March 25, 2011

Navy| Princeton

Navy Hosts Princeton in Final Non-League Series
Navy hosts its second straight Ivy League opponent this weekend as the Princeton Tigers will visit Max Bishop Stadium for four games. The two teams will meet in doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 12 p.m. both days. The first game of each doubleheader will be seven innings, followed by a nine-inning game.

Navy enters play this weekend at 9-3-1 in its last 13 games. The stretch includes a four-game winning streak that started on March 4 and later a 3-1 mark on Navy's road trip to Florida.

About Princeton
Princeton comes into this weekend's series at 3-10 on the season ... Last weekend, the Tigers dropped a three-game set at Georgetown, losing 8-7, 15-2 and 8-5 ... Princeton has played four games against top-25 teams, including a season-opening three-game series at No. 7 LSU, where they won the finale, 8-7 ... John Mishu leads the Tigers at the plate with a .333 batting average ... Mike Ford, Sam Murloy and Nate Baird are all tied for the team lead in RBIs with 10 apiece ... The pitching staff has an ERA of 7.43, but starters Matt Bowman (3.38) and Zak Hermans (3.52) both and ERAs under 4.00.

Bland, Cato Share Honors
Jeff Bland and Taylor Cato were both recognized by the conference this week as they were named Patriot League Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Bland hit .500 (9-for-18) in the Mids' seven games last week. The senior captain produced four doubles, one triple and nine RBIs and posted a slugging percentage of .833. Bland had at least one RBI in five of the six games in which he appeared. His most impressive effort of the week came in Navy's 15-7 win over Yale where he went 5-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs.

Cato appeared in all seven games and had an outstanding week both at the plate and on the mound. The freshman had four multi-hit games as he batted .455 (10-for-22), including four extra-base hits, and six RBIs.

On the mound, he picked up his first collegiate win in Navy's 8-5 victory over Jacksonville State. The right-hander retired the first 10 hitters, allowed just two earned runs off four hits in 5.1 innings and struck out a season-high six batters.

Bouncing Back
Navy has shown resiliency this season as it has bounced back from each of its last four losses with victories. In all four losses that have been by two or fewer runs this season, Navy has responded each time to win the next game. Three of those four wins have been by four or more runs.

Rising to the Challenge
Navy is 3-0 this season against teams that played in last year's NCAA Baseball Championship. The Midshipmen defeated Central Connecticut State twice (3-2, 9-2) and most recently, they defeated Jacksonville State, 8-5, on March 16. In the three wins, Navy hit .295 as a team and limited the two opponents to a combined batting average of just .208.

The Midshipmen will have the opportunity to improve their record against teams that took part in last year's NCAA Tournament when they meet conference-foe Bucknell on April 16-17.

Freshmen Stepping Up
A handful of early-season injuries have given several young players the chance to step into the Navy lineup through the first 21 games.

Freshman Brandon Beans, who started the first eight games before missing the next eight due to injury, is currently hitting .268 and has a team-high 11-game hitting streak. In his last five games, Beans is 5-for-17 (.294) with five RBIs.

Though he has had five appearances on the mound, freshman Taylor Cato has also made nine starts in the outfield where he has hit 13-for-34 (.382) with four doubles. A third freshman that has made an impact in the outfield is Matt Kilby, who is 5-of-16 (.312) at the plate this season in five games, including two starts.

Azor Leads the League
With a .368 batting average, Alex Azor has been Navy's most consistent hitter this season. The junior center fielder entered the week tied for 33rd in the country with 32 hits, which leads the Patriot League. He also leads the conference in runs scored (24) and doubles (9).

Azor posted one of his best four-games stretches of his career at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Miami native made the most of his return to his home state as he went 12-for-20 (.600) at the plate, drove in six runs and scored nine runs.

Azor started the trip with a 5-for-5 performance against Central Michigan on Sunday. His five-hit game was the first by a Midshipman since April 26, 2008 when Mike Guadagnini had five hits against Holy Cross.

