Cougars Take on Tribe to Open Postseason Play

Thursday, May 23

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

William & Mary

5/22/2019 10:31:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

No. 2 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (36-19) vs No. 3 WILIAM & MARY (32-20)
Game No. 57 | Harrisonburg, Va. | Veterans Memorial Park

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Twitter: @CofCBaseball
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Video: CAA.TV
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Probable Pitchers
Thursday | 7:00 pm ET: RHP Griffin McLarty (8-4, 2.04 ERA, 108 K) vs. LHP Bodie Sheehan (5-2, 2.48 ERA, 54 K)

HARRISONBURG, Va. --- The College of Charleston baseball team begins its quest for the program's second Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Championship on Thursday when the second-seeded Cougars face No. 3 seed William & Mary at Veterans Memorial Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with junior Griffin McLarty (Buckner, Ky.) taking the ball opposite William & Mary senior Bodie Sheehan.

Game Preview
Thursday's match-up marks the 24th all-time meeting and fourth this season between the Cougars and Tribe. William & Mary swept a series from the Cougars in Williamsburg earlier this month including a pair of extra-inning walk-offs.

Scouting William & Mary
William & Mary carries a 32-20 overall record into Thursday's meeting after edging James Madison, 2-1, in Wednesday's first round. The Tribe rank eighth in the nation in double plays (54) and 15th in triples (21).

Zach Pearson leads the Tribe with a .297 batting average to go along with 13 doubles and 32 RBI's. Hunter Smith paces William & Mary with 12 homers and 39 RBI's while Brandon Raquet is batting .286 with four triples, seven home runs and 30 RBI's. Bodie Sheehan carries a 5-2 record with a 2.48 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 13 starts.

Series History
The Cougars lead the all-time series with William & May, 14-9, after dropping three games to the Tribe earlier this month. William & Mary has won six of the last 10 in the all-time series.

Last Five Games in Series
L, 4-5 (10) 5/5/19 in Williamsburg, Va.
L, 3-4 (13) 5/4/19 in Williamsburg, Va.
L, 1-5 5/3/19 in Williamsburg, Va.
W, 7-2 3/24/18 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
W, 8-7 3/23/18 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Last Time Out
The Cougars completed their second consecutive series sweep in CAA play with three gritty wins at Delaware over the weekend. Charleston rallied from a first-inning 5-0 deficit in Thursday's opener to complete its fourth straight comeback victory.

Magical Manzo
A Charleston Cougar has been named the CAA's Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season after senior shortstop Luke Manzo claimed the honor on Tuesday. Manzo led the conference with 164 assists this season and made only seven errors in 251 chances for a .972 fielding percentage.

Top of the Pile
The Cougars placed four players on the All-CAA First Team to pace the conference as Danny Wondrack, Dupree Hart, Bradley Dixon and Griffin McLarty each garnered first-team recognition.

Career Firsts
Four Cougars earned All-CAA honors for the first time in their careers on Tuesday, including CAA Defensive Player of the Year recognition for Luke Manzo. Junior right-hander Griffin McLarty was named to the All-CAA First Team, while senior closer Nathan Ocker and senior infielder Chaz Davey garnered All-CAA Second and Third Team honors respectively.

Surging Cougars
Charleston comes into the CAA Tournament as the league's hottest team having won eight in a row. The stretch marks the Cougars' longest winning streak of the season and includes a pair of series sweeps to help The College clinch the No. 2 seed in this week's championship.

Price is Right
Right-hander Josh Price has been superb over the last 10 games, posting a 1-0 record with a 1.40 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 19.1 innings over eight appearances. The junior has held opposing batters to a .208 average in that stretch, and allowed only three runs on 15 hits and five walks. He tossed a season-high six scoreless innings in the Cougars' 10-7 win at Delaware last Thursday scattering four hits and striking out two.