Friday, April 18 to Sunday, April 20, William and Mary baseball (19-24, 12-6 CAA) won two out of three games against Campbell (18-24, 9-9 CAA) at Plumeri Park in Williamsburg, Va., losing Friday’s matchup 5-4 before taking the remaining contests 8-5 and 15-14. The series victory marked the Tribe’s first over the Camels since 2019. Now 3-1 over its last four Coastal Athletic Association series, the Green and Gold sits tied for second in the league standings.
William and Mary entered the weekend reeling from a series defeat against preseason CAA favorite University of North Carolina Wilmington (23-20, 11-7 CAA) in which the Green and Gold posted its lowest combined run total since it played Kansas State (26-18, 12-9 Big 12) March 7 to March 9. Tribe head coach Rob McCoy was unconcerned about his team’s lack of offensive production, citing the quality of UNCW’s pitchers. In the leadup to Friday’s game against Campbell, McCoy said the Tribe would take the same approach it did against UNCW.
“We’re going to prepare the same way we do for everybody,” McCoy said. “We’re going to take care of ourselves, we’re going to do what we do well and try to do that against [Campbell]. There’s a lot more than meets the eye against them. They’re a quality opponent. They’re probably going to finish near the top of the standings when it’s all said and done. They’ve played the toughest teams in the conference already. It’s a good opponent, it’s a good matchup and we’re looking forward to battling them this weekend.”
The Camels, one of the premier power-hitting and strikeout-pitching teams in the CAA, presented a problem that McCoy said the Tribe would need to overcome by playing its best baseball.
“We’re going to have to hit with them, that’s for sure,” McCoy said. “Pitch well enough to hold them down as much as possible. It’s going to be a wacky wind weekend here again, so really anything can happen. We just gotta go up there and fight for each pitch, fight for each inning, stay together as a team, and that’s really our recipe.”
With the Tribe facing a similarly talented opponent, McCoy shared his hope that William and Mary’s home-field advantage would give it the edge it needed to secure a victory.
“I think we have the advantage at home,” McCoy said. “They’re a good team, but they have struggled on the road a little bit, and we’re an okay team, and we’ve struggled on the road, so we’ve been a lot better at home. So we’re going to try to see who we can match up with, who we can pitch with and see if we can outlast them in three games.”
Freshman pitcher Jack Weight took the mound for the Tribe in the opener and dispatched the first two batters he faced before allowing Campbell sophomore infielder Charlie Meglio to reach second base on a single and a steal. Campbell sophomore catcher Andrew Schuldt proceeded to launch a ball into the Plumeri Park wind, but senior left fielder Lucas Carmichael managed to retire Schuldt with his back to the wall.
The home frame started familiarly with a homer off the bat of graduate student center fielder Ben Parker. The blast, which gave William and Mary a 1-0 lead, extended Parker’s hitting streak to 23 games and brought his batting average to .406. Parker’s average has remained above .400 since March 28.
“I’ve been really happy with him this year,” McCoy said. “He came back. It was a tough choice for him, too. Things didn’t start off as well for the team as we’d have all liked, but he’s been a big part of things, righting the ship. He’s steady. He shows up every day, he competes, he shows the younger guys what it takes to be a professional, coming out every day and being prepared. Not only is he leading on the field, he’s leading in the dugout. I couldn’t be happier for him that he’s getting the results he’s getting.”
“[Parker is] the most talented player in our conference,” Carmichael said.
Neither the Tribe nor the Camels scored another run until Campbell freshman designated hitter Andrew Keller evened the score in the third inning with a leadoff homer. Despite the setback, Weight finished the frame without letting up any more damage. He exited the mound having thrown three innings while allowing one earned run, a statline that represented arguably the best outing of his career.
Carmichael extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a single in the bottom half of the inning, but the Tribe couldn’t capitalize. The fourth inning went by scorelessly, with William and Mary sophomore reliever Tom Borque retiring the side in order and Campbell senior starting pitcher Peyton Brown shutting down the Green and Gold lineup.
