April 22, 2011
Navy| Holy Cross
Navy and Holy Cross will begin their four-game series on Sunday, as anticipated inclement weather on Saturday has forced the series to be pushed back a day. The Midshipmen and Crusaders will meet in doubleheaders at 1 p.m. on Sunday and at 12 p.m. on Monday.
With just eight conference games to play, Navy enters the weekend tied for the top spot in the league, along with Army and Lafayette, which are also 7-5. Holy Cross is currently in fifth place at 5-7 and just three games separate all six teams.
About Holy Cross
Holy Cross is 18-19-1, overall, and hitting .287 as a team after defeating Brown, 10-7, on Thursday ... A pair of seniors in Jack Laurendeau and Nick Ciardiello lead the Crusaders offensively ... Laurendeau's .362 batting average and 47 hits were both third best in the Patriot League, when statistics were released on Tuesday, and Ciardiello's 36 RBIs were the second most in the conference ... Senior Eric Oxford's 13 doubles are the most in the Patriot League ... Laurendeau, Ciardiello (.336) and Stephen Wadsworth (.317) are the Crusaders currently hitting over .300 ... After Thursday's tilt with Brown, the Crusaders had a team ERA of 6.66, which ranked sixth in the Patriot League ... In league play, the Crusaders' ERA jumps to 7.74 ... Junior lefty John Pedrotty is leads the starters with a record of 6-2 and a 4.88 ERA in 48.0 innings ... Sophomore right-hand reliever John Colella ranks second in the conference in saves with six and his league-high 18 appearances ... Junior lefty Nate Koneski leads the Patriot League with 50 strikeouts.
Common Opponents
Holy Cross and Navy share two common opponents in UMass and Central Connecticut State. The Crusaders defeated UMass, 14-4, and lost to Central Connecticut State, 16-2.
Navy defeated UMass, 7-3, and swept two games from CCSU.
The Series
Navy leads the all-time series, 55-25. The two teams split a four-game series in Annapolis last season, while the Crusaders took three of four games in Worcester in 2009. The Midshipmen won three of four during the regular season in 2008 and then defeated the Crusaders in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament, 2 games to 1, later that season.
Navy's last series win at Holy Cross was in 2007 when it won all four games.
No Place For a Nervous Person
So far this season, Navy has had 12 games decided by one run - the most since 2008 when it played in 18 one-run games, going 9-9. Conference play of late has been just as tight; as five of the Mids' last eight Patriot League games have been one-run affairs.
Here is a look at how Navy has faired in one-run games dating back to 2006:
2011: 8-4 (.667)
2010: 6-5 (.545)
2009: 5-4 (.556)
2008: 9-9 (.500)
2007: 9-7 (.563)
2006: 10-4 (.714)
Pitching Staff Leads the League
The Navy pitching staff has been solid of late, as it has held the opposition to three runs or fewer in eight of the last 12 games. In those 12 contests, it has an ERA of 4.89 and nearly twice as many strikeouts than walks (84 Ks, 43 walks).
When statistics were released on Tuesday morning, Navy led the Patriot League in ERA and ranked first in strikeouts (272) and strikeouts per nine innings (7.50).
Entering the weekend, Navy's ERA is 5.39.
True Relief
One of the major reasons for the success of the pitching staff has been the performances out of the bullpen, specifically Preston Gainey, Wes Olson and Joel Rinehart, who have all picked up save in the last 12 games. The three have combined to allow just four runs in a total of 30 innings in the last 12 contests. Olson and Rinehart have each allowed just two runs in 15.0 and 6.1 innings pitched, respectively. Gainey hasn't given up a run in 8.2 innings.
Gainey picked up his first collegiate save in a 4-3 win at Army; Olson earned his second save of the season by pitching three scoreless innings in a 5-2 win over Bucknell; and Rinehart picked up his fourth save of the season in Navy's 3-2 win at Army.
In 17 appearances this season, Rinehart has a 2.25 ERA and just two of the 29 hits he has surrendered have been for extra bases. Olson is 3-1 with two saves in 13 appearances totaling 33.2 innings.
Gainey has a staff-best 2.08 ERA in seven appearances and 17.1 innings.
On the season the Navy bullpen has an ERA of 4.73, while in the last 12 games, its ERA is 4.28.
Driscoll Comes Through in the Clutch
Senior Nick Driscoll enters the weekend with a four-game hitting streak as he has gone 9-for-15 (.600) with seven RBIs over the span. Not only has Driscoll had solid numbers over the last four games, but he has also produced in the clutch.
In Navy's 5-2 win over Bucknell on Sunday, Driscoll went 3-for-4 and delivered the winning runs with a two-RBI single.
Driscoll topped that performance the next day with an extra-inning, walk-off hit. With the game tied at five in eighth inning, Driscoll belted a single through the middle that scored Josh Moore and gave Navy a 6-5 win.
Driscoll went on to collect three more RBIs with a triple in the finale against Bucknell, and then picked up another RBI in Tuesday's win over UMES.
For his efforts, Driscoll received honorable mention from the Patriot League this week.
The Riverview, Fla., native has played in 176 games as a Midshipman, which is seventh most in program history. His 160 starts are tied for eighth on Navy's all-time list.
Azor Among the Nation's Elite Hitters
With 58 hits through Sunday, junior Alex Azor ranked in a tie for 19th in the nation when statistics were released earlier this week. His 58 hits were just eight behind the leader, Bryson Myles of Stephen F. Austin, who had 66. Azor picked up one more hit on Tuesday and now has 59 on the season. He is hitting .360 with an on-base percentage of .427.
