April 15, 2008
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy outfielder Jonathan Wright (Fr./Arden, N.C.) went 4-for-5 with five RBIs to lead the Midshipmen to a convincing 16-6 victory over Coppin State on Tuesday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids improved to 21-17 on the year, while the Eagles dropped their 26th-straight game to fall to 2-36 overall.
Wright, who doubled and also drew a walk, produced his sixth four-hit game of the spring to lead a 17-hit Midshipmen attack that had each of its starters record a base knock. One spot ahead of Wright in the order at leadoff, Matt Sweisthal (So./Spring, Texas) went 3-for-3 with two walks, three runs scored and two RBIs in his first-collegiate start.
"When you look at Jonathan and Matt at the top of the order, they were 10-for-12 getting on base today, which is a solid job," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "It's quite impressive to see Jonathan pick up his sixth four-hit game of the year. Matt did a nice job getting thrown in at leadoff today. He continued to work hard in every at bat and he got the results."
Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, followed by Mitch Harris's (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) 2-for-3 showing with a double and three runs scored. Nick Driscoll (Fr./Riverview, Fla.) scored three times and drove in two with a 1-for-2 effort at the plate with two walks, while Michael Speciale (So./Pearland, Texas) drove home four runs.
In addition to the 17 hits, Navy's hitters also drew seven walks and were hit by two pitches.
"Today was a good offensive day for us," said Kostacopoulos. "We had a good idea at the plate and didn't chase pitches out of the zone, which led to better results. We really needed the win today to get back going in the right direction."
Navy southpaw reliever Chris Murray (So./Navarre, Fla.) fired 4.1 innings of one-run baseball with one walk and three strikeouts to pick up the win and improve to 4-1 on the year. Right-hander Luke Roberts (Fr./Midland, N.C.) fanned two and walked none while not allowing an earned run in two innings on the hill during his collegiate dubut.
"It was good to see Luke go in and handle the eighth and ninth innings for us," stated Kostacopoulos. "He did a nice job in his first game. The teammates and coaches really pull for those guys."
Coppin State jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one inning, but the Midshipmen responded with a three-run second, keyed by a Wright two-run single to center. The Eagles re-gained the lead with a two-run third, but Navy answered again, this time with a six-run outburst in the bottom half of the inning and never trailed for the remainder of the contest. The Midshipmen sent 11 batters to the plate in that frame, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Speciale and a two-run double to the gap in left-center by Joshua Martinez (Jr./Denver, Colo.).
Navy extended its cushion with a three-run fourth inning, as Sweisthal delivered a sacrifice fly, Wright singled in a run and Speciale produced a RBI-groundout. The Midshipmen scored once in the sixth and three times in the seventh to put the game away. In the seventh inning, Sweisthal smacked a two-out, RBI-single to center, followed by a Wright two-run double to left-center.
The Midshipmen will return to action tomorrow, when they head to Shirley Povich Field for a 4 p.m. ballgame against Georgetown. Live stats for Wednesday's contest will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)
