FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
Game 1: Navy 6 Holy Cross 5
Game 2: Navy 9 Holy Cross 3
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy’s top-two hitters in the lineup, Renaldo Hollins (Sr./Virginia Beach, Va.) and Mike Guadagnini (Fr./Virginia Beach, Va.), combined to go 13-for-19 with seven runs scored on Saturday to lead the Midshipmen to a baseball doubleheader sweep of Holy Cross at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Navy rallied in the opener and won in nine innings, 6-5, before taking the nightcap, 9-3.
The Midshipmen totaled 31 base knocks on the day to improve to 27-20 on the year and 10-8 in Patriot League play, while the Crusaders fell to 19-24 overall and 10-8 in league action. By virtue of its two wins on Saturday and Army’s two victories over Lafayette, Navy has clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
Hollins finished Saturday with a 5-for-9 effort at the plate with three runs scored and two RBIs, followed by Guadagnini’s impressive 8-for-10 performance with a double and four runs scored. Guadagnini went 5-for-5 in the nightcap, marking the first five-hit showing by a Navy batter since Ryan McGinn at Holy Cross on April 10, 2005.
“We had a really good 1-2 punch going for us today with Renaldo and Mike,” stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. “The two of them together were a great unit. They both put on great at bats all day. Mike’s 8-for-10 at the plate really speaks for itself.”
Saturday’s twinbill opener featured a tight contest that had Navy holding a 4-3 cushion going into the seventh, but Holy Cross plated a pair of unearned runs to take its first lead of the game, 5-4. However, the Midshipmen responded in the bottom half of the frame to force extra frames.
Hollins drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Guadagnini’s bunt single past the charging-in third baseman. After a popout on a sacrifice attempt, team captain Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) singled through the right side to plate Hollins and knot the game at five.
Two innings later, Hollins reached base on a throwing error by the third baseman to begin the stanza. Guadagnini followed and laid down a bunt to the pitcher, who tried to throw out Hollins at second base, but the toss went into the outfield for the second error of the inning. After a flyout, Hamilton walked to load the bases. With a drawn-in infield, Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) ripped a lineout to the second baseman. Stepping to the plate was Jeff Bland (Fr./Basking Ridge, N.J.), who took the first pitch he saw and drilled it off the fence in left-center to bring home Hollins for the game-winning run.
“Given the way Holy Cross took the lead in the seventh, it was impressive for us to come back and tie the game and then found a way to win the game,” said Kostacopoulos. “That first game was a grinder. It showed a lot of character out of our team to come back and work its way back to get the win.”
Navy jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first-two innings of play. Hollins led off the first with a bunt single and would score on a Guadagnini double down the left field line. Guadagnini would come home a Speciale two-bagger down the line in left. One stanza later, Bill Maugeri (Sr./Edgewater, Md.) was hit by a pitch, stole second and touched home on a Nick Driscoll (Fr./Riverview, Fla.) single to left.
Holy Cross bounced back with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to tie the game at three. Navy immediately re-took the lead in the bottom half of the fifth, as Guadagnini made an athletic move around the catcher to avoid the tag at home to score on a Hamilton single to right.
The Midshipmen out-hit the Crusaders in the opener, 15-9, with the top-four hitters in the Navy lineup combining to go 10-for-18 at the plate. Hollins and Guadagnini each had three hits at the first and second spots in the lineup, respectively, followed by two-hit efforts from Speciale and Hamilton.
Navy starter Mitch Harris (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) struck out five and walked only one in 4.1 innings of work. He threw 84 pitches on the day, 59 of which were strikes, in allowing the Crusaders three runs on seven hits. Relief pitchers Drew Carlson (So./Boca Raton, Fla.) and JD Melton (So./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) each threw 2.1 innings and did not allow an earned run. Melton did not issue a walk and struck out one to earn the win and improve to 2-1 on the year.
In the back end of Saturday’s doubleheader, Navy starter Mark McCoy (Sr./Parkland, Fla.) ran into some trouble in the third, as he gave up two runs, but settled in afterwards with four-straight scoreless frames to pick up his fifth win of the year. The Navy right-hander finished with seven innings of seven-hit, three-run baseball with two walks and seven strikeouts.
“Coming to the park assuming he was going to throw tomorrow and then turning in that kind of performance was a great lift for us,” stated Kostacopoulos. “His breaking balls were working well and when he has them going, he is a difficult guy to hit against. He did a nice job of bouncing back after the third to get us into the eighth then just got a little tired.”
Navy’s offense came to the aid of McCoy immediately after the two-run Holy Cross third, as it sent 12 batters to the plate in scoring six runs and taking the lead for good. Hollins and Guadagnini each had two hits in the frame, while Speciale had a RBI-triple and Hamilton and Harris had run-producing doubles.
