April 2, 2006

• Game One Box Score
• Game Two Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy senior Ryan McGinn (Arvada, Colo.) doubled in the tying run and scored the winning run in game one and doubled home a run in the nightcap as the Midshipmen swept Holy Cross in a baseball doubleheader, 2-1 and 7-5, on Sunday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Navy took all four games from Holy Cross in its Patriot League opening weekend to improve to 23-8-1 overall and 4-0 in league play. The Crusaders dropped to 9-11-1 on the year and 0-4 in the league.

Navy's four-game sweep of the Crusaders marked the first time the Midshipmen have swept a Patriot League opponent since April 22-23, 2000, against Holy Cross in Annapolis.

"Holy Cross played very good baseball all weekend," commented Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "All four games were hard fought. It was an extremely competitive weekend and they did not give us anything. To win four games, this is a real nice feeling."

Holy Cross jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With two outs and nobody on, Tucker Frawley singled up the middle and would score after the Crusaders worked back-to-back-to-back walks. However, Navy freshman starter Tim Hammond (Woodbine, Md.) struck out Jake Gorman to get out the bases loaded jam with only one run crossing the plate.

Hammond would get into trouble again in the second, yielding a leadoff single and a walk to put runners on first and second. Once again, the freshman pitched his way out of the situation with back-to-back popouts and a groundout.

The Crusaders tallied two hits in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but once again Hammond would have the answer to get out of the inning unscathed as Holy Cross stranded 11 runners in game one.

While the visiting Crusaders racked up eight hits over the first-six innings, Navy's bats could muster only one hit, a Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) bunt single in the third, off Holy Cross starter Rob Oteri. Oteri was making only his second appearance of 2006 and first start of the campaign on Sunday.

Heading into the seventh still trailing 1-0, Oteri induced a groundout and struck out the next batter. With nobody on and two outs, freshman Joshua Martinez (Denver, Colo.) was hit by a pitch and senior Will Sheehan (Bayonne, N.J.) came in to pinch run at first. McGinn worked the count full before ripping a double to left that allowed Sheehan to score to tie the game at one. Freshman Jack Ferrick (Stafford, Va.) came in to pinch-hit and sent the first pitch he saw for a single into right as McGinn rounded third and beat the throw home to give the Mids a walk-off 2-1 victory.

Hammond struck out a season-high eight batters and did not issue a walk over the final-five innings to record his first-career victory and complete game. The freshman used 112 pitches to improve his mark to 1-1.

"Our first game really boiled down to Tim (Hammond) battling on the mound," said Kostacopoulos. "He made incredible clutch pitches and competed the whole day. He kept going out there and providing us a chance to win."

Oteri also tossed a complete game, striking out five and walking only two, yet picked up the loss to fall to 0-1.

In game two, Navy struck first with a run in the bottom of the first. Senior Jonathan Johnston (Hamilton Township, N.J.) drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a Martinez double to left-center.

The visiting Crusaders bounced back with three runs in the top of the third. Tom Potvin doubled home a pair of runs and scored on a Frawley single to put Holy Cross ahead, 3-1.

The Midshipmen immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own. Senior Jared Munde (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) led off the inning with a single and would score on McGinn's double down the left field line. McGinn scored on the next play as junior B.J. Bickel (Benson, N.C.) singled through the right side. Bickel would score on an infield single from sophomore Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) with two outs as Navy reclaimed the lead, 4-3.

Navy extended the advantage to three runs with a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. Munde led off the fifth with the single, stole second and third and scored on a throwing error on the steal of third base. Hollins reached on a fielding error to begin the sixth and came around to score on a one-out double to the gap in left-center by Harris to give the Mids a 6-3 cushion.

Holy Cross narrowed the margin to one with a pair of runs in the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Frawley delivered a two-run single to center that made the score 6-5. With runners on second and third with two down, Navy reliever Ryan Hefner (Creve Coeur, Ill.) was able to get out of the inning courtesy of a Hollins catch on the warning track in center. Hefner retired the final-seven batters in order to pick up his second save in as many days and the sixth of 2006.

The Midshipmen added an insurance run in the eighth, as Johnston scored on a Thomas Hamilton (Houston, Texas) single through the right side to push the Mids ahead by the eventual final score of 7-5.

Senior Joe Koessler (Knoxville, Tenn.), the career appearances record holder, picked up the win in only his second start of his career. Koessler hurled a career-long 6.1 innings, scattering seven hits and five runs with one walk and three strikeouts to improve his record to 4-1 on the year. The senior threw 91 pitches, 61 of which went for strikes, in his first-career start since March 10, 2004, when he worked three innings against Duke in Annapolis.

"His role throughout his career has been middle and short relief," stated Kostacopoulos. "To give us 6.1 quality innings, that was just huge. He got in a groove, stayed in rhythm, worked to his strengths and got ahead early in many counts."

Johnston went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base and Munde recorded a 2-for-5 effort at the plate with a pair of runs and stolen bases in game two. Harris and Lopez also registered multi-hit efforts in game two as the Mids out-hit their guests, 13-9.

Dan Seip was tagged with the loss for the Crusaders to fall to 2-2 on the year. Seip allowed four runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 3.2 innings.

Frawley posted a 2-for-4 performance with three RBIs in the nightcap, in addition to Andrew Sweeney's two runs and two hits.

The Midshipmen return to action next weekend with a pair of doubleheaders at Lafayette on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch for both days is slated for 12 noon. Live stats will be available on GameTracker through Navy's website, www.navysports.com. In addition, Navy All-Access will carry a live audio broadcast of Sunday's doubleheader, with Pete Medhurst calling the action. Navy All-Access is a subscription service on www.navysports.com that allows subscribers access to numerous live and archived events for only $6.95 a month.