The Miami, Fla., native has started all 40 games this season and has reached safely in all but four contests. Entering Monday with 152 at-bats, Azor had struck out just seven times - ranking him as the nation's 13th-toughest hitter to strike out, with an average of one K per 21.7 at-bats.
With a total of 142 hits through 114-career games, Azor is 19 hits away from breaking into the top 15 on Navy's all-time hits list.
Campbell Picks Up Three RBIs in Debut
Freshman Chris Campbell made his collegiate debut a memorable one on Tuesday in Navy's 10-3 win over UMES. Campbell, who started at third base, went 1-for-4 with a game-high three RBIs. Campbell picked up his first collegiate hit with an RBI single up the middle in the fourth inning and got his other two RBIs on groundouts.
Cato Enters Weekend With Team-High Hitting Streak
Freshman Taylor Cato is currently riding a team-high, eight-game hitting streak. Cato is 11-for-25 (.440) in the eight-game streak and leads the team with a .366 batting average on the season. In 21 starts either in the outfield or as the designated hitter, Cato has a team-leading .489 on-base percentage.
Extra Bases
The 2011 Midshipmen have moved into the top 15 in the program's all-time doubles and triples lists. With 20 triples, the Mids are tied for ninth most in program history, while their 68 doubles are tied for 14th place.
Navy's 20 triples are the most since the 2008 team had 25.
Milanes Leads in RBIs
Designated hitter and catcher Dave Milanes is among the Patriot League leaders in RBIs as he enters play this weekend with a total of 35.
Earlier this season, Milanes had a career-high, nine-game hitting streak. He also reached base safely in 15 consecutive games, tying Alex Azor for the longest streak of the season.
The sophomore entered the season with just two at-bats in his career and is currently hitting .304. His 10 multi-RBI games this season are the most by any Mid.
Dupell Keeps Rolling
Greg Dupell has continued to perform well at the plate this season as the sophomore is currently hitting .333. His .563 slugging percentage leads the Mids and his 26 RBIs are tied with Alex Azor for second on the team. Last weekend, he hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season.
Hold `Em Under Five
Through 40 games this season, Navy has held its opponents to under five runs in 23 games and is 20-3 in those contests. The Mids have limited opponents to five or fewer runs in 11 of their last 14 games; in those 11 games, Navy is 9-2.
By comparison, last season Navy held its opponents to fewer than five runs in 32 of its 51 games and went 22-10 in those contests.
Rising to the Challenge
Navy is 5-2 this season against teams that played in last year's NCAA Baseball Championship. Most recently, Navy split four games with defending Patriot League champion, Bucknell. The Midshipmen previously defeated Central Connecticut State, twice (3-2, 9-2) and Jacksonville State, 8-5, on March 16.
Nelson Remains Strong
A year after earning Freshman All-America and All-Patriot League honors, Ben Nelson is back in the familiar position as one of the best pitchers in the conference now as a sophomore. When statistics were released on Tuesday morning, his 45 Ks ranked second in the conference and his 52.0 innings pitched were tied for first.
Nelson has thrown complete games in two of his last three starts and enters this weekend with a 5.71 ERA.
Keeping Runners Honest
The Navy pitching staff has seven pickoffs this season, which is the most by the Midshipmen since 2008 when they also had seven. The Mids did not record a pickoff last season and had just two in 2009.
The Navy record for pickoffs in a season is 11, set by the 2006 squad.
Freshmen in the Outfield
Several young players have had the chance to step into the Navy lineup through 40 games.
Freshman Brandon Beans, who started the first eight games before missing the next eight due to injury, is currently hitting .258 and earlier this season recorded a team season-high 11-game hitting streak. He currently leads the league with five triples.
Though he has had eight appearances and six starts on the mound, freshman Taylor Cato has also made 21 starts in the outfield where he is currently hitting .366 with six doubles.
The 5-for-5 Club
Both Alex Azor and Jeff Bland have gone 5-for-5 in games this season. Bland has accomplished the feat twice within an 11-game span. Most recently, he went 5-for-5 in Navy's 12-2 win over Lehigh on April 3. Prior to that, Bland went 5-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs in a 15-7 win over Yale on March 19.
Azor started the Mids' trip to Florida with a 5-for-5 performance against Central Michigan. His five-hit game was the first by a Midshipman since April 26, 2008 when Mike Guadagnini had five hits against Holy Cross.
Up Next
Navy will travel to Georgetown on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Hoyas before returning home for its final regular-season series of the year on Saturday and Sunday against Lafayette.
Navy | Navy (23-16-1) vs. Holy Cross (18-19-1) | | Dates | Sun., April 24 at 1 p.m. (DH) | Mon., April 25 at 12 p.m. (DH) | | | Location | Worcester, Mass. | Fitton Field |  Podcast | Coach Paul | | Sunday's Probable Starters | So. RHP Ben Nelson (4-4, 5.71) vs.
Jr. LHP John Pedrotty (6-2, 4.88)
So. RHP Johnny Schoberl (5-1, 4.40) vs.
Jr. LHP Nate Koneski (2-5, 6.44) | | | Monday's Probable Starters | Sr. LHP Sam Long (3-3, 5.44) vs.
Jr. RHP Matt Croglio (2-3, 6.09)
TBD vs. TBD | | | Game Notes | |
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