Score: VCU 9, William & Mary 5
Location: Williamsburg, Va. (Pulmeri Park)
Records: VCU 19-10, William & Mary 20-9
 
The short story: Redshirt junior Jake Thilges hit a grand slam to spark a 13-hit VCU attack in a midweek win at William & Mary Tuesday.
 
LEADING OFF

• Tuesday's base-clearing blast was Thilges first home run of the 2024 season. The Johnston, Iowa native finished the day 2-for-3 and reached base three times. He scored a pair of runs
• Senior righthander Nick Cosentino delivered 3.1 innings of scoreless relief for VCU on the way to his first victory of the season. He surrendered three hits and struck out two
• Five Rams recorded two hits in the game, including redshirt junior second baseman Griffin Boone, who was 2-for-5 at the plate, including a double, and drove in two
• VCU graduate left fielder Ethan Iannuzzi recorded two hits, drove in one run and scored another
• Luca Trigiani led the Tribe with a 2-for-4 day at the plate 

THE STRETCH

• The Rams erased an early deficit with a five-run third inning, punctuated by Thilges pinch-hit opposite field grand slam to right, to take a 5-1 lead. VCU would not trail again
• VCU added another run in the fourth, then pushed its advantage to 9-3 on a two-run single by Boone and a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Brandon Eike in the fifth inning
• The Tribe pushed a couple of runs across in the bottom half of the ninth, but graduate righty Owen Tappy helped shut the door with a pair of strikeouts to retire the side

NEXT UP
The Rams return home for a three-game set with Davidson April 5-7. The Rams and Wildcats will kick off the weekend on Friday at 6 p.m. at The Diamond. All three games in the series will be streamed live on ESPN+.