After Holy Cross chased McCoy out of the game in the eighth with a run, southpaw reliever Kevin Heasley (Sr./Cincinnati, Ohio) retired all-six batters he faced to earn his first-career save.
The Midshipmen tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth. With the bases loaded with one out, Bland greeted Holy Cross reliever Dan Seip with a bases-clearing double off the fence down the left-field line.
Each Navy starter recorded a base knock in the nightcap to out-hit Holy Cross, 16-7. In addition to Guadagnini’s 5-for-5 performance, Hollins, Bolt and Bland each came up with a pair of hits. Bland drove home four runners in the second game.
With Saturday’s sweep of Holy Cross, the Midshipmen have won 11-straight contests over the Crusaders, dating back to the 2005 campaign.
Navy will look to clinch a No. 2 seed and a home series for this year’s Patriot League Tournament, as it closes out league regular season play with a doubleheader tomorrow against Holy Cross.
“We cannot get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Kostacopoulos. “The game is hard enough to play on its own merits. We just need to stay locked in, worry about the first game tomorrow and then shift our focus to the second game.”
Live stats for all of Navy’s home games are available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com
Game 1: Army 4 Lafayette 1
Game 2: Army 7 Lafayette 0
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Drew Clothier allowed just two first inning infield singles in the opener and Ben Koenigsfeld fired a two-hit shutout in the nightcap as Army clinched the top seed in next month’s Patriot League Tournament and at least a share of the regular season conference championship by sweeping a doubleheader from Lafayette, Saturday afternoon at Doubleday Field.
In clinching their third regular season Patriot League title in five years and their fourth posteason berth in five seasons,
the Black Knights dealt the defending Patriot League champion-Leopards’ own postseason hopes a near-fatal blow, winning by the scores of 4-1 and 7-0.
Coupled with Lehigh and Navy doubleheader sweeps of Bucknell and Holy Cross, respectively, Army (20-20 overall, 12-6 Patriot) moved two games ahead of both Holy Cross (10-8 Patriot) and Navy (10-8 Patriot) in the conference standings and three games in front of Bucknell (9-9) with two league contests remaining. Lafayette must sweep Army and see Lehigh sweep Bucknell on Sunday in order to squeeze into the Patriot League tourney.
“I’d like to congratulate the captains and all the seniors for attaining the first of the goals we set for this year,” said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. “Each and every one of the seniors has done a tremendous job in leading this team.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and we remain focused on our next objective,” added Army’s ninth-year field boss. “Starting pitching was the story today. We received outstanding efforts from both Drew and Ben. I’m very proud of both those young men. They gave us everything they had. Our starting pitching has been excellent throughout the past several weeks and it certainly was again today.”
Clothier and Lafayette ace Kevin Reese (3-5) locked in a classic pitchers’ duel in the first game. The Leopards carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning after scoring a run on a pair of infield singles in the first. But that was all the offense Lafayette mustered against Army’s senior southpaw.
After yielding Tom Ambroseole’s run-scoring single to shortstop in the first, Clothier retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced and set down 10 straight entering the sixth inning. In fact, the only runner Lafayette placed on base during the stretch reached on a fielding error.
Army grabbed the lead from Reese in the bottom of the fifth inning, mounting a two-out rally against the Leopards’ hard-throwing right-hander. Kyle Stramara lined a single to right field, stole second base and moved to third on Tony Capozzi’s single to shallow right field. Clint Moore ripped a clutch single to left field that delivered both Stramara and Capozzi, who scored all the way from first base on the play, to provide Army with a 2-1 lead.
Clothier ran into mild trouble in the sixth, sandwiching walks to Rob Froio and Chris Luick around a strikeout of Daniel Bierce. But Army’s senior southpaw induced Lafayette cleanup hitter Tom Ambrosole to rap into an inning-ending double-play to avert damage. It marked Lafayette’s first base runners since the second inning and the first time the Leopards advanced a runner into scoring position since the first.
The Black Knights added a pair of important runs in the bottom of the stanza when Cole White doubled and Kevin McKague beat out a sacrifice bunt attempt for a single. Reese uncorked a wild pitch to score White, with McKague advancing all the way to third base on the play. He scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly by Chris Simmons, stretching Army’s lead to 4-1.
Clothier (4-5) closed out his third complete game of the season by retiring the Leopards in order in the seventh. He struck out four and walked two, allowing just two infield singles and two base runners to reach scoring position all game. Only three runners reached base against Clothier after the first inning and none would advance to third base.
Moore went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and McKague registered two hits to pace Army’s offense.
Army continued its sprint to the top of the Patriot League standings behind the stalwart pitching of Koenigsfeld (5-3) in the second game. The freshman right-hander fired 6.1 innings of no-hit ball in registering his first career complete game and first career shutout.
