June 4, 2011
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Navy baseball team's run came to an end on Saturday as it fell, 6-1, to East Carolina in the NCAA Charlottesville Regional at Davenport Field. The Midshipmen end the year 33-25-1, while the 27th-ranked Pirates stay alive in the NCAA Tournament.
"Today's game was a little bit like yesterdays - we just couldn't seem to get the bats going," said Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "I thought we made better contact and made some hard outs. But we just weren't quite able to get over the hump."
Leading 2-0 in the top of the seventh, East Carolina put the game out of reach when Chase McDonald hit a grand slam with two outs.
After Navy struggled to capitalize on its opportunities in the fourth and sixth innings, East Carolina (40-20) took advantage of three walks in the top of the seventh.
Navy starter Sam Long walked the first batter of the inning and was replaced by Preston Gainey, who walked the first batter he faced. After striking out consecutive batters, Gainey issued another walk before McDonald belted a grand slam to give ECU a 6-0 lead.
"We were playing in jeopardy there for a couple innings," said Kostacopoulos. "We were on the line and really needed to get that last out."
ECU got two hits and a walk to start the second inning, and with no outs the Pirates were in position to score the first runs of the game. The next hitter, Ben Fultz drilled a ball to left field that Navy left fielder Brandon Beans caught for the first out and then hurled the ball toward home plate in an attempt to throw out McDonald who was trying to score from third. Beans' throw was perfect as Bland tagged out McDonald to complete the double play.
ECU's Jack Reinheimer brought in the first run with an RBI single in the next at-bat for a 1-0 lead.
East Carolina made it 2-0 when a two-out error by Nick Driscoll in the top of the third allowed Corey Thompson to come home.
After having just one base runner through three innings, a leadoff walk and then a single by Greg Dupell gave Navy its first threat of the day in the fourth. With Dave Milanes at third, Bland sent a ball toward pitcher Seth Maness, who tossed it to catcher Zach Wright and tagged out a charging Milanes at home plate.
Maness got Driscoll to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play in the next at-bat to end the Navy threat.
The Midshipmen had another opportunity in the sixth when Alex Azor and Milanes got on base to start the inning. But again, the Pirates were able to get a double play to halt the Mids' momentum and keep them off the scoreboard.
In holding Navy scoreless in the sixth, the Pirates were able to extend their lead to six runs with McDonald's grand slam in the seventh.
With Maness still pitching in the bottom of the ninth, an error by ECU third baseman Thompson allowed Bland to reach. After a single by Driscoll moved Bland over to third, an RBI groundout to second base by Andrew Hahn brought in Bland to get Navy on the scoreboard.
In his last collegiate start, Long went six complete innings, allowing three runs (two earned) off five hits, while walking five and striking out two.
Maness finished with four strikeouts and improved to 10-3 with the complete-game win.
Navy's 33 victories in 2011 rank as the third-highest total in program history, while its 59 games played marked the most ever by a Navy squad.
"The foundation we've laid by coming to regionals and winning the regular season really sets a strong foundation for what we can expect, and work for, next year," said Azor, who led Navy with two hits on Saturday. "That sets the bar high and preparation starts soon for next year."
Game Notes...
• Nick Driscoll and Alex Azor each made their 59th starts of the season on Saturday, setting a new Navy record for most games started in a season...Driscoll ends his career with 179 career-starts, which is tied for fifth most all-time in program history.
• Navy is now 4-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Alex Azor collected two hits, giving him 24 multiple hit games on the season - a team high.
