March 15, 2010

Game One Box Score (Navy 8, Iona 5)
Game Two Box Score (Navy 5, Iona 2)

Navy snapped its brief two-game skid to improve its record to 12-3 on the year. Iona saw its record fall to 4-5.

"We were able to grind out a couple of wins. Among the three disciplines of the game - pitching, hitting and defense - all were average for us," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "None of the areas stood out, but none hurt us either."

Hoosier went 3-for-5 on the afternoon with a double, a triple, three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Curley also finished his day 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two runs scored and five RBIs.

In the opener, Iona jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings before Navy responded with six unanswered runs between the third and fourth innings. In the third, Hoosier ripped a double down the left-field line and after back-to-back walks loaded the bases, Curley delivered a two-run single through the left side.

One inning later, Dylan Wheeler (Fr./Novato, Calif.) drew a bases loaded walk before Nick Driscoll (Jr./Riverview, Fla.) laced a two-run single to left-center to give the Mids their first lead of the day, 5-4. Curley followed with a sacrifice fly to right that brought home the fourth run of the frame.

The Gaels cut the lead in half with a run in the fifth, but the Midshipmen put the game away with a two-run sixth. Wheeler lifted a sacrifice fly to right before Curley knocked in Hoosier, who reached on a hit by pitch, with a single to left.

Navy's five-through-nine hitters scored all-eight runs for the Mids in game one. Kendall Bolt (Sr./Stockton, Calif.) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Hoosier and Wheeler each crossed home plate twice. Curley knocked in four of those eight runs while posting a 2-for-3 showing in game one.

Starter Wes Olson (Jr./Indianapolis, Ind.) battled through five innings to pick up his second win of the season. He allowed five runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Reliever Ben Nelson (Fr./Winter Springs, Fla.) fired two perfect innings with a strikeout to collect his first-career save.

In game two, Iona against struck first with a run in the opening inning, but the Mids immediately responded to claim a 3-1 lead after two innings. In the first, Curley doubled to left-center, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout to short. One inning later, Hoosier rocketed a triple to right-center and was followed with back-to-back hit by pitches to load the bases. Driscoll delivered a sacrifice fly to right, followed by a Curley sacrifice fly to left.

The Midshipmen pushed the lead to four with a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. Curley led off the fifth with a walk, stole second and third and came home to score on a groundout to short. In the sixth, Wheeler singled to center with two outs and came around to score on a Driscoll triple to the gap in left-center.

Hoosier was the lone Navy batter to record a multi-hit effort in the nightcap, as he finished 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored. The Midshipmen swiped a total of eight bases in game two and drove in four of their five runs with either a sacrifice fly or a groundout.

"We were able to pick up guys on third base with less than two outs," stated Kostacopoulos. "That was the best thing we did as a team offensively today."

Starter Zach Sipe (So./Huffman, Texas) improved to 3-0 on the year, as he allowed only one run on four hits over six innings of work with only two walks and three strikeouts. Luke Roberts (Jr./Midland, N.C.) did not allow an earned run in two innings of relief and Drew Carlson (Sr./Boca Raton, Fla.) came on in the ninth and retired the side in order to pick up his first save of the season.

"Each of our three relievers today came out and were able to come in and throw strikes," said Kostacopoulos. "From a pitching perspective, that's something we have focused on."

The Midshipmen will conclude their three-game set with Iona tomorrow at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all home Navy baseball games and live stats will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)

DIAMOND NOTES:
- Navy's 12-3 start on the year is the program's best since the 1981 Mids also went 12-3 over their first-15 games that season.
- The Midshipmen are 7-2 on their home field this season ... it's the first time since the 2007 Mids, who went on to win a school-record 35 games that year, that Navy has started 7-2 in Annapolis.
- Navy's eight stolen bases in game two on Monday were tied with seven other occasions for the second most in school history ... the last time Navy stole eight bases came on April 13, 2002, against Holy Cross ... Navy's performance on Monday was only one shy of the school record, which came back on May 17, 1924, against West Virginia Wesleyan.
- Matthew Curley, Michael Speciale, Mike Hoosier and Dylan Wheeler each had two stolen bases in the nightcap ... the two swipes were career highs for Hoosier and Wheeler, while that total matched career highs for Curley and Speciale.
- The Midshipmen recorded a total of four sacrifice flies during Monday's twinbill ... Matthew Curley hit one in both contests for the Mids.
- Navy was hit by a pitch five times on Monday to push their season total 26, which is only one shy of tying the 1982 Mids for the 13th-highest mark in school history.
- Navy's bullpen of Ben Nelson, Luke Roberts and Drew Carlson combined to hold the Gaels without an earned run during their five innings of two-hit baseball with no walks.
- Relievers Ben Nelson and Drew Carlson became the fourth and fifth Navy pitchers, respectively, to earn a save this season ... Navy's five team saves this season are already tied for 15th most in school history.
- The Midshipmen made just one error in Monday's twinbill ... over the last-five games, the Mids have made only three defensive miscues, good for a fielding average of .985 ... also within that span, Navy has turned eight double plays.
- Navy is now 10-0 all-time against Iona ... the Midshipmen topped the Gaels earlier this year on Feb. 20 down in Durham, N.C., 7-2.