Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team dropped the first two games of its 2016 Patriot League season on Saturday as Holy Cross swept the doubleheader with a 3-1 outcome in game one and a 4-2 result in game two. The Mids battled throughout both contests with solid efforts from both its offense and pitching staff at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Navy (19-8-1, 0-2 PL) outhit Holy Cross (11-16, 2-0 PL) in both games and saw its starting pitchers both hurl six-plus innings and allow just three runs each.

"It was one of those things where we left too many men on base to win two close ball games," remarked head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "We never had that big, connected inning, where we got two or three runs. Everything was uphill for us offensively, that's how you lose 3-1 and 4-2."

On the mound, Luke Gillingham (Sr., Coronado, Calif.) started for the Mids in game one and went the distance in the seven inning contest for his second straight complete game and fourth of the season. After Holy Cross got to him for two runs in the top of the first inning, he regained his bearings and allowed just one run over the final six frames. He closed the game with a line of 7.0 innings, five hits, two walks and three runs allowed with six strikeouts. In the second game, George Coughlin (Jr., Arvada, Colo.) had a similar day with two early runs against before settling in and finishing with a line of 6.0-plus innings, six hits, two walks and three runs (one earned) allowed with six strikeouts.

"Both starters gave us a chance," said Kostacopoulos. "I don't think either of them were as sharp as they have been, but at the same time that's a credit to Holy Cross doing a good job picking up two-strike hits and doing a good job in the clutch. Luke and George gave us two quality starts and kept us in a pair of two-run games."

Offensively, Navy was able to make solid contact off of Holy Cross pitching throughout the doubleheader, but the visiting Crusaders never allowed the Mids to get a big inning with multiple runs scored. Individually, Adrian Chinnery (Jr., Wilmington, Del.), Stephen Born (So., Strafford, Pa.), Connor Deneen (Sr., Tustin, Calif.) and Robert Currie (Sr., Atlanta, Ga.) led Navy's attack. Chinnery collected a team-high four base hits in six at bats, while both Born and Deneen went 3-for-7 on the afternoon. Currie garnered two of the Mids' four extra-base hits off of Crusader pitching as he connected for a triple and double in back-to-back plate appearances in the second game.

After a 30-minute delay due to passing rain and wet conditions, the game action on Saturday got underway a little after 12:30 p.m. The delay appeared to have little effect on Holy Cross as the team came out and collected three of their five total hits for game one in the first inning off of Gillingham. The formula of a single, double and another single resulted in two runs for the visiting squad.

The Crusaders tried to increase their advantage in the second inning with a leadoff single, but a strike'em out, throw'em out by Gillingham and his catcher Chinnery wrapped up the threat quickly and ended the second frame.

The southpaw cruised over the next three innings and gave his team the opportunity to scratch away at the two-run deficit. Navy had single base hits in each of the second, third and fourth innings, including a leadoff double by Matthew Wilcox (Fr., Los Gatos, Calif.), but Holy Cross' starting pitching Brendan King managed to pitch around the danger.

The game moved into the sixth inning with the score at 2-0 before the Crusaders added an insurance run in the top of the frame on an Anthony Critelli solo home run.

Down 3-0, the Mids continued getting men on base and finally the pressure resulted in a run in the bottom of the sixth. After a leadoff single by Travis Blue (Orange, Calif.), the junior shortstop came in to score two batters later on a single to centerfield by Born.

A scoreless top of the seventh by Holy Cross gave Navy its final chance to come-from-behind and the host team seemed willing to oblige as Deneen led off with a single to centerfield. The Crusaders' reliever Jon Escobar kept his staff's bend, but don't break mentality going as he pitched around the situation that eventually evolved into a two-on, two-out threat to hold on for the 3-1 victory in favor of Holy Cross.

For the game, Navy outhit Holy Cross, 6-5. Born was the only player for either team with multiple hits in the contest as he had two.

The second game of the afternoon kept to a similar script to game one as the visiting team took an early lead and got bend, but don't' break pitching from its four pitchers.

After scoreless first innings by both teams, Holy Cross broke through first with two runs in the top of the second. Two doubles, two singles and a fielding error by Navy turned into a two-spot on the scoreboard.

Down 2-0, the Mids fought right back and shaved one run off the Crusaders' lead as the team used two singles and a throwing error to record its first score in the bottom of the second. Sean Trent (Sr., Sorrento, Fla.) crossed home plate first as he sprinted in after Holy Cross' starting pitcher Phil Reese threw an errant pick off into right field, while trying to keep Deneen close.

Navy starter George Coughlin thrived off that new energy as he put down Holy Cross three-up, three-down in the third inning. He danced around some trouble in the top of the fourth as the Crusaders loaded the bases with one out, but were unable to get the ball out of the infield. Coughlin induced two pop outs to Blue at shortstop to keep it a 2-1 ball game.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Mids tied it up at 2-2 as Born led off the inning with a triple into the left-center field gap. The sophomore would score two batters later as Trent stroked a single up the middle.

Both Coughlin and Reese hung zeroes on the scoreboard in both the fifth and sixth innings, though Navy made Reese work for his ultimate success as the Mids had runners on in both frames; Coughlin went six-up, six-down.

With the score tied at 2-2 going into the seventh, a fielding error, walk and a loopy double into left field that fell in front of a hard-charging Trent resulted in two runs for the visiting Crusaders.

Down 4-2, Navy tried coming back over its final three at bats, but once again the Mids' offense was stymied from putting together a big inning and held off the scoreboard by the Crusaders' trio of relievers: Joe Cravero, Sean Gustin and Escobar.

In the 4-2 defeat, Navy outhit Holy Cross, 9-8. Chinnery (3), Currie (2) and Deneen (2) all had multiple hits.

"It's baseball and we have to come back tomorrow and just play the game," said Kostacopoulos. "If we can get a few big hits early and take the weight off of our offense's back and continue to make plays, that'd be key. At this point you don't really want to overreact and change who you are as a team."

The two teams will close out the four-game series on Sunday with doubleheader action beginning at 12 p.m. at Max Bishop Stadium.