WILLIAMSBURG, Va. ? After staking William & Mary (16-20, 6-9) to a 9-0 lead after five innings, the Tigers (17-19, 5-7) staged a late rally that came up short as the Tribe held on for a 9-6 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tigers in the third and deciding game of their CAA series at Plumeri Park on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Tribe won the three-game series by a 2-1 margin. After Towson won the series opener on Friday by 10-4, William & Mary posted a 14-3 win in the second game on Saturday afternoon.
In the series finale, the Tribe jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning against junior righthander Nate Curd. Senior leftfielder Jeff Jones and sophomore Derrick Osteen led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Senior Tyler Stampone followed with an RBI double to centerfield, scoring Jones to give William & Mary a 1-0 lead. Senior rightfielder Rob Nickle increased the lead to 3-0 with a two-run single to centerfield.
The Tribe tried to add to its lead as Nickle stole second base. However, Curd picked him off second base. Freshman Tadd Bower followed with an infield single. When he tried to steal second base, senior catcher Jason Stifler threw him out. Then, Curd retired the side by getting freshman Chris Forsten to line out to rightfield.
When junior designated hitter Tyler Truxell led off the second inning with a base hit, Curd was relieved by sophomore righthander Spencer Patton. Patton retired the Tribe in order in the second.
In the third inning, Osteen and Stampone led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Then, Nickle blasted a three-run homer over the left centerfield fence to give the Tribe a 6-0 advantage.
The Tribe rallied for two more runs in the fourth inning with one out. Senior Lanny Stanfield and Jones hit back-to-back singles before junior righthander Zach Umberger came in to relieve Patton. After Stanfield and Jones moved into scoring position on a passed ball, Osteen hit a ground ball to senior shortstop Gary Helmick, who made an error as Stanfield scored from third base. When Umberger threw a wild pitch, Jones scored to give the Tribe an 8-0 lead. William & Mary proceeded to load the bases before Forsten lined out to centerfield, ending the inning.
William & Mary added another run in the fifth inning, making it a 9-0 lead. With two outs, Stanfield doubled down the left field line. Then, he came around to score on an RBI single by Jones.
Through five innings, senior righthander Jeremy Neustifter shut out the Tigers on two hits. But, the Tigers' came to life in the sixth inning. Senior first baseman Matt Collins led off with a double to left centerfield. After sophomore second baseman Chris Wychock drew a walk, Stifler reached on an error by Stanfield at shortstop as Matt Collins came around to score. A sacrifice fly by senior Aaron Gabrielian cut the Tigers' deficit to 9-2.
The Tigers missed a great chance to score some more runs in the seventh inning. After Helmick and junior Kevin Collins led off the inning with singles, junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky lined into a double play.
In the eighth inning, Towson reduced its deficit to 9-4. Wychock led off the inning by reaching second base on a two-base error by Bower, the first baseman. Wychock went to third base when Stifler grounded out. He scored when Gabrielian grounded out to third base. Freshman rightfielder Ben Winter kept the inning alive when he singled to rightfield. Sophomore Austin Harclerode followed with a single before a walk to Helmick loaded the bases. The Tigers pulled to within 9-4 when Kevin Collins drew a bases-loaded walk. But, the Tigers left the bases loaded when Yarsinsky flew out to rightfield, ending the inning.
The Tigers entered the ninth inning trailing by five runs. With one out in the ninth, Wychock blasted his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot over the leftfield fence to make it a 9-5 deficit. After a walk to Stifler, Gabrielian popped up to shortstop for the second out. Winter kept the Tigers' hopes alive when he doubled to centerfield, scoring Stifler from first base to make it a 9-6 lead. However, sophomore righthander Logan Billbrough retired Harclerode on a fly ball to centerfield, ending the game.
Neustifter picked up the win, upping his record to 3-1 on the season. He pitched six innings and allowed two runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
The Tribe, who outhit Towson by a 15-9 margin, was led by Jones and Stampone, who each had three hits. Nickle, who batted .500 in the weekend series with 11 RBI's, was 2-for-4 with five RBI's in the win.
Curd suffered the loss for the Tigers as he fell to 4-4 on the season.
In 4.2 innings of relief, Umberger allowed one run on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Winter, who batted .462 in the weekend series, was 2-for-5 with one RBI.
The Tigers return to action on Tueesday with a non-conference game at Mount St. Mary's.
