Saturday, Feb. 22, William and Mary baseball (4-4, 0-0 CAA) won both games of a doubleheader against Marist (0-7, 0-0 MAAC) at Plumeri Park in Williamsburg, Va, with scores of 5-4 and 9-6. The following day, the Green and Gold beat the Red Foxes in seven innings, using a six-run second inning to clinch a 15-4 win. The sweep, which came on the heels of a midweek loss to rival Richmond (7-1, 0-0 CAA) and a series loss against Rhode Island (3-4, 0-0 CAA), marked the Tribe’s first series victory under new head coach Rob McCoy.
Senior pitcher Reed Interdonato took the mound for the Green and Gold to open Saturday’s slate of play. Making just the second start of his Tribe career, he turned in four dominant innings, allowing just three hits — each of which were singles — while striking out seven Marist batters. The Red Foxes’ only run against Interdonato came in the first inning when freshman infielder Noel Rivera scampered across the plate after a wild pitch.
The Tribe instantly responded, with a sacrifice fly from junior outfielder Charlie Iriotakis driving home freshman infielder Jamie Laskofski in the bottom of the frame. Unfortunately, the move couldn’t muster up enough offense to surge back into the lead. For the next two innings, neither team put a man on base. Marist mounted a threat during the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a William and Mary error to load the bases. However, Interdonato struck out sophomore catcher Scott Esposito to keep the score tied 1-1.
The Red Foxes finally pounced in the fifth inning. With Interdonato’s day over, the visitors strung together three hits and three runs against sophomore reliever Daniel Lingle, who was pulled after recording just one out. Another Tribe error, its second of the game and 16th of the season, contributed to the breakdown. Senior reliever Carter Lovasz came in to limit the damage, but Marist had jumped out to a commanding 4-1 lead.
The Tribe couldn’t find a response in the bottom of the inning; however, Lovasz racked up three quick outs in the top of the sixth, stifling the Red Fox offense. Laskofski flew out to start the home frame, but graduate student outfielder Ben Parker, senior outfielder Lucas Carmichael and Iriotakis subsequently reached base, prompting Marist to replace redshirt sophomore starting pitcher Tyler Hartley with junior reliever Caleb Kempler.
With the bases loaded and one out, senior outfielder Christian Rush drove home Parker with a sacrifice fly, and sophomore outfielder Anthony Greco worked a single into right field that brought Carmichael across the plate. Kempler proceeded to hit junior catcher Jerry Barnes with a pitch, forcing home the Tribe’s third run of the inning and evening the score at 4-4.
Marist wouldn’t post another run, as Lovasz smothered the visitors over 4.2 innings. The Red Foxes scratched together three hits and zero earned runs against the right-hander, who tied a career-high with seven strikeouts. Carmichael won the game for the Tribe with a walk-off double that brought Parker home, but McCoy identified Lovasz as the hero.
“Carter (Lovasz) came in and did a great job,” said McCoy. “That’s sort of what we’re going to try to do this year. Our goal is to — I don’t want to say use an opener, but our goal is to be in a position to win at the end, give the ball to Carter, give the ball to [junior reliever] Owen Pierce, and let them basically finish the game with authority once we either get the lead or fight back in it long-term.”
The following game would again require a frenetic Tribe comeback. Graduate student pitcher Ryan Feczko got the start for William and Mary, but Marist found early success at the plate. Sophomore outfielder Lewis Rodriguez deposited a solo home run over the left field fence to start the scoring before the visitors put together a string of singles that ended in a bases-loaded RBI walk by redshirt freshman outfielder Chris Diaz. Buoyed by yet another Tribe error, the Red Foxes scored two more runs in the second inning, and a Rush solo shot wasn’t enough to stop the Green and Gold from falling into a 4-1 hole for the second consecutive game.
Once again, it would be the Tribe’s pitching that kept it competitive. Feczko left the game during the third inning after allowing five hits and four runs. His replacements were nearly flawless, with freshman pitcher Jack Weight, freshman pitcher Zach Boyd and Pierce combining to toss 6.1 sparkling frames. The only blemish on their ledger came in the form of two ninth-inning runs allowed by Pierce and made possible by the Tribe’s 19th error of the season.
With its opponent’s offense subdued, the Green and Gold had ample time to work its way back into the lead. RBI knocks by Barnes and graduate student utility Derek Holmes sparked a four-run sixth inning that gave the hosts an advantage they’d never relinquish. Barnes singled in another run in the seventh before being driven home by freshman outfielder Matthew Kosuda. Rush capped the afternoon off with a flourish, hitting a two-run homer, his second of the game.
Eight of the Tribe’s nine runs came after Marist redshirt sophomore starting pitcher Will Taylor was taken out of the game. According to McCoy, that was by design.
“That’s our whole goal. That’s how we’re going to play most of our games,” McCoy said. “Most teams’ starting pitchers are good, and they’re their best pitchers. So we’re going to grind away at them. You’ll see a lot of foul balls, you’ll see a lot of long at-bats. Our goal is to get to the middle relievers and do damage against them. So that’s our goal there.”
McCoy also praised Rush’s performance, who is now batting 0.318 on the season with 10 RBIs, seven hits and three home runs, leading the team in the latter category.
“As far as Christian (Rush) is concerned, that guy puts in the work every day,” McCoy said. “He shows up every day, he’s ready to work, he’s ready to be there for his teammates, and he just gets after it. He doesn’t get too high or too low, and today some of the fruits of his labor came through with a couple big knocks there.”
The final game of the series was far less contested than the others. The Green and Gold took the lead in the opening inning and never looked back, flipping the script and turning key Red Fox errors into runs.
Laskofski scored on an errant pickoff attempt in the first inning before a misplay by Marist junior first baseman Aydan McNelly allowed Barnes to reach safely to open the second inning. Five consecutive Tribe hits followed, with three of them going for two or more bases. With Marist graduate student starting pitcher Riley Orr unable to record an out, Iriotakis, Holmes, Laskofski, Parker and Greco each knocked in runs.
When all was said and done, the Green and Gold had extended its advantage to 7-0, a lead that would only grow in subsequent innings. Further RBIs from Laskofski, Kosuda, and Holmes brought William and Mary’s scoring tally to 15 and carried the Tribe to its third consecutive victory.
Once again, the Green and Gold’s offensive effort was bolstered by effective run prevention, as four Tribe pitchers combined to strike out eight batters. Senior reliever Nick Lottchea, who allowed two unearned runs through 3.2 innings, was awarded the win.
The Tribe went on to drop a midweek contest 12-1 to George Mason at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va. The Green and Gold will return to the field Friday, Feb. 28, when it hits the road to take on Boston College (2-3, 0-0 ACC) at Malcolm U. Pitt Field in Richmond, Va.
