March 18, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy junior right-handed pitcher Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) retired the final-12 batters he faced in the opener as the Midshipmen split a doubleheader with Duquesne on Sunday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids won the first game, 6-1, but the Dukes came back with a 16-0 victory in the nightcap. Navy's record moved to 15-7 on the year, while Duquesne's went to 5-8.
"Today was a tale of two games, all of which was dictated by starting pitching," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Our style of play is most effective when we have the lead. When you are down six runs right off the bat, it takes away several components of our game."
Harris logged 5.2 innings on the hill to get the win and improve to 5-1 on the campaign. He allowed only two hits, both of which came in the second inning, and one unearned run with two walks and seven strikeouts. The right-hander moved into fifth place on the career strikeouts list during his outing on Sunday, pushing his total to 185 and passing Kevin Carlson's 182 strikeouts between 1994-97. Harris has struck out more batters than innings pitched during each of his six starts of the year.
"Mitch was almost a different style of pitcher today," said Kostacopoulos. "He did a good pitching with the lead and did not over-pitch. He did a solid job of filling up the strike zone with the lead."
Duquesne opened the day by taking a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the second inning, but Navy answered back to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. Senior team captain Michael Garcia (Kailua, Hawai'i) singled down the right field line, but the ball got away from the right fielder to allow Garcia to move to third. He would come home to score during the next play, as the pitcher's pickoff attempt sailed away from the third baseman.
Navy grabbed its first lead of the game one inning later, bringing in three runs. Freshman Michael Speciale (Pearland, Texas) belted a two-run double to the gap in right-center and would touch home on freshman Drew Lydon's (White Plains, Md.) single up the middle.
The Midshipmen tacked on two insurance runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 6-1. With two outs and nobody on, Speciale and Lydon each singled and Garcia walked to load the bases for freshman Steven Soares (Coral Springs, Fla.), who smacked a two-run single through the left side.
In the nightcap, Duquesne touched up Navy junior starting pitcher Mark McCoy (Parkland, Fla.) for nine runs on nine hits in two-plus innings of work. McCoy fell to 3-3 on the year with the loss. The Dukes scored one run in the fourth, four in the fifth and two in the ninth off a Midshipmen bullpen that summoned five guys to the hill in the second game.
Speciale registered a 3-for-8 effort during the doubleheader with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. The Navy freshman has hit at a .600 (9-for-15) clip over his last-four contests.
"Michael had a great week at the plate for us," commented Kostacopoulos. "Having not played during the fall, he's beginning to get into the swing of being a baseball player."
Junior outfielder Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) pushed his hitting streak to seven-straight games with a 2-for-6 performance at the plate with a triple on Sunday.
Sunday's twinbill capped an eight-game in nine-day stretch for the Midshipmen in Annapolis and concluded a 12-game homestand which began on Feb. 28. Navy went 5-3 over the last-nine days and posted a 7-5 record during the home swing.
Navy will play its first road game in nearly a month when it travels to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason this Tuesday at Hap Spuhler Field for a 3 p.m. start. The Midshipmen last played on the road at the Service Academy Spring Classic in Millington, Tenn., on Feb. 23-25.
