ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (15-7) fell behind early against Mount St. Mary's (6-9) but rallied to earn an 11-7 victory. The Midshipmen won their eighth-straight game on Wednesday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
Navy's six through nine hitters in the lineup combined for a 7-for-13 day at the plate with nine RBIs and eight runs scored.
Zach Biggers (Jr., Walhalla, S.C.) had a game-high three hits in his five at-bats against the Mountaineers.
"Six through nine were really good for us today," head coach Paul Kostacoplous commented about the production from the bottom of the lineup. "
Jacob Williamson had a big hit,
Zach Stevens had a big hit when we needed it,
Christian Policelli and
Ryan Duffey also had clutch hits for us. That was nine of the 11 runs scored. It is always good to see that and you get a little more balance in your lineup. I also thought we did a good job of taking advantage of some free bases with some clutch hits."
The Mountaineers tallied the first four runs of the game with two runs in the first inning and two runs in the second inning. In the bottom of the second frame, Navy got on the board with a sacrifice fly from
Evan Lowery (Jr., Williamsburg, Va.) that drove in
Jacob Williamson (Jr., Sims, N.C.).
In the third inning, the Midshipmen grabbed a 5-4 lead with four runs in the frame.
Christian Hodge (Sr., Winder, Ga.) brought home a run following a groundout make it's a two-run game. With two outs and the bases loaded,
Ryan Duffey (So., Duxbury, Mass.) doubled down the right-field line to clear the bases and erase Navy's deficit to grab a 5-4 advantage after three innings of play.
Mount St. Mary's answered in the next half inning to tie the game at four following a sacrifice fly to shallow centerfield. The back-and-forth battle continued and with one out in the fifth inning,
Christian Policelli (Fr., Walkersville, Md.) belted his second home run within a week to push the Midshipmen ahead, 7-5, and they never looked back.
With a two-run edge in the sixth inning, Navy tacked on some more insurance runs with four runs in the inning. Williamson drove in a pair with a single to right field to put Navy on top 9-5. Just four pitchers later,
Zach Stevens (Fr., Lexington, Mass.) drove in two more runs with a single through the left side of the infield to give the Midshipmen an 11-5 lead.
The Mountaineers did not go away as they scored a run in the seventh inning and another run in the eighth inning to pull within four. However, in the eighth inning, Mount St. Mary's stranded two runners on base after making it an 11-7 contest heading into the ninth inning.
Jackson Zoch (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) pitched a perfect ninth inning to finish his two-inning relief appearance to secure the 11-7 win for Navy.
Trent Topping (Fr., Temecula, Calif.) grabbed his first victory of the season after not allowing a run in his inning of work.
Andrew Dameron (0-1) suffered the loss following a two-inning relief appearance where he gave up two runs on three hits.
"It is going to be a very tough series away at Holy Cross and Army. It is another four-game series, but we just have to go and keep playing baseball," Kostacouplous said about the upcoming road games this weekend.
Navy hits the road this weekend for four Patriot League games. The Midshipmen take on Holy Cross on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. and then Navy faces Army at 1 p.m. for a doubleheader.
