Baseball VMIKeydets.com

Baseball Falls 12-3 at William & Mary

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.? The story was a familiar one on Wednesday evening in Williamsburg, as the VMI baseball team fell behind early and were unable to come back in dropping a 12-3 decision at William & Mary in non-conference action. The Tribe improve to 12-4 with their fifth win in six games, while the Keydets fall to 4-9.

Tim Park led the way offensively for the Tribee, going 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, while Robbie Nickle plated three with a first inning home run. Greg Maliniak accounted for the Tribe's other home run, going 3-for-5 on the evening.

The visitors took advantage of Tribe starter Cody Franklin's wildness to grab a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, with three walks and a pair of hit batsmen giving the Keydets an early advantage. However, a three-run home run from Nickle in the bottom of the first gave the Tribe a 3-2 lead with one swing of the bat.

Keydet starter Jason Farley (1-2) fell behind 6-1 in the second inning, with a pair of unearned runs crossing the plate in addition to a an earned tally. Mike Sheridan and Park each had RBI singles from the third and fourth spots in the order, with the inning's other run crossing the plate on a fielding error at first base.

Tribe reliever Cody Winslow (2-1) settled in after entering with no outs in the second, with the only baserunner he allowed the first time through the order being retired on a double play. The string ended in the fifth inning, when Thane Smith doubled into rightfield and scored two batters later on a single into centerfield by Mike Roberts.

However, the Tribe put the game out of reach with a five-run fifth inning to bring the scoring to 12-3. Farley was lifted after hitting Robbie Nickle following a leadoff home run in the fifth inning by Park. Chris Duty came on to relieve Farley and surrendered a two-run homerun to centerfield to the first batter he faced, Greg Maliniak. Two more runs crossed the plate before Duty was lifted in favor of Travis Smink, who retired the first batter he faced to strand a runner and escape the fifth without further damage.

Sean Grieve came on to relieve Winslow after the 6-foot-8 hurler threw five strong innings, allowing only two hits and one run. Grieve worked the final three innings for the Tribe, allowing two hits and no runs while striking out six for his second save of the season.

The Keydets saw Smink pitch 2.1 innings of three-hit, shutout ball, while Michael Bowman worked a scoreless ninth while allowing a pair of baserunners.

The Keydets begin a weekend series at Gray-Minor Stadium on Friday afternoon, hosting Marshall at 4 p.m.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Michael Bowman

#17 Michael Bowman

RHP
6' 3"
Junior
R/R
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

RHP
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

LHP
6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

C
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

LHP
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L

Players Mentioned

Michael Bowman

#17 Michael Bowman

6' 3"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
C
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
LHP