April 5, 2009

Game One Box Score (Lehigh 6, Navy 5)
Game Two Box Score (Lehigh 4, Navy 0)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Navy baseball team dropped both ends of its doubleheader at Lehigh, 6-5 and 4-0, on Sunday afternoon. The Midshipmen, who won both games against their hosts yesterday, fell to 11-17-1 on the year and 5-3 in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks improved to 8-23-1 and 2-4 in league play.

"The first game was a typical, back-and-forth, college baseball game," said Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "We didn't get good starting pitching and both team's relievers came on and did a good job. In the second game, our offensive approach was not good and we tried to pull off of everything. They were able to work the two-seam fastball in and offspeed away and did a great job of shutting us down."

In the opener, Navy jumped out to a 3-0 in the top half of the first. Mike Guadagnini (So./Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jonathan Wright (So./Arden, N.C.) produced back-to-back singles to start the frame before advancing on a sacrifice bunt. Michael Speciale (Jr./Pearland, Texas) stepped to the plate blasted the first offering over the right-field fence.

Lehigh answered back with two runs in the first and one run in the second to tie the game at three. The Midshipmen immediately countered with a two-run third to re-take the lead. Bolt led off with a single and Speciale followed with a walk before Steven Soares (Jr./Coral Springs, Fla.) drew a free pass to load the bases. With one out, Jeff Bland (So./Basking Ridge, N.J.) roped a double to right that plated Bolt and Speciale.

The advantage would be short lived, as the Mountain Hawks chased starter TJ Kerins (Fr./Marietta, Ga.) in the bottom of the third with three runs to take its first lead of the game, 6-5. Navy reliever Luke Roberts (So./Midland, N.C.) and kept the guests within striking distance, as he fired 3.2 innings of shutout baseball with no walks and a strikeout.

"Luke gave us a great chance to win with the zeroes he put up on the scoreboard," said Kostacopoulos. "We just could not get runs across that we needed."

Navy had opportunities in each of the final-four innings, but could not break through with a run off Lehigh's bullpen. In the fifth and sixth innings, Alex Azor (Fr./Miami, Fla.) and Eddie Diaz (So./North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) led off their respective frames with doubles. During the fifth, Lehigh worked out of the jam with three-straight outs before using a bases-loaded, inning-ending double play in the sixth to end the threat.

The Midshipmen racked up 11 base hits, seven walks and a hit by pitch in the opener. However, the Mids stranded a total of 11 base runners, eight of which were in scoring position.

"We had some chances in the first game," said Kostacopoulos. "Unfortunately, we were unable to cash in on the opportunities."

Speciale went 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs scored, three RBIs and two walks out of the cleanup spot. Leadoff hitter Guadagnini joined him in the multi-hit department, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.

Kerins was tagged for the loss, as his record dropped to 1-1 on the year. He allowed six runs on seven hits over 2.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.

In the nightcap, starting pitchers Zach Sipe (Fr./Huffman, Texas) and Kevin Mihalik engaged in a pitcher's duel over the first-five scoreless frames. Lehigh got to Sipe in the sixth for all the support it would need to give Mihalik on the afternoon. The Mountain Hawks recorded five singles and took advantage of an overthrow on a delayed double steal to go ahead, 4-0.

Mihalik did not allow more than one Navy hitter to reach base in any inning to earn the complete-game shutout. He scattered six hits with no walks and three strikeouts during his 121-pitch performance.

Sipe was saddled with the loss, as he allowed three runs on five hits over five-plus innings on the hill with two walks and two strikeouts. Relievers Chris Murray (Jr./Navarre, Fla.) and JD Melton (Jr./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) combined for three innings of earned run-less baseball with no walks and two strikeouts.

Soares was the lone Navy hitter to record multiple hits in the nightcap, as he went 2-for-4 with a double as the designated hitter.

The Midshipmen will return to action this Tuesday when they head to the Baseball Factory Field at UMBC to take on the Retrievers at 6 p.m. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)

DIAMOND NOTES
- Navy fell to 5-3 in Patriot League action this season but remains in sole possession of second place in the league standings ... Lafayette (4-4) and Bucknell (4-4) split their doubleheader in Lewisburg on Sunday ... meanwhile in West Point, Army (3-5) took two from Holy Cross (4-2), who swept the Black Knights on Saturday.
- Despite the losses, Navy still owns a 56-31 advantage over Lehigh in the all-time series ... it was the first time since Lehigh's championship season in 2006 that the Mids were swept in a doubleheader by the Mountain Hawks.
- The Midshipmen were swept in a Patriot League doubleheader for the first time since Army took both ends of a twinbill from Navy in Annapolis on April 13, 2008.
- Navy's defense did not commit an error in the opener, marking a fifth-straight game without an error and the 10th of the season ... the streak came to an end with a throwing error in the sixth inning of the nightcap ... it was Navy's only error of the entire four-game weekend ... the Midshipmen boasted a .993 fielding percentage over the series.
- Luke Roberts fired a career-long 3.2 innings in relief for the Mids during the opener on Sunday ... he did not allow a run or a walk over that timeframe ... he has not allowed an earned run in his 12 career appearances - a span of 18.1 innings.
- Michael Speciale blasted a three-run shot over the right-field fence in the first inning of game one on Sunday ... it was his 13th career home run, moving him into sole possession of eighth place on the program's career home runs list ... Speciale is one shy of tying the sixth-best mark of 14 career long balls by Luke Braham (1997-00) and Ron Kinn (1985-88).
- Mike Guadagnini extended his hitting streak to seven games with base knocks in both contests on Sunday ... over his last-15 games, the Navy sophomore has hit safely in 14 of those contests - 11 of which were multi-hit performances ... within that span, he's batting .483 (29-for-60) with six doubles, three triples and a home run.
- Eddie Diaz had a pair of doubles for the Midshipmen on Sunday ... he came off the bench and delivered a pinch-double in the opener ... in the nightcap, he smacked a two-bagger in the first inning.
- Navy game two relievers Chris Murray and JD Melton recorded the final-nine outs of the game with just 30 pitches thrown ... among those offerings, 24 went for strikes.