Three Camels reached base to begin the fifth, prompting Borque’s removal in favor of junior reliever Connor Kolarov. The latter didn’t fare much better, immediately hurling a wild pitch that allowed a run to come across the plate. After letting in another run on a fielder’s choice, Kolarov escaped the inning, but Campbell had taken a 3-1 lead.
A quiet bottom of the fifth gave way to a loud top of the sixth. To begin the frame, Kolarov hit Campbell freshman outfielder Jett Music, who made his way to third base after Kolarov induced two groundouts. Campbell junior outfielder Joe Simpson blooped an RBI single into center field, extending the Camels’ lead to 4-1. Kolarov allowed another single, and McCoy replaced Kolarov with sophomore pitcher Daniel Lingle. Lingle gave up a run of his own before the frame ended, and the Tribe found itself down 5-1.
Four hits in the sixth inning brought William and Mary back within striking distance. Freshman infielder Jamie Laskofski scored on a wild pitch, and sophomore first baseman Anthony Greco doubled before coming home on a single from junior outfielder Charlie Iriotakis. Parker singled home Iriotakis to record his 34th RBI of the season, bringing the hosts within one run.
However, the Tribe lineup failed to convert on opportunities over the final three frames, stranding a total of six runners. Campbell didn’t score again, in large part due to the efforts of freshman reliever Tyler Kelly, but William and Mary couldn’t find a way to make up its one-run deficit. With a man on third base in the eighth, Parker and Carmichael recorded consecutive fly outs to end the inning. With the bases loaded in the ninth and the game-winning run on second base, sophomore catcher Charlie Felmlee popped up, and Campbell claimed a 5-4 victory.
“I think that it could’ve gone either way,” said McCoy. “They had their chances, we had our chances to blow it open. Neither team took advantage. We actually hit really well. I thought we played pretty well for us. We smoked some balls around the park, they got caught and that’s just baseball.”
“The less we talk about it, the better it is,” McCoy added. “It is what it is. We had our opportunities.”
Parker led the way for the Tribe lineup with two hits, two RBIs and a home run. Greco, graduate student infielder Owen Wilson and graduate student utilityman Derek Holmes also contributed two hits each, while Iriotakis recorded two walks and an RBI.
Weight and Kelly turned in impressive performances against a potent Campbell offense, combining to hurl six innings while allowing one combined earned run.
The first inning of Saturday’s game didn’t go much better for the Tribe. To begin the afternoon, William and Mary freshman starting pitcher Zach Boyd allowed a single, balked, let up an RBI double, walked a batter, recorded an out and gave up a three-run home run to Campbell junior infielder Joey Morton. Before many fans had found their seats, the Camels had jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Boyd recovered from his rough start with a sparkling pair of innings, holding the visitors scoreless in the second and third frames. His composure allowed the Tribe to inch back into the game. A second-inning Greco solo shot, a third-inning Parker double and a third-inning Laskofski RBI double made the score 4-2 in favor of Campbell.
Keller homered in the fourth to stretch his team’s lead to 5-2, but the designated hitter’s blast would prove to be the Camels’ final run. From the fifth inning to the ninth inning, Campbell recorded just two hits behind the efforts of Boyd, senior pitcher Nick Lottchea and senior pitcher Carter Lovasz, the latter of whom combined to hurl 5.0 scoreless frames.
In the meantime, William and Mary used a two-RBI single from Parker to get within striking distance in the fourth inning before Laskofski launched his first career home run in the fifth inning, a solo shot that evened the score at 5-5.
In the following frame, the Tribe loaded the bases with no outs, bringing Carmichael to the plate. However, he wasn’t required to swing the bat. In an improbable sequence, Campbell junior reliever David Rossow cleared the bases on his own, throwing three consecutive wild pitches that allowed every William and Mary runner to come home. With the score now 8-5 in favor of the Green and Gold, Lovasz took over on the mound for the final three innings and closed out the Tribe victory.
