4/13/2002 - Baseball
Mids Sweep Doubleheader from Holy Cross
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team swept a Patriot League doubleheader from visiting Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium, led by freshman Pete Curnow's (Morristown, N.J.) 5-for-6 performance at the plate. The Mids won the opener 8-1 and captured the second game, 3-2. The two teams will close out their four-game series with another doubleheader Sunday at 12 noon.
"It was a great day for our guys, and we got great starting pitching from Rich McDevitt (Jr./Albany, N.Y.) and Andy Froistad (So./St. Paul, Minn.)," Navy head coach Steve Whitmyer said. "We also got a lot of timely hitting which was a key for us, especially early in the second game. Curnow had a good day for us in the leadoff spot and is really coming on."
In the first game, Navy (11-19, 6-4 Patriot League) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as the Mids recorded four hits off Holy Cross starting pitcher Mike Montano. Left fielder Dominic Nicolini's (Sr./Merrillville, Ind.) RBI-single to left field capped the Navy scoring in the inning.
After Holy Cross shortstop Mike Schell scored from third base when McDevitt was called for a balk in the top of the second inning, Navy designated hitter Will Mahan (Jr./Escondida, Calif.) drove in Curnow with an RBI-single, giving the Mids a 5-1 lead after two innings.
Mahan grounded out to short in the bottom of the fourth to score Curnow from third base. Shortstop Brad Hager (Jr./Delray Beach, Fla.) belted his first-career home run in the bottom of the fifth when he went deep off Montano. Curnow then scored from third base on Mahan's sacrifice fly to center in the sixth, as the Mids won the opening game.
Curnow led the way, hitting 3-for-3 with a double, three stolen bases and four runs scored, while Mahan went 1-for-2 with three RBIs. John Cocca (Sr./Whitehall, Pa.), Jake Miller (Jr./Santa Maria, Calif.) and Hager each recorded two hits apiece for the Mids.
McDevitt picked up his first win of the season, throwing a complete-game six-hitter with four strikeouts and two walks. Montano dropped to 2-3 overall with the loss, his first league loss of the season.
In the nightcap, Navy took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Cocca's RBI-single to left field, scoring Curnow, who led off the inning with a base hit to center field. Navy first baseman Neil Brubeck (Sr./Bryan, Texas) hit a two-run homer to left field, his first-career round-tripper, off Holy Cross starting pitcher D.J. Lucey in the bottom of the second to give the Mids a 3-0 lead.
Schell responded with a home run of his own for Holy Cross (8-17, 3-7) in the top of the third off Froistad, trimming the Mids' lead to two.
The Crusaders cut Navy's lead to one in the top of the seventh inning when pinch runner Ed Turner scored from third base on Schell's ground out to short off Navy reliever Bryan Koehler (Sr./Lutz, Fla.). However, with a runner on second, Koehler got 2001 Patriot League Player of the Year Peter Summa to ground out to end the game, picking his first save of the year for the Mids.
Curnow went 2-for-3 and scored a run, while Froistad improved to 3-1 with the win. Lucey dropped to 3-2 with the loss, throwing a complete-game four hitter.
