The Navy baseball team (22-20) struggled to keep up with one of the best hitting teams in the country, falling 9-3 to William & Mary (16-24) on a warm Tuesday evening at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
Despite a home run from Henry Mitchell and two-hit performances from Evan Brown and Victor Izquierdo, Navy couldn’t contain William & Mary’s offense. The Tribe piled up 13 hits against eight Navy pitchers throughout the game.
Navy starter Matt Archibald tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit before handing the ball over to the bullpen. William & Mary got on the board in the third inning when Owen Wilson scored from first on a Ben Parker double, and Parker later crossed the plate on Jamie Laskofski’s single, giving the Tribe a 2-0 lead.
Navy responded in the fourth. After Andrew Manning and Brown singled, a failed pickoff attempt allowed Manning to advance to third. Izquierdo’s groundout brought Manning home, narrowing the gap to 2-1. However, William & Mary extended its lead in the fifth with an RBI single from Christian Rush and a fielder’s choice by Laskofski, making it 4-1. Mitchell’s 395-foot home run in the bottom of the inning trimmed the deficit to 4-2.
The Tribe answered once again in the sixth, with Lucas Carmichael hitting a two-run double down the first-base line. Navy fought back in the same inning when Manning stole second and scored on Brown’s single, cutting the lead to 6-3.
After a scoreless seventh and eighth innings, William & Mary sealed the game in the ninth. Laskofski hit an RBI triple, Derek Holmes singled in another run, and Wilson walked with the bases loaded, stretching the Tribe’s lead to 9-3. Navy had a chance to rally, but Reed Interdonato pitched two shutout innings, closing the game with a strikeout to secure the win for William & Mary.
For William & Mary, Chad Yates started the game with two scoreless innings, followed by five relievers, including Tom Bourque and Zach Boyd, who each threw shutout innings. Interdonato earned the win with two strikeouts in his two-inning appearance.
Navy used seven relievers after Archibald, with Timmy Virtudes taking the loss in his first appearance of the season after returning from injury. Virtudes allowed two runs in one inning.
Up Next: Navy will travel to Lehigh for a three-game Patriot League series this weekend, beginning at 3 p.m. Friday in Bethlehem, Pa.
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