April 29, 2011

Lafayette| NavySat. Game 1| Sat. Game 2| Sun. Game 1| Sun. Game 2

Postseason Implications on the Line as Navy Hosts Lafayette
Navy hosts Lafayette in its final regular season Patriot League series this weekend as the Mids and Leopards will play doubleheaders at 12 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Navy enters the final weekend of conference play tied for first place with a 10-6 mark in league play.

Determining Postseason Play
Entering play this weekend, none of the four Patriot League Tournament berths have been claimed, as all six teams remain in the hunt for a spot with Army visiting Bucknell and Lehigh at Holy Cross.

Army and Navy are both 10-6 and each team needs just one win over the weekend to guarantee a League Tournament berth, and two victories to secure a home series in the semifinals (May 14-15).

Lafayette (8-8) and Bucknell (7-9) each get a spot in the conference tournament if they reach 11 wins.

The Tiebreakers
Ties are broken first by a head-to-head comparison, followed by a comparison of records starting at the highest seed and continuing through the lowest, if necessary. If a tie still exists, there is a comparison of records against out-of-league common opponents (only if the same number of games are played against an opponent). The final tiebreaker is RPI ranking after the end of the Patriot League regular season schedule.

About Lafayette
Lafayette is 15-23 overall, including 2-3 in its last five games, and 8-8 in Patriot League play ... In the Leopard's last conference series, they dropped three of four games to Army at home ... The Leopards split with Holy Cross and Lehigh and took three of four games from Bucknell ... Offensively, Lafayette is led by senior catcher A.J. Miller, who ranked eighth in the nation with a .433 batting average when statistics were compiled after last Sunday's games ... Miller has 12 doubles and 11 home runs and a league-leading 46 RBIs ... As a team, the Leopard are hitting .283, as Miller is the only player with more than 22 RBIs and a batting average above .295 ... Kevin Casey (.286) and Matt Fenster (.293) rank second and third on the team with 22 and 21 RBIs, respectively ... The pitching staff currently boasts an ERA of 6.25 and ranked fifth best in the in the conference at the beginning of the week ... Sr. RHP Zach Fritz leads the team with nine starts and has a 2-3 record with a 7.93 ERA ... Other staring pitchers include Jr. RHP John Gentile (1-6, 5.12 ERA) and Jr. RHP Ethan Perro (3-2, 5.58 ERA) ... As a team, the Leopards have been successful in 31-of-51 stolen base attempts, with Brian Davila leading they way with seven stolen bases.

Common Opponents
Navy and Lafayette share just one common, non-league opponent in UMBC. The Leopards defeated UMBC, 12-3 and 10-5, while Navy also won its only meeting with UMBC, 4-3.

The Series
Navy leads the all-time series, 59-34-2. Last season, Lafayette won three of four games at home, while the Midshipmen took three games from the Leopards in 2008 and `09. Games played in Annapolis in recent years have been nearly even, as Navy is 11-9 against Lafayette in at home since 2001.

Thank You Seniors
Navy will honor its six seniors - Jeff Bland (Navy Supply), Nick Driscoll (Surface Warfare Officer), Sam Long (Marine Gound), Wes Olson (Navy SEALs), Luke Roberts (Naval Flight Officer) and Jonathan Wright (Naval Pilor) - prior to Sunday's games. Entering the weekend, the class of 2011 is 108-90-3 (.545) and posted 30-win seasons in 2008 and `10.

Beans Gets Rookie Honor
Brandon Beans was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Tuesday after he went 9-for-19 (.474) and helped Navy to a 4-1 record last week. The freshman recorded a hit in all five contests, including doubles in four consecutive games.

Beans hit .444 and had four RBIs in the four-game series at Holy Cross. He joined Taylor Cato and Preston Gainey as the third Midshipman to earn the award this season.

Getting It Done Away From Home
A major reason for Navy's success in Patriot League play so far this season has been its 8-4 record in its 12 conference road games. Navy's eight Patriot League wins on the road are the most since the 2003 team, which went 12-8 overall, and also won eight regular season conference games.

Navy has outscored its Patriot League foes, 76-51, on the road this season and the pitching staff has an ERA of 4.34 in those games - 1.19 lower than its season ERA of 5.53.

Offensively six Mids are hitting .300 or better in conference road 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.

Here is a look at how Navy has done 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)

True Relief
One of the major reasons for the success of the pitching staff have been the solid performances out of the bullpen from Preston Gainey, Wes Olson and Joel Rinehart, all of whom picked up save or win last weekend.

