Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - A walk-off single by Ryan Brown in the bottom of the ninth lifted William & Mary past the University of Delaware baseball team, 4-3, during a Colonial Athletic Association battle on Sunday afternoon at Plumeri Park.

The win was the second straight walk-off victory for the Tribe after the squad captured a thrilling 5-4 decision in 12 innings during the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. With the win, William & Mary improves to 16-8, including 2-1 in the CAA. Delaware falls to 10-10 with a 1-2 mark in conference action.

The Blue Hens roped 11 hits in the game, including three by Steve Ulaky and two each from Dave Anderson, Pat Dameron, and Josh Dean. Anderson (at right) also knocked in a run and scored another to help lead the Delaware offense.

Despite the team’s offensive efforts, Carlos Alonso saw his school-record 32-game hitting streak come to an end after going hitless in five at bats. In addition, his streak of reaching base safely in 67 straight games, which spanned his entire career at Delaware, also was snapped by the Tribe pitching staff.

Delaware struck first in the contest after plating a pair of runs in the second. Dameron led off the inning with a double to right before Dean chased him in with a single to center. Although Dean was eventually caught leaning off first, the Hens remained on the offensive. Anderson and Ulaky lined back-to-back singles before Long popped an RBI hit to right.

Staring at a two-run deficit, William & Mary responded in the bottom of the frame. The Tribe roped four straight singles, including RBI knocks by Derek Lowe and Ryan Brown, to quickly knot the game at two.

After William & Mary levied a counterpunch, Delaware fought right back in the third. Cuneo drew a walk, moved to third on a single by Dameron, and scored when Anderson smacked a hit through the left side of the infield.

With the offense going strong, Delaware starter Eric Buckland looked sharp in the middle innings. The flame-throwing right-hander retired 10 straight batters between the second and the fifth to keep the Tribe off the board.

Unfortunately, William & Mary eventually regained its footing in the sixth. Stephen Arcure led off the frame with a double to right center before back-to-back hits by Chris Jensen and Jonathan Slattery brought him home and evened the game at three.

Although Delaware had a chance to respond in the late innings, the team could never quite capitalize on its opportunities. The Hens put their leadoff hitter on base during each of their final three trips to the plate and had a runner in scoring position twice, but the team could not break the deadlock.

Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, the Tribe closed out the game. After the Hens summoned Matt Harden from the bullpen, Slattery greeted him with a leadoff single and moved into scoring position following a sacrifice bunt. Although Harden got the next batter to line out, Brown came through with a single down the rightfield line that proved to be the game-winner.

Harden (0-2) took the loss for the Hens, while John Farrell (3-1) earned the win after allowing only one hit and no runs during his three-inning relief appearance.

The setback wasted an excellent outing by Buckland. The freshman standout allowed three runs and struck out two over eight strong innings on the mound.

Delaware will be back in action on Tuesday when the team hosts Lafayette at 3 p.m. for the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic.