May 2, 2010

Box Scores:Game One | Game Two

Both teams' Patriot League Tournament hopes were dashed prior to the conclusion of the opening game on Sunday, as Bucknell shut out Army in West Point, 1-0, to claim the fourth and final berth.

"We talked yesterday about coming out and playing hard, which we did today. There wasn't lackluster play," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Being able to come back in the second game and get the split today, I thought that was pretty good."

Navy's 26 hits in the nightcap tied for the third most in school history, just two shy of the program record set against McDaniel on April 20, 1938. Mike Guadagnini (Jr./Virginia Beach, Va.), Alex Azor (So./Miami, Fla.), Michael Speciale (Sr./Pearland, Texas) and Steven Soares (Sr./Coral Springs, Fla.) each had four hits, while Jonathan Wright (Jr./Arden, N.C.) collected three hits and Matthew Curley (Sr./Boston, Mass.) tallied a pair of base knocks. Nick Driscoll (Jr./Riverview, Fla.) also chipped in with four RBIs in the win.

Among those hits, nine went for extra bases. Azor belted a pair of doubles en route to five RBIs, while Speciale smacked a double and a home run on the contest.

"It's just one of those baseball things where the offense gets contagious," said Kostacopoulos. "That was certainly the deal in the second game today. Everybody jumped in."

Lafayette scored the first run of the game in the first before Navy answered with a pair of runs in the second and one in the third to take a lead it would not relinquish. Speciale hit his eighth home run of the year to lead off the third inning for the Mids.

After the Leopards cut the lead back to one at 3-2, the Midshipmen rattled off six unanswered runs between the fourth and fifth innings. Azor had a two-out, two-run double in the fourth to start the streak for Navy.

Lafayette again cut into the lead with a three-run fifth, but Navy's offense erupted for nine runs to put the game out of reach at 18-5. The Midshipmen sent 14 batters to the plate in that inning, with every batter in the lineup recording a base knock or scoring a run. Kendall Bolt (Sr./Stockton, Calif.) scored twice and stole a base, while Soares had two of his four base knocks come in that inning.

Starter Wes Olson (Jr./Indianapolis, Ind.) was credited with the win as he allowed two runs on four hits over three innings while working on a pitch limit after throwing more than two innings out of the bullpen on Saturday. Reliever Luke Roberts (Jr./Midland, N.C.) earned the unconventional save, as he did not allow an earned run over the final-six innings with no walks and five strikeouts.

"Luke pitched well in a game like this where his job was to throw strikes, which is easier said than done," stated Kostacopoulos. "More than two-thirds of his pitches went for strikes. He went out there and performed when knowing that our bullpen was thin against a good lineup that was shown this weekend."

In the opener, Navy rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take the lead with a six-run fifth, in which it sent 11 batters to the plate. Jeff Bland (Jr./Basking Ridge, N.J.) led off with a double and scored on a Driscoll single through the left side. After a Guadagnini single, Curley launched his first home run of the year over the right-centerfield fence to give the Mids a 4-3 lead. Navy tacked on two more runs on a throwing error and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bolt.

However, the three-run cushion would prove to not be enough as the host Leopards plated one in the fifth and three in the sixth - capped by a two-out, two-run triple by Matt Fenster. Within those two innings, Navy's pitchers combined to walk five Lafayette batters.

Reliever Drew Carlson (Sr./Boca Raton, Fla.) was charged with the loss, as he allowed three runs on two hits with two walks in 1.1 innings. Starter Zach Sipe (So./Huffmann, Texas) allowed four runs on six hits over 4.2 innings with three walks and two strikeouts.

Guadagnini, Bolt and Josh Moore (So./Mills River, N.C.) each had a pair of base knocks for the Mids in the opener as they outhit the Leopards, 10-8.

The Midshipmen will return to action this Wednesday, May 5, when they head to Soldier Field in Dover, Del., to take on Delaware State at 4 p.m. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)

DIAMOND NOTES:
- In other action around the Patriot League, Army (16-4 Patriot League) split its twinbill against Bucknell (8-12) in West Point, while Lehigh (12-8) split its home doubleheader against Holy Cross (10-10).
- Navy is now 59-34-2 all-time against Lafayette and has won eight of the last-13 meetings.
- Navy's 20 runs in game two were the most scored this spring and its highest offensive production since a 20-6 win at Maryland Eastern Shore on March 13, 2008.
- Navy's 26 hits in game two tied for the third-highest total in school history with its performance against Army on May 7, 1995 ... its effort on Sunday was just one shy of its record against Patriot League foes, as the Mids collected 27 base knocks in a 30-2 win at Lafayette on March 28, 1998.
- The seven doubles that the Midshipmen collected in game two were just one shy of their season high against Central Connecticut State on March 6.
- The Midshipmen scored nine runs in the sixth inning of game two, which were the most for any inning this spring and their most in one frame since a nine-run third inning at Maryland Eastern Shore on March 13, 2008 ... Navy scored in all but two innings - the first and eighth - in Sunday's win.
- Michael Speciale's home run in the third inning of game two on Sunday was his 23rd of his career and eighth this season ... he is now tied for second place on the career home runs list with Mark Zematis (1997-00) ... he is now tied for fourth on the all-time single-season list with Mitch Harris's eight home runs in 2007.
- Luke Roberts's six innings of relief in game two marked the longest outing of his career ... his previous mark was 4.1 innings at Army on April 13, 2009.
- Luke Roberts became the sixth different Navy pitcher to record a save in 2010 ... Navy's 12 saves as a team this spring are ranked third highest in school history.
- The Midshipmen did not commit an error in the first game on Sunday ... its was Navy's 15th error-free contest in 2010.