Gainey got his first collegiate win by pitching three complete innings in Navy's 10-8 win over Holy Cross last Sunday. In his last three appearances, which total 9.2 innings, Gainey has allowed four runs off six hits while racking up 15 Ks. On the season, the freshman is 1-0 with one save and a 3.54 ERA.

Olson improved to 4-1 as he allowed just one hit over the final 4.1 innings in Navy's 5-2 series-clinching win over Holy Cross on Monday. In a total of 9.2 innings in his last three appearances, the senior has allowed no runs and surrendered just four hits. The Indianapolis, Ind., native enters the weekend with a record of 4-1 and a 2.37 ERA.

Rinehart picked up his team-leading fifth save of the season in Navy's 10-8 win over Holy Cross as he struck out three in the final 1.2 innings. The sophomore stopper has allowed just 11 runs in a total of 37.2 innings this season.

On the season the Navy bullpen has an ERA of 4.97.

Young Production
Navy entered the season with a total of 25 freshmen or sophomores on its roster, and to date, it has has received significant offensive production from its group of underclassmen. This season, 12 freshmen and sophomores have combined for 124 of the team's 248 total RBIs (50%) and 209 of the team's 416 hits (50.2%).

By comparison with last year's senior-laden team, the freshmen and sophomores in 2010 accounted for just 21% of the team's total hits and 19.8% of the team's total RBIs.

Azor Leads the League in Hits
With a total of 62 hits, Alex Azor has been one of the Patriot League's top hitters this season. When Patriot League statistics were released after last weekend's games, Azor remained at the top of the league in hits and led the conference with 41 runs scored.

When NCAA statistics were calculated after last Sunday's games, Azor ranked as the nation's 17th-toughest hitter to strikeout, with an average of one K per 19.0 at-bats. Azor was the only Patriot League player to be ranked in the top 50 in the nation in the category.

With a total of 145 hits through 119-career games, Azor is 16 hits away from breaking into the top 15 on Navy's all-time hits list.

Cato Enters Weekend With 12-Game Hitting Streak
Freshman Taylor Cato is currently riding a team-high, 12-game hitting streak. Cato is 16-for-42 (.381) in the 12-game streak and currently leads the team with a .357 batting average on the season. In 25 starts either in the outfield or as the designated hitter, Cato has a team-leading .491 on-base percentage. In conference play, Cato is hitting .333 and has an on-base percentage of .455.

Bland Leads By Example in Conference Play
With a .346 batting average in conference play, team captain Jeff Bland is hitting nearly .060 better in Patriot League games. The senior has been the Mids' most consistent hitter in conference games as his batting average is highest among all starters and his 13 RBIs rank second on the team.

Hold `Em Under Five
Through 45 games this season, Navy has held its opponents to under five runs in 25 games and is 22-3 in those contests. Over the last 10 games, Navy has limited opponents to five runs or fewer on six occasions, going 5-1 in those contests.

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.

Extra Bases
The 2011 Midshipmen have moved into the top 15 on the program's all-time doubles and triples lists. With 21 triples, the Mids are tied for sixth most in program history, while their 73 doubles are tied for 12th place.

Navy's 21 triples are the most since the 2008 team had 25.

Milanes Leads in RBIs
Designated hitter Dave Milanes is among the Patriot League leaders in RBIs as he enters play this weekend with a total of 39.

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 .295. His 11 multi-RBI games this season are the most by any Mid.

Campbell Belts First-Career Home Run
Days after he drove in three runs in his collegiate debut against UMES on April 19, freshman Chris Campbell hit his first-career home run in Navy's 11-2 win over Holy Cross on April 25. Campbell hit a three-run shot in the seventh inning to extend Navy's lead to 9-2.

Driscoll Comes Through in the Clutch
Senior Nick Driscoll delivered the winning hits in consecutive games against Bucknell earlier this season. In Navy's 5-2 win over Bucknell, 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.

Dupell Keeps Rolling
Greg Dupell has continued to perform well at the plate this season as the sophomore is currently hitting .321. His .549 slugging percentage leads the Mids and his 32 RBIs rank second on the team. Last weekend, he hit his team-leading seventh home run of the season.

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 Returns to Form
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 47 Ks ranked second in the conference and his 58.0 innings pitched were tied for first.

Nelson has thrown complete games in three of his last four starts and enters this weekend with a 6.36 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.

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.

Patriot-League Preseason Poll
The Patriot League Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information contacts, selected Navy to finish fifth.

The league's defending champion, Bucknell, was picked to finish second as Army, which received six first-place votes, was selected to win the conference. Holy Cross was picked third and Lehigh was selected fourth.

Up Next
Navy will travel to Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday, May 3 and to Delaware State on Wednesday, May 4. Both games are slated to begin at 3 p.m.