April 6, 2008
Game One Box Score (Navy 4, Lehigh 2)
Game Two Box Score (Lehigh 6, Navy 5)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Navy infielder Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) homered in both games as the Midshipmen split a Sunday doubleheader against Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. The Mids won the opener, 4-2, before the Mountain Hawks rallied for 6-5 victory in the nightcap.
The Midshipmen saw its record move to 20-11 overall and 6-2 in Patriot League play, while the Mountain Hawks improved to 14-18 overall and 1-7 in league action. Navy and Lehigh played a doubleheader in Annapolis on Saturday before playing Sunday's twinbill in Bethlehem, Pa., as last year's series slated for Lehigh's home field was split up due to unplayable field conditions. As a result, the Midshipmen were designated the home team for Sunday's doubleheader at the Lehigh Baseball Field.
Hamilton extended his hitting streak to 12 games, as he went 3-for-3 with a home run in the opener and followed with two-run blast in the second game. During this span, Hamilton is hitting .420 (21-for-50) with three long balls and 13 RBIs.
"Every at bat, Thomas really gives himself a chance to get a hit," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He's really on the ball right now - staying back on the off-speed pitch and getting the barrel out on the fastball."
In the opener, Navy starting pitcher Mitch Harris (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) delivered five shutout innings for the Mids. Harris scattered four hits and walked none while fanning eight to pick up the win. The Navy right-hander threw 68 pitches, 48 of which went for strikes.
"This was a very big day for Mitch," said Kostacopoulos. "It has been a frustrating experience for him not being able to pitch during the first half of the year, so I am quite happy for him. He threw very well today. We planned to use him for four innings, but he felt good and was able to give us five. It was certainly a huge pick-me-up for the team."
Navy did not wait long to give Harris the run support he would need on Sunday. With runners on first and second with two down in the second, Renaldo Hollins (Sr./Virginia Beach, Va.) produced a RBI single to right to put the Mids ahead, 1-0. One inning later, Hamilton launched a 400-foot solo shot over the fence in left-center.
Two innings later in the fifth, Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) ripped a two-out, two-run double that proved to be the game-winning runs. Lehigh plated two runs in the seventh before JD Melton (So./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) got the final out to earn his seventh save of the year.
In the nightcap, Lehigh jumped on Navy starter Yale Eckert (So./La Selva Beach, Calif.) for two runs in the first before he settled down over the next-five frames. The Midshipmen quickly answered, as Michael Speciale (So./Pearland, Texas) ripped his team-best sixth home run of the year over the fence in right-center to lead off the bottom half of the first.
Eckert allowed just one hit, a solo home run in the third, between the second and sixth innings. He faced only three over the minimum during that five-inning span and recorded at least one strikeout in each frame.
The Midshipmen knotted the contest at three in the fourth with some clutch, two-out hitting. Jeff Bland (Fr./Basking Ridge, N.J.) got things started with a two-single through the left side, before Nick Driscoll (Fr./Riverview, Fla.) fought off an inside pitch for a single to left. Hollins came to the plate and worked the count full, before lacing a bases clearing triple to right.
One inning later, Navy took its first lead of the game. Jonathan Wright (Fr./Arden, N.C.) led off with a single before Hamilton belted his second round-tripper of the day to put the Mids out front, 5-3.
Eckert started the seventh inning and got the first batter to pop out in foul territory. After a single squirted through the left side, Eckert induced a groundball to shortstop Driscoll, who could not get the ball out of his glove on the first try and only got the lead runner at second base. After a single to center put runners on first and second, Lehigh's Brendan McGaheran smacked a three-run blast to left to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 6-5.
Navy did not go quietly, as it mounted a ninth-inning rally that had the game-winning run on base. With one out, Wright was able to jar the ball loose from the first baseman who tried to tag him due to an errant throw by the shortstop. Down to its final out after a flyout to center, Harris legged out an infield single to put the tying run in scoring position. However, Bolt came up next and hit into a game-ending fielder's choice at second base.
"I truly thought the difference in the second game was the fact that our hitters gave far too many at bats away," stated Kostacopoulos. "We need to do a better job with plate discipline - we swung for a lot of outs."
Eckert was tagged for the loss, as he allowed six runs, five of which were earned, and eight hits over 6.2 innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. Southpaw Kevin Heasley (Sr./Cincinnati, Ohio) fired 2.1 innings of shutout relief with a strikeout to keep the Midshipmen within one run.
"Despite the loss, I was encouraged by Yale's performance today after his last couple of starts," said Kostacopoulos. "He was able to right himself after a rough first inning and got us into the seventh."
Wright, who had an infield single in the first game, pushed his hitting streak to 10 games with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate. The four-hit performance was his fifth of the season and the most by a Navy player this decade. During this current stretch, the Navy freshman has hit an eye-popping .550 (22-for-40) with six doubles and seven RBIs. For the year, Wright leads the team with a .407 (50-for-123) batting average and 11 doubles.
"Just like with Thomas (Hamilton), Jonathan is giving himself a chance to do something positive in every at bat," stated Kostacopoulos. "They are both going to get hits because they never quit at the plate."
Bland, Driscoll and Hollins each went 2-for-4 in the batter's box during the nightcap, as the Navy out-hit Lehigh, 13-10.
The Midshipmen will return to action on Tuesday night, when they head up to Baltimore to take on UMBC at 7 p.m.
