April 16, 2006

• Game One Box Score
• Game Two Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Lehigh catcher Matt McBride went 5-for-9 with a grand slam and seven RBIs to lead the Mountain Hawks to a four-game sweep of Navy with a pair of victories, 7-3 and 13-4, in baseball action on Sunday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen dropped to 26-14-1 overall and 6-6 in league play, falling out of first place for the first time this season. The Mountain Hawks improved to 18-21 and took over sole possession of first place with an 8-4 mark in league action.

This weekend marked the first time that Navy had been swept at home in a Patriot League series since the league went to a four-game series format in 1995.

In the opener, Navy took its first lead of the series with a run in the bottom half of the first. Sophomore Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) led off the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Senior Jonathan Johnston (Hamilton Township, N.J.) knocked in Hollins with a single back through the box to give the Mids an early 1-0 lead.

That lead would not last long, as Lehigh plated a run of its own in the top of the second. Nick Bet led off the inning with a triple and scored on a David Moscow bunt.

Following a scoreless third, the Mountain Hawks struck for five runs in the fourth, with the big hits coming with two outs. Matt Geiger's triple to left plated two and he would score on a McBride double down the left field line to make the score 6-1. Lehigh would push the advantage to 7-1 in the fifth with Moscow's second bunt-RBI of the game.

The Midshipmen would no go quietly, bringing home a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth. Freshman Joshua Martinez (Denver, Colo.) led off with a double and scored on senior Ryan McGinn's (Arvada, Colo.) first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left, cut the deficit to four at 7-3. Navy would have runners on the corners with two outs, but Lehigh starter Joe Matteo got out of the jam with a strikeout.

Matteo improved to 4-3 on the year with six innings of three-run baseball. Matteo gave up 10 hits and one walk with three strikeouts in a 95-pitch outing.

Navy freshman starter Tim Hammond (Woodbine, Md.) was tagged with the loss to fall to 1-3 on the campaign. Hammond allowed 11 hits and seven runs, all earned, with two walks and a strikeout in five innings of work.

Hollins, Johnston and McGinn each recorded two hits as the Midshipmen were out-hit in game one, 13-10.

Bet led the Mountain Hawks with a 4-for-4 performance in the opener with three runs scored. McBride and Joe Ercolano each posted multi-hit efforts in the front end of the doubleheader.

In the nightcap, Navy held a 4-0 lead after three innings. Senior team captain D.J. Faldowski (Washington, Pa.) led off the second with a double and came home to score of a Martinez single to left-center.

Hollins led off the third with a single and stole second before Johnston drew a walk. Hollins and Johnston pulled a double steal and senior Jared Munde (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) worked a walk to load the bases for Faldowski, who lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Hollins. Following another double steal, this time from Johnston and Munde, Martinez delivered a two-run double to right to give the Midshipmen a 4-0 cushion.

After holding Lehigh scoreless over the first four innings, the guests struck for 13 unanswered runs over the final five innings, showcased by an eight-run sixth inning. With Navy trailing 5-4 with the bases loaded and two outs, McBride capped off the inning with a grand slam to left, his eighth home run of the season.

The 13 runs allowed by the Midshipmen pitching staff were a season high and the most allowed since a 14-1 loss at George Mason on April 20, 2005.

Navy junior starter Daniel Kovalcik (Westwood, Mass.) allowed seven runs on eight hits with two walks and no strikeouts over 5.2 innings on the hill to get the loss. Kovalcik's record fell to 1-2 on the year.

Hollins and Martinez each posted three hits in game two of the doubleheader. Hollins batted .500 (8-for-16) during the weekend series with four stolen bases and a RBI. Martinez also drove in three runs to go along with his three hits, both tying his career high.

Lehigh reliever Leland Weisband closed out the game after coming in for starter Billy Alec in the fifth inning. Weisband struck out five and did not walk a batter in scattering four hits in 4.1 innings to up his mark to 1-0. Alec gave up eight hits and four runs with two walks and a strikeout in 4.1 innings in the nightcap on Sunday.

McBride went 3-for-6 at the plate in the back end of the doubleheader with three runs scored, a double, a grand slam and six RBIs. Liam O'Connor posted four hits with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Andrew Smith and Mike Sandonato added two hits apiece.

Navy returns to action with a non-league contest with George Mason on Tuesday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis. The two teams met on March 28 in Fairfax, Va., as the Midshipmen came away with an 11-9, 10-inning victory over the Patriots. Live stats will be available for Tuesday's ballgame via GameTracker on www.navysports.com.