April 10, 2006

• Game One Box Score
• Game Two Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - Sophomore Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) went 5-for-9 at the plate with a double and two RBIs as Navy split its doubleheader against Lafayette in baseball action on Monday afternoon at Class of 1978 Stadium. The Leopards took the opener, 6-4, before the Midshipmen came back to take the nightcap, 7-2, to claim a four-game weekend series split.

The Mids finished the day with a 25-10-1 record and remained first in the Patriot League with a 6-2 mark. The six league wins by Navy this year matched its Patriot League win total from one year ago, as that squad posted a 6-14 record in league action. The Leopards moved to 15-14 overall and 5-3 in league play.

"Lafayette is a very good baseball team," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Whenever you go on the road and split the series, it is a good weekend."

Lafayette scored at least once in the first-three innings to establish a 4-0 lead off Navy freshman starter Tim Hammond (Woodbine, Md.). Frank Cortazar doubled and scored on a Kevin Leasure single to put the hosts up 1-0 in the first.

James Conrad led off the second with a single and would cross the plate on Ian Law's two-run round-tripper to left with two outs. The home run was the first allowed by Hammond this season, spanning 38.1-consecutive innings without yielding a four-bagger.

The Leopards increased the lead to 4-0 in the third when Dave Drechsel's infield single plated Tom Hayes with two outs.

Navy broke its 14-inning scoreless drought in the fifth inning, bringing home two runs to cut the deficit in half to 4-2. Senior Jared Munde (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and advanced to third on junior Michael Garcia's (Kailua, Hawai'i) double down the right field line. Sophomore Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) brought home Munde on a RBI-groundout and junior Dominic Lopez (Quincy, Mich.) plated Garcia on a fielding error.

Lafayette responded by extending its lead back to four in the bottom half of the fifth. Conrad produced a two-run single with two outs that put the hosts ahead, 6-2.

The Midshipmen would not go quietly, scoring two runs in the sixth to pull back within two at 6-4. With nobody on and two outs, senior Ryan McGinn (Arvada, Colo.) delivered a single to center. Munde followed by taking the first pitch he saw and sent it over the left-center field fence for his fifth home run of the year.

Navy made things interesting in the seventh, as senior Jonathan Johnston (Hamilton Township, N.J.) walked and Harris singled to put runners on first and second with one out. However, Lafayette reliever John Fugett induced a popout and groundout to pick up his fifth save of the year.

Hammond allowed six runs on 10 hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 4.2 innings as he picked up the loss and fell to 1-2 on the year.

Harris and Garcia each posted two hits, while Munde scored twice and drove in two in the doubleheader opener.

Ted Gjeldum improved to 3-2 on the year with his 5.2-inning performance on Monday. Gjeldum scattered five hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts on the afternoon.

In game two, Lafayette once again jumped out to an early lead. Tom Ambrosole singled home Law with two outs to give the Leopards a 1-0 advantage.

Navy answered back by taking its first lead of the game courtesy of a four-run third inning. Hollins singled to center and took second base as the centerfielder bobbled the ball. Lopez singled to put runners on first and third before Johnston lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one. After Lopez moved to second on a passed ball, Harris laced a RBI-double in the gap to left-center. Munde followed with a single and a stolen base that placed runners in scoring position, freshman Joshua Martinez (Denver, Colo.) singled past a diving effort from the second baseman to bring home both runners and give the guests a 4-1 lead.

The Midshipmen pushed the advantage to 5-1 on senior team captain D.J. Faldowski's (Washington, Pa.) first-career home run to right field.

Lafayette cut the margin back down to three at 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth, but Navy responded with two runs in the sixth extend the cushion to five at 7-2. Garcia led off the inning with a single and stole second before Lopez belted a triple to center and would later score on a Harris single with two outs. Lopez's triple moved his season total to five, tied for 10th-most in Navy's 111-year history.

"After starting slow offensively, we managed to get ourselves going towards the end of the first game," said Kostacopoulos. "Although it wasn't enough for the win in the opener, it sparked us in the second game. We made some good adjustments at the plate and really started to hit the ball well."

After making only one start in his first-61 career appearances, senior Joe Koessler (Knoxville, Tenn.) made his second-consecutive start. Koessler matched his career high with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings with six hits and two runs allowed in getting a no decision.

"Joe (Koessler) did another excellent job for us," commented Kostacopoulos. "He gave us exactly what we needed in order to turn it over to our bullpen."

Sophomore Mark Foris (Maspeth, N.Y.) picked up his first-career win with a career-long three scoreless innings of relief. Foris retired the first-nine batters he faced before giving up his only hit, a double, in the eighth.

"Mark (Foris) came in and really did a spectacular job," stated Kostacopoulos. "He came in with the base loaded and allowed only run to score. He has great movement and has a different arm motion that can make the ball difficult to pick up for hitters. He is emerging as another option for us this year."

Harris led the offensive attack in the nightcap with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate with a run scored and two RBIs. The sophomore batted .471 (8-for-17) during the four-game series.

"Mitch (Harris) just had another great weekend for us," said Kostacopoulos. "He really came through with some big hits all weekend. In addition to his efforts on the mound yesterday, he truly had a tremendous all-around weekend."

Lopez and Faldowski each recorded multi-hit performances in game two as the Mids out-hit the Leopards, 12-8.

Lafayette starter Kevin Reese was tagged with his first loss of the year despite recording nine strikeouts. Reese gave up five runs, all earned, on eight hits in 4.1 innings.

Navy plays its fifth road game in three days with a 7 p.m. first pitch tomorrow against UMBC at The Baseball Factory Field.