Young Guns Out of the Bullpen
Freshman pitchers Dwayne Gammage, Harrison Pollard and Preston Gainey have made the most out of their combined nine appearances this season. With 7.1 innings pitched in six appearances, Gammage has been one of the team's most dependable relievers so far this season. Gammage, who has an ERA of 1.23, hasn't allowed a run since his first-career appearance on Feb. 19 at Presbyterian and has only allowed a total of five hits.

Gammage earned his first-career win on March 8 vs. Coppin State and picked up his first-career save vs. Jacksonville State.

In his second appearance of the season in Navy's 15-7 win over Yale last weekend, Gainey pitched three innings of shutout baseball as he allowed just one hit. Gainey's ERA is currently 1.35 in 6.2 innings pitched this season. In his one appearance this season, Harrison Pollard did not allow an earned run in 1.2 innings.

Hold `Em Under Five
Navy is 9-1 this season when holding its opponents to under five runs. In fact, Navy is 9-0 in nine-inning games where it has held its opponent under five runs, as its only loss came to Yale, 1-0, in a seven-inning game.

Cato Earns His First Win
Freshman Taylor Cato made sure the Mids came home from Florida with a winning record as he picked up his first-career victory against Jacksonville State. In his third-career start, Cato retired the first 10 hitters he faced and allowed three runs (two earned) off four hits. He also struck out a career-best six batters.

Milanes Leads in RBIs
With 11 RBIs in his last eight games, designated hitter Dave Milanes leads the conference in RBIs with 20. He is currently hitting .295 and is tied for second on the team with five doubles.

Milanes hit .444 in four games at the RussMatt Invitational where he tied his career best with three RBIs against Chicago State.

Spreading the Wealth
A total of five Midshipmen have at least 10 RBIs so far this season, including: Dave Milanes (20), Alex Azor (18), Jeff Bland (16), Jonathan Wright (11), Greg Dupell (10). The five have combined for 60% of the team's RBIs.

Nelson Returning to Form
A year after earning Freshman All-America and All-Patriot League honors, Ben Nelson is back in the familiar position near the top of the conference in strikeouts. His 25 Ks are tied with Johnny Schoberl for second most in league and his 29.1 innings pitched lead the conference.

In his last start, Nelson went six complete innings and allowed two earned runs off five hits. He also struck out six batters and walked two.

Lighting Up the Scoreboard
When Navy and Chicago State met for the first time in program history on March 15, the two teams combined for one of the most-high scoring games in recent Navy history. The Mids defeated the Cougars, 17-14, while the two teams combined for 32 hits. The 31 total runs were the most combined runs in a game for Navy since it defeated Lafayette, 30-2, on March 28, 1998 in Easton, Pa.

Bland Moves Up Career Charts
With three home runs this season, senior captain Jeff Bland now has 12 for his career and has moved into a tie with Edward Abner (1975-77) for ninth place on Navy's all-time home run list. Bland started the season with two home runs in the series at Presbyterian and then added another in the Mids' 13-3 win over Air Force on Feb. 27.

Behind the plate, Bland threw out a career-best four runners in Navy's March 9 game at Towson, giving him a career total of 29 runners caught steeling. He is now fourth on Navy's all-time caught steeling list. Steven Soares (2007-10) holds the school record with 77 runners caught stealing.

Bland has also been plunked by four pitches this season, which gives him 23 for his career - fourth most in program history.

All Even After 10...
Navy's 8-8 tie in 10 innings with Towson on March 9 was its first since a 5-5 deadlock with Delaware in the third game of the 2009 season. In its 116-year history, Navy has 37 ties.

Up Next
Navy will play a midweek game on Wednesday at Mt. St. Mary's before opening Patriot League play next weekend. The Mids will travel to Lehigh for two doubleheaders beginning on Saturday.