3/24/2002 - Baseball
Navy Baseball Team Falls Short Against Penn State

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ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Penn State (7-8) jumped out to an 8-0 lead after 2 2/3 innings and then hung on for a 10-7 victory over Navy (5-13) Sunday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium. The loss was the Mids seventh in a row.

Navy starter Matt Cooney couldn't get out of the third inning, allowing eight runs and 11 hits in 2 1/3 innings of work.

The Mids got on the board in the third on a two-out, two-run single by Chris Ashinhurst and then pulled to within 8-7 in the fourth on a grand slam by freshman Matt Lukevics and a run-scoring single by Craig Candeto. It was Lukevics' first career home run.

Navy, though, would never threaten the rest of the way, collecting just one more hit. The Nittany Lions put the game away in the sixth when Chris Wright hit a two run home run off Bryan Koehler.

"We are still not out of the hole we are in yet, but we started showing some signs of life today," said Navy head coach Steve Whitmyer. "Spotting a team eight runs is too much of a deficit to overcome. The bullpen did a great job of keeping us in the game."

Navy will be back in action on Tuesday when the Mids travel to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason in a 2:30 p.m. contest. The Mids will return home next weekend when they play host to the Army Black Knights in doubleheaders Saturday (12 noon) and Sunday (1 p.m.)