April 27, 2008
Game One Box Score (Holy Cross 11, Navy 5)
Game Two Box Score (Navy 2, Holy Cross 1)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Battling through sickness on Sunday, Navy baseball starting pitcher Oliver Drake (So./Gardner, Mass.) delivered the best performance of his career to lead the Midshipmen to a doubleheader split against Holy Cross at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen (28-21, 11-9 Patriot League) won the nightcap, 2-1, preceded by an 11-5 victory for the Crusaders (20-25, 11-9 Patriot League).
By virtue of Sunday's twinbill split and Bucknell's doubleheader split with Lehigh, Navy has earned the No. 2 seed and will host No. 3 seed Holy Cross in the Patriot League Semifinal best-of-three series in Annapolis on May 10-11.
"Getting to host in the Patriot League Tournament is the challenge of any season," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos, who has guided the Midshipmen to their second-straight league tournament appearance. "The first step is to make the postseason, and once you accomplish that, you aim to host a series - which we have done. These are always important things as you set your goals for your season."
In the nine-inning nightcap, Drake went the distance and allowed just three hits and one unearned run with no walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts. The Navy right-hander threw 109 pitches, 78 of which went for strikes, to improve his record to 5-3 on the year. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowed just two base runners to reach scoring position on the entire day.
"Oliver was the show in the second game. He was in complete control out there," said Kostacopoulos. "That was some competitive effort he displayed. He was supposed to go game two of the series, then the first game today, but was sick. He was able to bounce back in the final game of the series and delivered his best performance of his career - right when we needed it. To walk none and strike out 11 batters, that says it all.
"Something that doesn't always show up in the box score and what we did well in the second game was making a couple of big plays on defense. Mike (Guadagnini) took away a double with the first batter of the game with a diving catch down the right-field line. Kendall (Bolt) did a nice job on two balls and Thomas (Hamilton) made a nice play with a diving stab and a throw over to Drake covering first in the fourth. Whenever you get pitching performances like Oliver's, you usually have good defense behind him, which was the case in the second game."
Navy's offense would give Drake all the support he would need in the first inning, as the Mids brought in two runs. With one out, Mike Guadagnini (Fr./Virginia Beach, Va.) laid down a bunt single and moved to third on a Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) single to right-center. After a strikeout, Michael Speciale (So./Pearland, Texas) and Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) each produced a RBI-single.
Drake would keep the Crusaders off the board until the seventh inning. Brendan Akashian singled with one out and advanced two bases to third on a passed ball. He would score on a Gil Gomez groundout to second.
That would be as close as Holy Cross could get, as Drake fanned five of the last-six batters he faced to record his fifth-career complete game - the second in as many starts in his career against Holy Cross.
Hamilton, Speciale and Bolt each collected a pair of base knocks in game two to lead Navy's nine-hit performance.
In the opener, Navy jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Renaldo Hollins (Sr./Virginia Beach, Va.) led off with a single, moved to second on a Guadagnini single and would cross home plate on a fielder's choice.
Holy Cross scored twice in the fourth and fifth innings, but Navy answered back with three in the bottom half of the fifth to knot the game at four. Matthew Curley (So./Boston, Mass.) doubled to right-center, Guadagnini reached on a fielder's choice and Hamilton walked to load the bases with two outs. Speciale came up and belted a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center.
However, the game would not remain tied for long. Holy Cross sent 11 batters to the plate in scoring seven runs to put the game out of reach.
Navy's final run of the game would come in the bottom half of the sixth, as Mitch Harris (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) smashed a solo home run over the fence in deep centerfield. The long ball was Harris's sixth of the season and the 16th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fourth place on the program's all-time list.
Hollins was the lone Navy hitter to register a multi-hit performance in the first game, as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Holy Cross out-hit Navy, 15-7.
Southpaw starter Yale Eckert (So./La Selva Beach, Calif.) allowed four runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work with one walk and one strikeout to earn a no decision. Reliever Chris Murray (So./Navarre, Fla.) yielded three runs, two of which were earned, on two hits and a walk in one inning to get tagged for the loss. His record dropped to 4-2 on the year.
Navy will return to action on Tuesday with a 3 p.m. contest at Delaware State.