Once again, Parker led the Tribe in hits and RBIs, recording three of the former and two of the latter. Laskofski’s solo home run powered him to a three-hit, two-RBI day, while Greco and senior outfielder Christian Rush contributed two hits each.
Carmichael was held hitless for the first time since March 8. At 23 games, his now-broken hitting streak stands as the third-longest in William and Mary history since 2004, only trailing Ben Guez ’08, who rattled off a 32-game streak during his senior season, and Parker.
The upperclassman pitching duo of Boyd and Lovasz shut down the Camels’ lineup over the game’s final five innings, holding the visitors to two hits and no runs.
Sunday’s rubber match featured more excitement than either of its predecessors. A wild start to the game saw Campbell jump out to a 5-0 advantage courtesy of a second-inning grand slam off the bat of sophomore outfielder Seth Farni. Hitless for the first two frames, William and Mary manufactured a response in the bottom of the third inning when Laskofski singled home two runners. Subsequent RBI knocks from Holmes and Iriotakis tied the game at 5-5.
The Green and Gold jumped in front in the following inning when Laskofski, seemingly picked off at first base, miraculously avoided a tag to allow Carmichael to scamper home. However, Campbell retook the lead with authority in the top of the fifth, scoring six runs on four hits. With the bases loaded and no outs on the board, William and Mary graduate student pitcher Ryan Feczko came in and slowed down the onslaught, but the Camels managed to catapult ahead 11-6.
A quiet sixth inning gave way to an exciting seventh. Feczko held Campbell scoreless in the top of the frame, and a two-RBI double from Wilson drove in Felmlee and Iriotakis, making the score 11-8. Carmichael proceeded to bring Wilson home on a sacrifice fly.
The Camels tacked on a run in the eighth, but the Tribe plated three runners during the bottom of the ninth during a frantic rally sparked by a Laskofski two-RBI double, sending the game to extras knotted at 12. Campbell scored twice in the tenth inning, taking an intimidating 14-12 lead into the potential final frame.
Wilson began the bottom of the tenth with a single, but Parker lofted an easily caught fly ball to right field. Campbell graduate student reliever Bryce Schares proceeded to hit Carmichael with a pitch, injecting life into the crowd. With the game hanging in the balance, Rush sent a soft blooper into center field, but Campbell senior outfielder misjudged the ball and let it get past him. Wilson scored, Carmichael advanced to third base and William and Mary was within one.
With one out on the board and runners on first and third, the Camels intentionally walked Laskofski to get to Holmes, a decision that was immediately invalidated when Schares fired a wild pitch into the backstop. Carmichael evened the score as Campbell junior catcher Jackson Thompson scrambled for the ball.
The pressure now at its peak and the count reading one ball and two strikes, Holmes turned on a Schares fastball, drilling it down the left field line for a walk-off single. Rush whirled home, and the William and Mary dugout mobbed Holmes at first base.
Parker played a rare backseat role, going just one for six at the plate but still extending his hitting streak to 25 games. Carmichael, Wilson, Laskofski and Holmes picked up the slack, combining for 14 hits and nine RBIs.
A number of Tribe pitchers contributed to the victory, with Feczko throwing 3.1 innings and 52 pitches while allowing just one earned run.
On the series, Laskofski led the Tribe in hits and RBIs, racking up seven and five, respectively. The upperclassmen Wilson, Parker, Holmes and Carmichael were right behind him, each making significant offensive contributions of their own.
Kelly paced the Tribe in innings and pitches on the mound, tossing 5.0 frames and allowing just two earned runs. Lovasz, Weight, Feczko and Lottchea all threw 3.0 or more innings while giving up one earned run or fewer.
Tuesday, April 22, the Tribe kept up its hot streak by defeating Navy (23-22, 14-11 Patriot League) 9-3 at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, Md., securing its first midweek win since March 19.
William and Mary will return to the field Friday, April 25, when it hits the road for a three-game conference series against Stony Brook (21-20, 8-10 CAA) at Joe Nathan Field in Stony Brook, N.Y.
