Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team was defeated in its home opener on Tuesday afternoon in a non-conference bout to Georgetown by a score of 11-3. A fast start by the Hoyas (3-5) with five runs over the first two innings set the Mids (2-5) back in a deficit that they would be unable to overcome over the course of play at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.

"Our start was important," remarked head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Early on we struggled; we missed turning a double play in the first inning and that was critical because they were able to pick up two runs. Then in the second, we made an error on a potential third out and they turned that into three runs. We struggled out of the gates and it was a battle for us. I thought in the middle innings we were pretty competitive and we were really one hit away from getting right back in the ball game. Those few couple of innings really set us back."

In defeat, the trio of CF Logan Knowles (Jr., Port Orchard, Wash.), RF Leland Saile (Sr., Land O' Lakes, Fla.) and RHP reliever Andrew Sauer (So., Johns Creek, Ga.) highlighted Navy's effort. On offense, Knowles was 2-for-4 with two runs scored from his leadoff spot in the batting order, while Saile went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Mids' cleanup hitter. On the mound, Sauer came in relief and tossed 4.0 scoreless innings. The sophomore pitcher didn't allow any of the first 10 Georgetown batters he faced to record a hit.

"Leland and Logan were pretty much our entire offense," said Kostacopoulos. "We didn't get much help from the second half of the lineup.

"Andrew did a fine job coming out of the bullpen and settling things down. He did what he needed to do in a 5-0 ball game; throw strikes and give us a chance."

Navy was without the services of five offensive players, including two starters, C Adrian Chinnery (Sr., Wilmington, Del.) and LF Stephen Born (Jr., Strafford, Pa.) due to illness.

"Missing Adrian and Stephen didn't really enter into the equation; we have 18 position players on our roster not nine. When the need arises we expect that people will step up and fill those roles."

The action on Tuesday began with a pronounced Georgetown flavor to it as the visiting Hoyas recorded two runs on two hits in the first inning off of Navy starter LHP Rece Goodman (So., Irvine, Calif.). The Big East squad quickly increased its lead from 2-0 to 5-0 in the second as it took advantage of a two-out error to notch three unearned runs.

Sauer was summoned from the bullpen and controlled Georgetown's attack over the next four innings. After opening with a walk to the first batter he faced, Sauer found his footing and retired eight of the next nine batters (the only batter to reach did so via an error). The Hoyas finally got their first hit off the Georgia native in the top of the sixth inning with a leadoff single to center field by John Simourian. Simourian eventually was stranded at third base.

With Sauer neutralizing Georgetown, Navy slowly worked its way back into the contest as the Mids used the formula of Knowles reaching with a leadoff hit and Saile driving him in to perfection with run-scoring rallies in both the fourth and sixth innings. In the fourth, Knowles led off with a single before a Travis Blue (Sr., Orange, Calif.) single advanced him into scoring position. Once on second, Knowles came into score as Saile shot a double past the third baseman down the left field line. In the sixth, Knowles led off with a double before Saile singled him in with two outs.

Holding a 5-2 lead going into the seventh inning, Georgetown broke the game open with four runs on four hits. The Hoyas sent eight men to the plate in the stanza to go up by a count of 9-2.

The visitors tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth to round out their scoring with 11 runs.

In the bottom of the ninth, DH Ben Lowe (Jr., Memphis, Tenn.) registered his first RBI of the season as he connected for a single to center field to score Blue.

In the 11-3 defeat, Navy was outhit by Georgetown, 13-7. Saile (3) and Knowles (2) were the only Mids with multiple hits. For his career in four games against the Hoyas, Saile is 8-for-15 with three doubles, one home run and 6 RBI, including a 6-for-8 mark over the teams' two meetings in 2016 and 2017.

Goodman took the loss for Navy to drop to 0-1 on the season. His final line on Tuesday was 2.0 innings, five hits, five runs (two earned), no walks and two strikeouts.

Navy will continue early season non-conference play on Saturday with a home doubleheader versus Cornell. The Mids and Big Red will play a twinbill on Saturday, March 4 beginning at 11:00 a.m. before closing the three-game series on Sunday with a 12:00 p.m. contest.