March 20, 2011
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team fell to Yale, 6-4, in game one of a doubleheader on Sunday, but rallied to defeat the Bulldogs in game two, 11-4. The series split gives Navy a record of 11-9-1, while Yale is now 5-8.
"We just didn't play well enough in the first game to win a close game," said Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "In the second game, we were fortunate to take what they gave us and then hold on from there."
With Sunday's twinbill, Navy has now played eight games in the past week.
"I thought we weren't as mentally sharp today as we can be," said Kostacopoulos. "That is something I think a few days off will take care of. We'll get back to practice this week and start to fix some of the things that we need to."
A day after going 5-for-5 at the plate, Jeff Bland picked up where he left off when he drove in the first run of game one with an RBI double.
Navy starting pitcher Johnny Schoberl allowed just one hit through three innings, but the Bulldogs got to him in the top of the fourth as they put up three runs. Yale catcher Ryan Brenner had the big hit in the inning - a two-RBI double to left field.
Trailing for the first time in the game, Navy responded with three runs of its own to grab a 4-3 lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning.
Taylor Cato knocked in the first run with an RBI triple and Craig Veech followed with an RBI ground out.
Brandon Beans followed a walk to Dylan Wheeler with the second RBI triple of the inning to give Navy the lead, 4-3.
The seesaw affair continued in the top of the fifth when Andy Megee helped Yale reclaim the lead with a two-run homer to left field.
The home run also ended Schoberl's day on the mound.
Navy's best chance get back in the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning when it put the first two runners on base, but Yale reliever Eric Shultz got Beans to ground into an inning-ending double play.
A hit and an error led to another run for Yale in the top of the seventh fame and then Shultz pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to end the game.
Yale starter Vinny Lally went 5.1 innings and scattered five hits to earn the win.
Schoberl allowed five runs off five hits as suffered his first loss of the season.
In game two, Dave Milanes gave Navy a quick, 2-0, lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-RBI double to right center field.
Josh Moore gave Navy a 3-0 advantage with a ground-out RBI in the bottom of the second.
Yale plated two runs in the top of the third inning off one hit and one Navy error to make the score, 3-2.
Cato, who raised his average to .382 over the weekend series, delivered a two-RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the third that pushed Navy's lead to 5-2.
Yale starting pitcher Rob Cerfolio allowed five hits through the three innings, but after he surrendered a leadoff single to Greg Bryant to start the bottom of the fourth, the game began to unravel for the Bulldogs.
It looked like Yale might strand Bryant on base after Greg Lyons replaced Cerfolio and retired the next two Navy hitters. But Lyons then walked five of the next six batters, hit Cato with the bases loaded and threw a wild pitch - giving Navy four runs and a 9-2 lead.
Yale scored solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Alex Azor got the two runs back in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out, two-RBI double - making the score 11-4.
Navy's game two starting pitcher Ben Nelson retired seven of first eight hitters and went on to pitch six complete innings. Just two of the four runs he allowed were earned as he struck out six batters and walked two to even his record at 2-2 on the season.
Wes Olson replaced Nelson in the top of the seventh frame and limited Yale to just three hits the rest of the way. Olson fanned four and walked one batter as he picked up his first save of the season.
"We were able to extend the lead and Wes came in and did a good job," said Kostacopoulos. "I thought in the second game, the pitching was pretty good."
Navy will be back in action next weekend when it hosts another Ivy League foe, Princeton. The Midshipmen and Tigers will meet in two doubleheaders, beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Notes...
• With two triples on Sunday, Navy now has 13 triples in 21 games this season - four more than it had through the same amount of games in 2010.
• Brandon Beans now has a Navy season-high 11-game hitting streak...He has also reached safely in 13 consecutive games, which is the longest current streak by any Midshipman.
• With two RBIs apiece in game two, Dave Milanes and Alex Azor, both now have a team-leading six multiple-RBI games.
