March 9, 2011

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Navy and Towson played 10 innings on Wednesday, but with the score still knotted at eight and the sky getting darker with each at-bat, the game was called due to darkness.

Trailing, 8-7, in the top of the ninth inning, Greg Dupell hit a one-out solo home run over the left field wall to tie the game at eight. With overcast skies and temps in the low 40s throughout the afternoon, daylight quickly evaporated as the game moved into the 10th inning.

"It was a difficult day to play - the wind and darkness made things tough," said Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Overall, even though it was a tie, I thought there was a lot more good that than bad that came out of this game for us."

Navy, now unbeaten in its last five games, rallied from deficits of 4-0 and 8-5 against Towson on Wednesday. The game was Navy's first tie since a 5-5 deadlock with Delaware in the third game of the 2009 season.

Leading 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Towson doubled its lead with a bases loaded sacrifice fly off the bat of Austin Harclerode, followed by an RBI single from Brandon Gonnella.

Tiger starting pitcher Michael Trionfo kept the Mids off the bases early on as he struck out five and faced just two batters over the minimum in his four innings of work.

After being limited to just two hits through four innings, the Midshipmen took advantage of Trionfo's exit in the top of the fifth when Spencer Patton replaced him on the mound.

With runners on first and second, Jonathan Wright drove in the first of the Mids' five runs in the inning with a single to center field that scored Matt Kilby. Nick Driscoll followed with a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Alex Azor, who then singled to left field. Azor's single scored Craig Veech, but when Tiger right fielder Steve Rice let the ball skip past his glove, two more runs scored for Navy to tie the game at four.

An error on the next play by shortstop Nick Natoli allowed Azor to score, giving Navy its first lead of the day, 5-4.

The Mids' didn't hold the advantage for long as the Tigers batted around in the bottom half of the fifth inning and scored four runs off four hits to take an 8-5 lead. The inning also spelled the end of starting pitcher Taylor Cato's day as Jordan Heller took over the mound with one out.

"That's been a bugaboo for us so far this year - we have a big inning, then we give a few runs right back," said Kostacopoulos.

A leadoff walk to Jeff Bland to start the sixth inning proved costly for Towson as two batters later, Veech picked up his second hit of the day with a blast that cleared the left center field wall. The home run was the first of the season for Veech and pulled Navy within one run at 8-7.

Heller did his job to keep it a one-run affair as he stuck out the side in the seventh and faced just four batters in both the sixth and eighth innings.

"Jordan did a good job," said Kostacopoulos. "Once he got in a groove, he started to settle down. I think he'll have more confidence next time he goes out there and we need that."

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Dupell tied the game on the first pitch he saw with a solo home run to left center field.

In the top of the 10th frame, Navy was able to get runners and first and second base, but a lineout double play off a sharply hit ball by Wright ended the threat.

Johnny Schoberl, who replaced Heller in the ninth, allowed two walks in the bottom of the 10th, but got Andew Parker to swing at strike three to end the inning and the game.

Navy, now 6-6-1, will next be in action on Sunday when it takes on Central Michigan at 10 a.m. in its first game of the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

Notes...
• Navy catcher Jeff Bland threw out four runners on Tuesday, bringing the Mids' season total to 10 runners caught stealing.
• The home runs by Craig Veech and Greg Dupell marked the third time this season that Navy has homered twice in a game ... Josh Moore and Jeff Bland went deep in the season opener vs. Presbyterian and Bland and Dave Milanes both homered in the series finale against Air Force.
• Navy now has 37 ties in its 116-year history.