Freshman shortstop Mike Small had three hits and three RBI and senior RF Mike Mergenthaler launched his first career grand-slam home run, but a 10th inning homer from Jonathan Slattery was the difference as William & Mary beat Richmond, 9-8, Wednesday at Pitt Field.
Slattery stroked his first home run of the season – a game-winning solo shot over the left-center field fence with one out in the 10th, after Richmond tied the game in the seventh at 8-8 thanks to Phil Ruzbarsky’s sacrifice fly.
The Spiders, which had won four-straight, 11 of their last 12 overall and two-consecutive in comeback fashion, slipped to 15-12-2 overall. Richmond owned leads of 5-1 and 7-5 in the game.
Small singled in the third inning to tie the game at 1-1, then later in the frame with the bases loaded, Mergenthaler launched a bases-clearing home run just to the left of the 390-foot sign in straight-away center field to put Richmond up 5-1.
For Mergenthaler, it was his fourth long ball of the season and the 28th of his career – the previous 27 had either been solo or two-run shots. The senior, who is hitting .359 this season, needs just three more homers and five more RBI to crack the Spiders’ all-time Top-10 lists in both categories.
The Tribe (17-15), which also came in hot by winning 10 of their last 12, feasted on a six-walk fourth inning issued by Spider pitching to score four times and tie the game at 5-5. Two sacrifice fly-outs and two bases-loaded walks were the offense that inning.
Small answered again for Richmond in the bottom of the fourth when he singled to score JB Gadd and Chris Cowell and put the Spiders back in front 7-5.
The Tribe had hit just one ball out of the infield – Derek Lowe’s RBI single in the second – before a three-run uprising in the seventh inning that featured doubles from Tadd Bower, Stephen Arcure and Lowe. Ryan Brown’s squeeze bunt with Lowe at third scored the go-ahead run at 8-7.
Ruzbarsky’s sac fly tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, and the teams played scoreless baseball over the eighth and ninth innings to set-up the extra-inning drama.
Junior reliever Daniel Clark was hung the loss (0-2) and the homer allowed to Slattery was the first earned run against him in 10 appearances this season. Matt Wainman fired 4.1 innings in relief for the Tribe to get the win (2-2), while closer Brett Koehler got the final two outs in the 10th to nail down his sixth save.
Of the Spiders’ 29 games this season, 18 have been decided by two runs or less (five in extra innings) and Richmond is 8-8-2 in those games.
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Chris Graham
