Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team overcame a two-run lead by NYIT with four runs over the seventh and eighth innings to earn a 4-2 victory. With their come-from-behind victory the Mids improved to 12-4 on the season and 7-0 at home. Kyle Condry (So., Highland Village, Texas) and Sam Sorenson (Jr., Etters, Pa.) led a strong pitching effort by Navy as the duo combined to strike out 14 NYIT (0-1) batters over nine innings. Jack Keller (Sr., Ballston Spa, N.Y.) highlighted the Mids' offense as the senior first baseman went 2-for-2 with a run scored.

"Kyle Condry was outstanding today," remarked head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He really threw well and gave us seven innings with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Their starter did a really good job too and we had to hang in there. We were fortune that Kyle kept us in the game and gave us a chance to get into their bullpen and scrape across a couple of runs. Kyle really was the story of the game."

"We didn't do a very good job of getting hits with guys on base. That's a bit of an issue that we've run into the last two or three games. We'll have the bases loaded but are just unable to get the big hit that ignites the offense. That usually squares itself around."

The game proceeded at a brisk pace over the first four innings as both starting pitchers, Condry for Navy and Matt Diaz for NYIT kept their opposition off balance. Condry struck out seven of the first 13 Bear batters that he faced, while Diaz pitched around four walks and held the Mids to just one hit, a Sean Trent (Jr., Sorrento, Fla.) single in the fourth.

In the top of the fifth, NYIT manufactured two runs with two outs showing on the scoreboard. A single to left field by Joe Daru plated both Louis Mele and Anthony Martelli for the Bears.

Condry calmed down after that mild hiccup and set down his opponents with scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh innings. He retired from the contest after the top of the seventh with a final line of 7.0 innings pitched, five hits, one walk, two runs and 11 strikeouts over 105 pitches. His 11 strikeouts were a new career-high as he shattered his previous mark of four.

With the score 2-0 in favor of NYIT, Navy found success versus the Bears bullpen in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings. In both frames, the Mids sent eight men to the plate and recorded two runs. In the seventh, Adrian Chinnery (So., Wilmington, Del.) and Keller slowly worked their way around the base paths before finally coming around to touch home and tie the game. Chinnery scored on a wild pitch, while Keller scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Robert Currie (Jr., Atlanta, Ga.).

Navy continued scoring off of NYIT's bullpen in the eighth when Connor Deneen (Jr., Tustin, Calif.) led off with a triple into the left field corner. The junior right-fielder crossed home plate in the following at bat as Chinnery roped a line drive single up the middle past a drawn in infield. He eventually came in to score after Brad Borosak (Sr., Jupiter, Fla.) drew a bases loaded walk from NYIT's Chris Johnson.

Sorenson came out for his second inning of work in the top of the ninth and pitched around a two-on, no-out situation with a force out at third base on a 1-5 put out before closing with back-to-back strikeouts of Robert Fiato and Gerson Sotolongo to capture the victory. Sorenson improved his record to 1-2 on the year with a line of 2.0 innings pitched, one hit allowed and three strikeouts.

"Sam did a nice job and struck out three," noted Kostacopoulos. "The pitching staff definitely did their job and threw the ball well today."

In the Mids' 4-2 win, they outhit the Bears by a 7-6 margin. Keller was the only batter in Navy's lineup with multiple hits as he went 2-2 with two singles. In total, nine Mids reached base safely during Friday's contest as they took advantage of 11 walks by Bear pitching.

The teams will continue their four-game series on Saturday with a single contest beginning at 2 p.m. Inclement weather scheduled to hit Annapolis overnight has forced the teams to alter their original plan of a Saturday doubleheader. The series will now wrap up on Sunday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader.