William and Mary (0-4) knew its chances of winning a series at No. 5 Oklahoma were slim. But sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team, especially a team as good as the Sooners.
“I thought we played well at times and at other times we just went up against a very good baseball team,” Head Coach Frank Leoni said. “Oklahoma, it would not surprise me if they were the No.1 team in the country some time this year.”
The Tribe lost all four games of the series, including the final two by a combined score of 26-5. The squad cannot help being disappointed in missing an opportunity to upset a top-ranked squad.
The College’s weekend [began? not ended] with a 13-1 defeat Saturday, as sophomore starter Brett Koehler was roughed up for six runs on nine hits in four innings of work. Freshman Matt Houston did not fare much better, giving up six runs of his own after coming on in relief for Koehler.
Junior catcher Chris Forsten and freshman shortstop Ryan Lindemuth each had two hits for the Tribe, and freshman designated hitter Devin White went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the loss.
Sunday’s result was foretold by the Tribe dropping both games of its double header Saturday, falling 9-6 and 13-4 to the Sooners.
“It wasn’t as much the hitting,” Leoni said. “Especially the 13-4 game, the final score is not indicative of how that game went … We gave them extra outs and, when you get behind to them, you start to press.”
Senior starter Logan Billbrough held the Oklahoma bats at bay in the first game, limiting the Sooners to four runs on five hits in four-and-one-thirds innings pitched. Billbrough exited the game with a 5-4 lead thanks in part to a three-run home run from sophomore third baseman Ryan Williams in the first inning.
But the Tribe bullpen could not hang on for the win. Junior reliever Jay MacCarthy allowed three runs in two thirds of an inning of work, while sophomore reliever Brett Goodloe allowed a pair of runs of his own en route to the Sooners’ 9-6 win.
The College scored early in the second game of the double header as well, as back-to-back doubles from sophomore outfielders Jackson Shaver and Derek Lowe in the second inning gave the College an early 3-0 lead.
But the Sooners would score four runs in the fifth inning, and three more in the sixth off junior starter Cole Shain on its way to a 13-4 victory.
The College dropped the first game of the four-game series 7-1 to Oklahoma on Friday in perhaps the most interesting matchup of the weekend. Junior starter Matt Davenport, a pre-season All American candidate, allowed six runs, only three of them earned, in five innings pitched, while striking out two batters.
“Matt didn’t have his best stuff,” Leoni said. “But he competed with the stuff he had.”
