WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William and Mary baseball team scored the second-most runs in program history in a 31-1 victory over Iona in the series opener on Friday night at Plumeri Park. Eleven of the 13 players that played for the Green and Gold recorded at least one hit. With the win, William and Mary, which has won four in a row, is now 12-5 overall, while Iona drops to 1-6 on the season.
Sophomore Charley Gould set a school record ,which start in 2004, with 11 RBIs in the game. He also tied a school record with two homers. Junior Michael Katz also tied the record with two homers, while he drove in six runs on the night.
For the fifth game in a row the Tribe struck in the first inning of play. Junior Nick Thompson led off the inning with a walk. He came around to score when the next batter, senior Kevin Casey doubled to the center field wall. After an out, Katz belted his seventh home run of the season over the center field wall, giving the Tribe a 3-0 lead.
The Tribe scored eight runs and brought 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, freshman Tim Hoehn reached on a walk, moving to second on a wild pitch. Thompson followed with a double, bringing home Hoehn. With two outs, Lindemuth walked, putting runners on the corners with two outs. An error allowed for Thompson to score. With the bases loaded Gould doubled, scoring two more runs. Sophomore Josh Smith and senior Derek Lowe each followed with RBI singles. The final two runs of the inning came in on a double by Hoehn.
Iona got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the third inning. With two outs, Joe Torres singled, advancing to second on a wild pitch. The next batter, Vinny DeMaria singled, scoring Torres, which cut the Tribe lead to 11-1.
William and Mary got the run back and added another run in the bottom of the third inning. Lindemuth led off the inning with a double, moving to third on a wild pitch. Katz followed suite with a double that plated Lindemuth. Katz came around to score on an RBI groundout Gould, after moving to third on an error.
The Green and Gold cashed in six more runs in the home half of the fourth inning. Hoehn led off the inning with a triple, coming around to score on a single by Thompson. After an out, Lindemuth doubled, scoring Thompson all the way from first base. Katz and Nutter each followed by getting walk loading the bases. A wild pitch allowed Lindmuth to score and moved Katz and Nutter to third and second, respectively. The next batter, Gould doubled, brining in both Katz and Nutter. Gould later came around to score on a wild pitch, giving the Tribe a 19-1 advantage.
W&M scored five more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Tribe loaded the bases with walks from freshman Matthew Tilley and Lindemuth, sandwiched around a single from freshman Ryder Miconi. Tilley came around to score on an infield single from sophomore Ryan Hissey. The following batter, Gould crushed a grand-slam home run over the left field wall, giving the Tribe a 24-1 lead.
A pair of home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Tribe a 30-1 advantage. Katz, who belted a grand-slam, and Gould (two-run homer) each hit their second round trippers of the night.
Hissey led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single, moving to second on a balk. A pair of ground outs, allowed Hissey to score on an RBI from Miconi. It was his first career RBI.
Junior Jason Inghram made his fifth straight quality start of the season for. He pitched six innings, scattering three hits and an earned run, and had five punches. Inghram was credited with his third win of the season Sophomore Andrew White and freshman Matthew Smith made their season debuts in relief. White pitched a scoreless inning, striking out the side with the bases loaded. Smith pitched two innings, allowing one hit and striking out four batters.
The College and Iona continue their three-game weekend series tomorrow, Saturday March 15, at 4 p.m., before concluding the weekend on Sunday, March 16 at 1 p.m. The Tribe's 10-game home stand continues on Wednesday, March 19 against in-state foe Longwood at 7 p.m.
