grounded to second and reached on a throwing error, as Guez came all the way around to score.

LC pushed the lead back to two, 3-1, in the second inning when Jon Quigley led off the frame with a solo home run over the left field fence.

The Lancers scored again in the third when Cerreto hit a two-out solo blast off a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence.

W&M charged back with six runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-4 lead. Williamson led off the frame with a sharply hit infield single to third. After Guez recorded a one-out single to center, Sheridan tied the game with a three-run blast over the right field fence. Park, Maliniak and Nickle followed with consecutive singles to put another run across, while Williamson later finished off the six-run inning with a two-RBI single to left.

Longwood answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to tie the score, 7-7. Pinch hitter Brant Jones led off the frame with a single, and Quigley followed with a walk. After Jake Yocum reached on a fielder’s choice, both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Scott Kimble then drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle. Bailey reached on a fielder’s choice, and David Smiy Jr. plated him in with a double to right center.

The Tribe reclaimed the lead, 9-7, with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. With John Walker II on in relief of starter John Farrell, Sheridan reached on one-out error by Longwood’s second baseman and Park followed with a double to left to put two runners in scoring position. Maliniak then registered a RBI single to right, and Park scored on the play when LC’s attempt to catch him in a rundown at third got away.

The Lancers put two runs across in the sixth to tie the score again, 9-9. With Neustifter on in relief of starter Pete Vernon, Yocum drew a one-out walk and Kimble followed with a two-run home run to left.

W&M responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning when Guez and Maliniak hit a pair of solo home runs.

With Isaac Weiderman on in relief, the College added to more runs in the eighth inning to go ahead, 13-9. Guez and Sheridan led off the frame with consecutive singles, and both moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Park. After Maliniak drew a walk to load the bases, Nickle drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle.

Kantakevich worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the win.

As it did in the first game, Longwood scored the initial run in the second contest. Bailey gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead when he led off the game with a home run over the right field fence.

W&M took a 2-1 advantage with a pair of runs in the second. With one away, Nickle singled to right center and advanced to second on the play when LC’s centerfielder bobbled the ball. Jensen then reached on a fielder’s choice when Williamson was caught in rundown, and Stanfield followed with a RBI single through the right side.

The Green and Gold added two runs in the third inning to go ahead, 4-1. Guez led off the frame with his second home run of the day. Sheridan followed with a single to center and advanced to second on a passed ball. Two batters later, Nickle drove in Sheridan with a double down the left field line.

The Tribe pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fifth when Jensen led off the inning with a solo blast over the right field fence.

W&M pulled away with seven runs in the fifth inning. Maliniak got things started when he tripled to deep left center, and Nickle drove him in with a single through the left side. Two batters later, Jensen singled and both runners later moved into scoring position with a double steal. Stanfield then plated Nickle with a single through the left side, and Jensen scored on the play when LC’s left fielder bobbled the ball. After Stampone drew a walk, Guez doubled in the fourth run of the inning, which brought Luke Towsend on in relief. Sheridan followed with two-RBI double to deep center. After advancing to third when pinch hitter Cole Franklin grounded out, Sheridan scored on a wild pitch.

The College tacked on two more runs in the sixth frame to build a 14-1 lead. With Troy Dickman on the mound in relief, freshman Derrick Osteen reached on an error to start the inning. Two batters later, Stanfield plated him with a double to right center. Stanfield later scored the second run on a wild pitch.

The Tribe will return to conference action when it hosts Northeastern for a three-game series beginning on Thursday at Plumeri Park. The series will mark the final home games for W&M this season.

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score