Koenigsfeld, who ran his Patriot League record to a perfect 4-0, retired 10 straight batters after issuing a leadoff walk in the second. He retired 15 of 16 Lafayette batters before A.J. Miller smacked a clean single to center field to break up the no-hit bid with one out in the seventh.
He allowed just two Lafayette base runners to reach scoring position all game (none after the second inning) and did not permit a single Leopard runner to advance to third base.
Army, meanwhile, broke through with an unearned run against Lafayette starter Jeremy Atkins (3-4) in third inning as Stramara reached on an error, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Capozzi and scored on the play when Atkins fired the ball wildly over the head of first baseman Chris Luick.
The Black Knights added a run in the fourth when J.P. Polchinski singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Simmons. Capozzi’s leadoff homer to left pushed Army’s lead to 3-0 in the fifth before back-to-back singles by Moore and Andy Ernesto, and a run-scoring double-play grounder by White built the Black Knights’ advantage to 4-0.
Army tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning on a two-run single by McKague. Capozzi’s RBI double down the right-field line in the eighth inning accounted for the final 7-0 margin.
Koenigsfeld, who retired six consecutive batters after allowing Lafayette’s first hit in the seventh, did not surrender a second safety until pinch-hitter A.J. Pisarri stroked a single to center field with two outs in the ninth. For the game, he fanned five and walked four.
Moore went 2-for-3 for the second straight game and scored two runs to head the Army offense, while Capozzi finished the second game 2-for-3 with one run scored and two RBI.
Saturday’s mound exploits were the latest in a stellar run of pitching performances in Patriot League play for the Black Knights. Army has allowed a total of just one run and 13 base hits in its last four conference outings. The Black Knights have yielded two runs or less in nine of their last 13 Patriot League tilts, tossing four shutouts during that stretch.
“I’d like to congratulate the coaching staff on the team’s achievements thus far,” stated Sottolano. “Obviously coach (Fritz) Hamburg has done a tremendous job, as always, with our pitching. We can’t say enough good things about our defense, which is a direct correlation to the work coach (Matt) Reid and coach (John) Mellon have done, specifically with our infielders.
“Our defense has been absolutely tremendous. We are playing with a lot of confidence. It is a strong and athletic group, and they’re a lot of fun to watch.”
Army and Lafayette will conclude regular season Patriot League play on Sunday with another doubleheader at Doubleday Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Black Knights can clinch the school’s fifth outright regular season Patriot League championship with one win on Sunday.
Game 1: Lehigh 4 Bucknell 3
Game 2: Lehigh 8 Bucknell 4
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Backed by two strong pitching performances from seniors Joe Matteo and Andrew Grim, Lehigh swept the first two games of its four-game series with Bucknell on Saturday in Lewisburg, Pa. Matteo (6-3) pitched his third consecutive complete game in the first game to help the Mountain Hawks pick up a 4-3 win. In the second game, Grim (4-2) also went the distance as Lehigh came away with an 8-4 victory. With the wins the Brown and White improve to 22-26 (6-12) while the Bison fall to 21-20 (9-9) on the year.
In game one, the Bison struck first on a sac fly from Dane Grandizio to score Ben Yoder, who had reached in the previous at bat on a triple to right center. The score remained tied till the third, when Brendan McGaheran brought home Geoff Campbell with a single to right field. Billy Goldman scored in the next at bat on an error by Yoder at second base, to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 lead.
In the next inning, Lehigh put runners on the corners with no one out and successfully pulled off a double steal, as Matt Reitz got thrown out going to second, but it allowed Billy Swenson to score from third. The Mountain Hawks added their fourth run of the game in the fifth, on an RBI single to center field from Liam O’Connor, which allowed McGaheran to score from third.
Bucknell added two runs late, on a two-run homerun by Andrew Brouse in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough, as Lehigh escaped with the win.
Matteo went all seven innings, surrendering three runs on five hits, while striking out a game high seven. His counterpart Jason Buursma (5-3) also went the distance, giving up four runs, three of which were unearned, while striking out just three.
In game two, it was Bucknell who once again started the scoring first, picking up two runs in the third on RBI from Yoder and Grandizio. Lehigh countered in the sixth, when Mark Bernhard led the inning off with a double in the left-center field gap. Andy Russell drove him home two batters later on a sac fly to center field.
Bucknell responded right back with a run in the bottom half of the inning an RBI single down the left field line by Brouse to score Grandizio.
Lehigh’s offense exploded in the top of the seventh, as the Mountain Hawks pounded out five runs in the inning. Bernhard and McGaheran drove in four of the innings five runs, with McGaheran’s two RBI coming on a homerun to left field.
The Mountain Hawks added two more runs in the eighth, which was more than enough offense for Grim. The lefty surrendered 10 hits on the day, but only two were for extra bases, and recorded 16 groundball outs to just nine fly outs.
These two teams will face each other tomorrow in the final two games of league play. The first game is scheduled to get underway at noon from Lewisburg, Pa.
