May 3, 2011
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team (28-20-1) returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Dover, Del., to face Delaware State at 3 p.m. Wednesday's contest will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season.
Midweek Quick Hitters
• Navy captured its first Patriot League regular-season crown since 2002 and claimed sole possession of first place in the regular season for the first time since 2000.
• Ben Nelson earned his first-career Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honor on Monday ... The sophomore struck out a career-high 10 batters as he pitched his fourth complete game of the season in Navy's 4-2 win over Lafayette on Saturday.
• Preston Gainey garnered his second Patriot League Rookie of the Week accolade as well on Tuesday ... Gainey earned his second save of the season as he held Lafayette hitless over the final two and two-thirds innings in Navy's 4-2 win on Sunday.
• With seven RBIs last weekend, Dave Milanes brought his team-leading total to 46, which is the most RBIs by a Midshipman since 2009 when Kendall Bolt had 48 ... Milanes' 46 RBIs put him in a tie for 12th-place on Navy's single-season RBI list.
• Navy has played in 14 one-run games this season, going 8-6 in those contests ... Seven of Navy's last nine games have been decided by three runs or fewer.
• Navy's 12 wins in Patriot League play this season were its most since 2007 when it also won 12.
• The Midshipmen are 24-4 this season when holding opponents to five runs or fewer.
• While his 14-game hitting streak was snapped on Sunday, freshman outfielder Taylor Cato leads the team with a .364 batting average.
About Delaware State
The Hornets enter Wednesday's game at 23-21, overall, and 11-4 in conference play ... Last weekend, the Hornets took two of three games from North Carolina A&T ... Delaware State is 3-2 in its last five games and 7-3 in its last 10 ... As a team, they are hitting .304, led by junior Scott Davis, who has a batting average of .443 ... Sophomore Ryan Haas leads DSU in RBIs with 48 and is hitting .380 ... Davis and Haas are two of five Hornets that are hitting over .300 ... DSU's pitching staff currently has a 5.32 ERA and an opponent batting average of .292 ... The staff has a total of 262 strikeouts and 155 walks.
Common Opponents
Delaware State and Navy have six common opponents. Here is a look at how the Hornets fared against the common competition: Coppin State (3-0), UMES (2-1), Towson (1-2), Georgetown (0-1), Lehigh (1-0), and Maryland (0-1).
The Series
Navy leads the all-time series, 12-2-1, and has won the last four meetings.
Up Next
Navy will head to Princess Anne, Md., to take on Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday at 1 p.m.
