March 15, 2007
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy junior right fielder Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in to lead the Midshipmen to a 9-7 win over Buffalo on Thursday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids topped the Bulls, 7-0, in their first meeting this past Monday in Annapolis.
With the win, Navy improved to 14-6 on the year and head coach Paul Kostacopoulos recorded his 550th career victory. Buffalo dropped to 1-12 on the campaign.
"It was very important that we bounced back from yesterday's loss," stated Kostacopoulos. "More than just the win, this helps get rid of yesterday. I thought we played pretty well, helped by some solid defense and coming up with the hits we needed."
Harris' three hits matched his career high, while the three RBIs tied his season high, as he has driven in a run during each of the last-four games.
"Mitch has done a very good job of taking advantage of his RBI situations," said Kostacopoulos. "It doesn't always have to be a base hit, but the sacrifice flies and the hard hit balls that are just as successful."
Navy jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Harris lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score junior Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.), who led off the inning with a double.
The Midshipmen exploded for five runs on five hits in the following inning off Buffalo starting pitcher Kori Korinek. After one run had already crossed the plate and with the bases loaded, freshman Drew Lydon (White Plains, Md.) delivered a bases-clearing triple down the right field line. He would come home to score on the next at bat, as Harris laced a RBI-single though the left side.
Buffalo would not go quietly, scoring four runs in the top of the fourth. However, Navy answered back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Following a leadoff walk and single, Harris drove in his third run of the day with an infield single. Freshman Kendall Bolt (Stockton, Calif.) extended the lead to 8-4 with a run-scoring fielder's choice.
The Bulls tacked on run in the fifth and two in the sixth to pull within one at 8-7, but would not get any closer. The Midshipmen tacked on an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth, as Harris led off with a double and came home to score on a Michael Speciale (Pearland, Texas) single to left.
Navy senior right-handed reliever James Lee (Asheville, N.C.) held the guests in check over the final-3.2 innings of the contest to get the win. Lee struck out seven and walked none, while yielding only one hit and no runs. On the year, Lee has struck out 19 in 12.1 innings of work with a 0.00 ERA, limiting the opposition to two hits and a .053 batting average.
"No earned runs over 12-plus innings with 19 strikeouts, those are some pretty good numbers," stated Kostacopoulos. "We were struggling to get outs today and Buffalo was making a very good run at us before James came in. He was key for us, coming in and settling the game down."
Speciale joined Harris in the three-hit department on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Over Speciale's last-two games, he has recorded a 6-for-7 performance at the plate with a walk.
Hollins and Lydon each posted multi-hit efforts as the Midshipmen out-hit their visitors, 12-11. Hollins went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, while Lydon registered a 2-for-5 effort with two runs scored and a stolen base.
Navy will close out its nine-game homestand over a nine-day stretch this weekend with a three-game set against Duquesne. The Mids and the Dukes are slated for a 12 noon doubleheader on Saturday and a single-game contest on Sunday. All of the games will have live stats available via GameTracker on www.navysports.com (.)
