March 20, 2009
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy shortstop Kendall Bolt (Jr./Stockton, Calif.) went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and pitcher Sam Long (So./Newnan, Ga.) fanned nine batters in seven innings to lead the Midshipmen to a series-opening 11-3 win over Princeton in baseball action on Friday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
The Midshipmen snapped a three-game skid to improve to 6-9-1 on the year. The Tigers fell to 4-5 with the loss on Friday.
Bolt led the offensive attack, matching his career high in hits and setting a career mark in runs scored. One of those four base knocks was a double, in addition to a RBI, stolen base and hit by pitch. One spot down in the order, Michael Speciale (Jr./Pearland, Texas) went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base. Leadoff hitter Mike Guadagnini (So./Virginia Beach, Va.) and Alex Azor (Fr./Miami, Fla.) each had two hits on Friday. Guadagnini belted a double and a triple, while Azor knocked in three runs.
"Kendall had a great bounce back day," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He came in, got some additional work and made some adjustments."
Navy's offense racked up 15 hits on the afternoon, in addition to eight walks and two hit batsmen.
"The offense did some very good things today," said Kostacopoulos. "We were able to work some walks and picked up 15 hits. We also did a good job of going from first-to-third when the opportunity presented itself."
Meanwhile, Long delivered on the mound with a career-long outing of seven innings to improve his record to 2-0 on the year. He scattered 10 hits with three runs - only one of which was earned - with two free passes and the nine punchouts. Relievers Drew Carlson (Jr./Boca Raton, Fla.) and Jeff Murdza (Jr./Hamilton, N.J.) struck out four batters to hold the Tigers scoreless over the final-two frames.
"This game is so dictated by starting pitching and Sam did a great job," stated Kostacopoulos. "He set the tone, was able to get ground balls consistently and struck out nine batters. The only two extra-base hits he allowed were doubles with nobody on."
The game got off to an ominous start for the Midshipmen, as Princeton loaded the bases with one out. However, Long induced a groundball double play to get out of the jam and set the stage for Navy, who scored in every inning but the sixth on Friday.
"I don't know if that double play was a game changer, but it was certainly a big play," said Kostacopoulos. "It has been a hard week and a half for us and it had seemed like we were playing behind all the time. To get out of that spot, come back and get two runs, it really helped get our feet under us. We needed to have that happen."
In the bottom half of the first, Azor delivered a two-run single through the right side to plate Bolt and Speciale. One inning later, Guadagnini laced a RBI-triple over the leftfielder's head to bring home Matthew Curley (Jr./Boston, Mass.), who reached on a single.
Princeton pulled back within two at 3-1 in the third, but that would be the closest it would get for the remainder of the afternoon. Navy plated a run in the third on a Nick Driscoll (So./Riverview, Fla.) RBI-single through the right side. In the fourth, Steven Soares (Jr./Coral Springs, Fla.) produced a run-scoring single and Azor lined a ball off the pitcher to score the second run of the stanza and extend the lead to 6-1.
The Midshipmen continued to build the lead with a two-out, RBI-single from Speciale that plated Bolt, who doubled down the right-field line. Princeton answered with two runs in the seventh, but Navy came right back with back-to-back run-producing singles from Bolt and Speciale.
In the eighth, Jeff Bland (So./Basking Ridge, N.J.) blasted an opposite-field home run for his second round-tripper in as many games. The Midshipmen tacked on one more run for insurance on an error to make the score the eventual final, 11-3.
Navy will continue its four-game series against Princeton with a doubleheader tomorrow, beginning at 12 noon. Admission is free for all home Navy baseball games and the first 250 fans to the game will receive a free Navy stress reliever key chain. In addition, all Navy baseball campers are welcomed back to reunite with their camp friends and wear their camp shirts.
DIAMOND NOTES
- Navy improved to 49-30 against Princeton in the all-time series ... the Midshipmen have taken six of the last-eight meetings ... Friday's eight-run margin of victory was the largest against the Tigers since a 13-1 win on the road during the 1987 season ... prior to Friday, each of Navy's last-six wins against Princeton were decided by three runs or less - five of which were one-run affairs.
- Sam Long went a career-long 7.0 innings on Friday ... he threw 109 pitches, 79 of which went for strikes ... the Patriot League leader has fanned at least nine batters in each of his last-three outings ... for the year, he has struck out 37 batters in just 22.0 innings - good for an eye-popping average of 15.14 strikeouts per nine innings ... meanwhile, he has walked just seven batters on the year.
- Navy's pitching staff fanned 13 Princeton batters on Friday afternoon ... it was the fourth time this season that the Midshipmen combined to strike out 10-plus batters in a game ... over their last-four home games, the Mids have struck out 47 batters in 39.0 innings of work.
- Every Navy starter reached base safely twice on Friday ... eight of the starters recorded at least one base hit.
- The top-third of Navy's lineup (Mike Guadagnini, Kendall Bolt, Michael Speciale) combined to go 9-for-16 at the plate with seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, four RBIs and two stolen bases.
- Kendall Bolt established a career high with four runs scored on Friday ... it surpassed his previous mark of three runs which he performed four times ... his four base knocks tied his career high ... prior to the day, he had two four-hit efforts, with the most recent coming against Holy Cross in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament.
- Jeff Bland homered in a second-straight game for the first-time in his career ... he blasted a pinch-hit longball at Mount St. Mary's less than 24 hours before ... he is the first Navy batter to homer in back-to-back contests since Kendall Bolt last season against UMES and Coppin State.
- Rookie Alex Azor has continued to shine with runners on base ... over the last-three games - all of which he has started - he has driven in seven runs and gone 4-for-7 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
- Princeton's four errors committed on Friday were the most against the Midshipmen in 2009 ... meanwhile, Navy's three defensive miscues tied a season high set on two other occasions.
