Tribe Hammers Hawks in Season Opener, 24-0, at Plumeri Park

02/19/10 8:46PM

Williamsburg, Va. - The William and Mary Tribe baseball team opened the 2010 season with a great performance, beating the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks, 24-0. With the win, the Tribe moves to 1-0 on the season while UMES falls to 0-1 on the year.

Box Score
Photo Gallery (Photos by Pete Clawson)

Headlining the College’s effort at the plate was sophomore Tadd Bower, who had a career-high four hits and five RBIs in the victory. Bower finished just a double short of the cycle, collecting a homerun, triple, and pair of singles. On the mound, junior Logan Billbrough went 6.0 innings in the start, striking out a career-high eight batters on his way to the win.

On the season-opening triumph, Tribe head coach Frank Leoni was pleased saying, “It was a great first outing for the team. It was a good start to the year for us.”

The Green and Gold came out of the gates swinging, scoring five runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-out, two-RBI single from freshman Ryan Brown in his first collegiate at-bat.

After tacking on another run in the second inning, the Tribe scored added on in the third inning on Bower’s three-run homer over the right field wall. The three-run jack was the first of the season for Bower.

While the College’s offense was clicking, on the hill, Billbrough was blowing through the UMES lineup. In his six stellar innings of work, Billbrough allowed only one hit and one walk on the way to the victory.

Already up 9-0 heading into the fourth inning, the Tribe added five more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to put the game out of the Hawks’ reach. In the fourth, sophomore Stephen Arcure, Brown, and junior Derrick Osteen each had an RBI double, while in the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Chris Forsten had an RBI single.

After adding another run in the seventh to move the score to 20-0, the Green and Gold added four more to push the total to 24-0. The 24-run winning advantage is the most in the history of Plumeri Park and also marks the largest margin of victory for the Tribe in the five years under Leoni.

For the game, Osteen went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored, while Arcure also notched three hits, scoring four runs and knocking in two.

On the mound, a pair of freshman came out of the bullpen to complete the shutout for the Tribe. Rookie Brett Koehler pitched two shutout innings, striking out five and surrendering no hits, while classmate John Farrell pitched the ninth, striking out the final batter.

The William and Mary Tribe and University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks will continue their three-game series on Saturday at Plumeri Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Williamsburg.