April 22, 2008
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy starting pitcher Wes Olson (Fr./Indianapolis, Ind.) fired five innings of one-hit, shutout baseball to lead the Midshipmen to a 5-1 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Tuesday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids improved to 24-20 on the year, while the Hawks saw their mark dip to 5-34.
Olson needed only 66 pitches to record 15 outs on Wednesday to earn his first-collegiate win. The Navy right-hander struck out five, walked just two and allowed only a bloop single to right in the first inning. Relievers Chris Murray (So./Navarre, Fla.) and JD Melton (So./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) threw the final-four innings and combined with Olson to limit Maryland-Eastern Shore's offense to three base knocks on the day.
"Wes threw the ball very well today," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He was able to command both his fastball and off-speed pitches - really kept them off balance. This is the second-straight time he has gone out and pitched well for us, which is encouraging to see."
Navy's offense got on the board with a run in the third and fourth innings. Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) drove in a run with a single to center in the third. One frame later, Jonathan Berkowitz (So./Parkland, Fla.) led off with a single through the right side and would eventually score on a double play.
In the fifth, the Midshipmen used the long ball to extend their cushion to 4-0. Matt Sweisthal (So./Spring, Texas) began the stanza with a single to center before Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) blasted his third home run of the year, a two-run shot over the left-field fence. The round-tripper is Navy's 30th of the season, tying the school record set by the 1998 squad.
After Maryland-Eastern Shore plated a run in the seventh, Navy countered with its fifth and final run of the day in the eighth. Jonathan Wright (Fr./Arden, N.C.) drew a walk and would score on a Mike Guadagnini (Fr./Virginia Beach, Va.) double down the right-field line.
Navy's offense totaled 12 base knocks on Tuesday, with four Mids registering multi-hit performances. Bill Maugeri (Sr./Edgewater, Md.), Hamilton, Berkowitz and Guadagnini each came through with hits in the win.
The Midshipmen will return to action on Thursday, when they play host to Coppin State in a 4 p.m. contest. Live stats for all of Navy's home games are available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)
