April 23, 2006

- Courtesy of CSTV

• Game One Box Score
• Game Two Box Score

BALTIMORE - Sophomore right-hander Mark McCoy (Parkland, Fla.) hurled 8.2 innings of scoreless baseball in the nightcap of Sunday's doubleheader as Navy split with Army in front of 2,550 fans in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Black Knights won the first game, 4-0, before the Midshipmen blanked Army, 2-0, in game two.

Navy's record moved to 29-15-1 overall and 7-7 in Patriot League play. The Midshipmen jumped into a tie of third place with Lafayette, who lost both contests to Lehigh on Sunday. Army ended the day with a 21-17-1 mark and 6-8 record in league action.

McCoy used 118 pitches, 79 of which were strikes, to match his career-longest outing. The sophomore scattered five hits with one walk and five strikeouts to improve his mark to 5-2 on the year.

"Mark (McCoy) was unbelievable today," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He provided with an absolutely huge pitching performance. He came up with the effort to save our season. I can't say enough about what he did for us this afternoon."

Navy plated the only run McCoy would need in the nightcap on Sunday in the first inning. Sophomore leadoff hitter Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) laid down a bunt that Army pitcher Ben Mayhew fielded but made an errant throw that got by the first baseman down the right field line. The ball scooted under the glove of rightfielder Cole White and Hollins came all the way around to score on the two errors.

The Black Knights looked to immediately answer Navy's run in the top of the second. After a leadoff walk and a base hit to place runners on first and second, senior catcher Jonathan Johnston (Hamilton Township, N.J.) fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt in front of the plate and fired a strike to third to cut down the lead runner. McCoy followed with a strikeout and a groundout to exit the inning with no damage done.

Army threatened to score again in the top half of the fifth innings, as the Black Knights put runners on the corners with one out. However, McCoy induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to get out of the jam and preserve Navy's one-run lead.

"Our defense really came up big for us in the second game," stated Kostacopoulos. "Despite making two errors, we made some really big plays in the field. Whether its was Johnston's play on the bunt, the double play in the fifth, Renaldo's (Hollins) diving catch in right-center, or Jared's (Munde) sliding catch in the later innings, the defense made the plays we needed to win the game."

Still clinging to their 1-0 lead heading into the bottom half of the eighth inning, the Midshipmen produced an insurance run. Junior Dominic Lopez (Quincy, Mich.), who went 2-for-3 in game two, singled through the right side with one out. With a full count, Lopez took off for second and advanced to third on a Hollins single to left. After Mayhew was lifted in favor of Dan Pluff, Johnston produced an infield single that plated Lopez and gave Navy a 2-0 cushion.

McCoy was able to get the first two outs of the ninth before a single down the left field line. Senior southpaw Ryan Hefner (Creve Coeur, Ill.) came on in relief of McCoy and induced a game-ending groundout for his ninth save of the year. Hefner moved into a tie for the second-most single-season saves in Patriot League history with Charlie Cucchiara's nine saves with Fordham in 1995.

In the opener, Army starter Nick Hill and Navy starter Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) engaged in the first of two classic pitchers' duels on Sunday.

Hill tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season in game one, as he scattered two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Hill improved to 4-4 on the year.

Harris, making his first start since April 9 at Lafayette due to an injury, was saddled with the loss despite allowing only one run in six innings of work. The sophomore yielded six hits and two walks and six strikeouts to fall to 9-2 on the campaign. In both of Harris' setbacks this season, Navy failed to score a run.

"Mitch (Harris) was outstanding on the mound," commented Kostacopoulos. "When he left the game, we were only down 1-0. He pitched very well for not having thrown in two weeks. Even more important, he allows us to get back into our normal pitching rotation."

Army's lone run off Harris came in the fifth, as Kyle Fleming led off the stanza with a single. After a sacrifice bunt moved him up to second, Kyle Scogin singled back through the box to give the Black Knights a 1-0 lead.

Army tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh, with the big hit coming from White, as he delivered a two-out, two-run single to push its lead to 4-0.

The Sunday doubleheader at Oriole Park at Camden Yards marked the first college baseball games played in the stadium's 15-year history.

"This was an outstanding experience for our Midshipmen and Army," said Kostacopoulos. "Taking in the sights and playing in a Major League baseball stadium, everybody will remember this."

Army and Navy will complete its four-game series with a noon doubleheader on Monday in Annapolis at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The first game of tomorrow's doubleheader can be heard live through Navy All-Access on www.navysports.com, as Pete Medhurst will call the action. In addition, live stats will be available via GameTracker for both games on www.navysports.com.