March 4, 2006

• Game One Box Score
• Game Two Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Sophomore Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) won his fifth-consecutive start of the 2006 season with a complete game effort in game one as Navy recorded a doubleheader sweep of Central Connecticut State in baseball action on Saturday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen won the first game, 4-3, before a 5-2 victory over the Blue Devils to improve their record to 10-3-1. Central Connecticut State fell to 0-2 in its season-opener on Saturday.

"Mitch (Harris) had to battle today, but once again did a real good job," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He's becoming more and more of a leader, a guy that we can turn to."

Harris used 112 pitches to hurl his first-career complete game, scattering eight hits and three runs, two of which were earned, with four walks and four strikeouts. The sophomore is the first pitcher since Mike Coonan in 1989 to win his first-five starts of a season.

In game one, the visiting Blue Devils opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first. Navy immediately responded with a run of its own on a Jared Munde (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) RBI-single with two outs to knot the ballgame at one.

After holding Central Connecticut State scoreless in the second, the Midshipmen took the lead with a three-run bottom half of the second. With the bases loaded and nobody out, sophomore Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) single to right, followed by a Jonathan Johnston (Hamilton, Township, N.J.) two-run single to push Navy's lead to 4-1.

Central Connecticut State battled back to within one in the top of the fifth. Trailing 4-3 with runners on the corners and two outs, Harris induced a fielder's choice groundout to end the inning.

Hollins went 2-for-4 in the leadoff position with a run batted in. Munde joined Hollins with a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-3 with a run batted in.

The Midshipmen received another strong performance out of its starting pitcher, as sophomore Mark McCoy (Parkland, Fla.) tossed six solid innings to improve his record to 2-1 on the year. McCoy held the Blue Devils without a hit over the first-5.1 innings on Saturday. The sophomore scattered four hits and two runs with two walks and six strikeouts on Saturday.

"Mark did a very good job today," said Kostacopoulos. "He did not let them get back in the lead after he was given the 5-0 lead. This was his best performance by far this year. Things are very favorable for us when two pitchers can do what Mitch (Harris) and Mark (McCoy) did today."

Navy gave McCoy all of the run support he would need in the first-three innings, establishing a 5-0 lead. Senior Ryan McGinn (Arvada, Colo.) tripled to right-center with two outs to plate Munde and give the Mids a 1-0 advantage in the second inning.

The Midshipmen took advantage of a Central Connecticut State error in the third inning to score four unearned runs. Hollins recorded an infield single with one out and stole second base before Harris would reach on a throwing error to put runners on the corners. After Central Connecticut State's starter Evan Scribner recorded the second out of the inning, he balked to advance Harris to second and score Hollins. Freshman Joshua Martinez (Denver, Colo.) delivered a run-scoring single up the middle before Munde blasted a home run over the left field fence for a 5-0 Midshipmen advantage.

Munde's fourth round-tripper of the season matched his career home total over his first-three seasons with Navy. The senior surpassed his career-high RBI total for a season with the two-run shot, pushing his season tally to 22 RBIs. The home run also pushed Navy's team total to eight on the year, matching its total from all-46 games last season.

"Jared (Munde) has been great in the clutch for us," Kostacopoulos said. "In the first game, he hung in there and fought off a tough pitch to drive home the runner from third. Jared just picks up runners."

Senior southpaw Ryan Hefner (Creve Coeur, Ill.) came in the seventh and retired all-three batters he faced to pick up his third-save of the year. The three saves for Hefner move him into a third-place tie for most saves in a season, one shy of the record shared by Todd Bizba in 1985 and Burgess Nichols in 2004.

Martinez and McGinn each had two hits in the second game as Navy out-hit its guests, 7-4.

"Joshua had a couple big hits," said Kostacopoulos. "He has proven that he belongs in the lineup. In only his second action behind the plate this year, he really did a nice job and handled himself well. It's good to see a young guy come in and do that."

The Midshipmen and Blue Devils conclude their three-game set with a nine-inning contest tomorrow at 12 noon.