ROCKVILLE, Md. – The Navy baseball team (18-9) got back on the winning track on Wednesday afternoon with a 12-3 victory over Georgetown (6-19) at Shirley Povich Field.
The Midshipmen racked up 15 hits in the victory and the duo of
Liam Lowery (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) and
Christian Hodge (Sr., Winder, Ga.) finished a combined 6-for-10 at the plate with seven RBIs.
Michael Coritz (Jr., Clifton, Va.) also posted a three-hit game for Navy.
"That really helps to get a few first-inning runs and you start to feel better about yourself," head coach
Paul Kostacopoulos mentioned in the win. "We did a really good job in the middle of the order today. Liam [Lowery] had three RBIs,
Christian Hodge had four RBIs and guys were getting on base in front of them. It was a good offensive effort today."
Navy came out swinging in the first inning and scored three runs on three hits in the inning. With one out in the first inning, Coritz got the run of four-straight base runners started with a single up the middle. After
Zach Biggers (Jr., Walhalla, S.C.) reached on a walk,
Liam Lowery drove in the first run of the game with a single to left-center field.
Holding a 1-0 lead, Hodge battled back from an 0-2 count and ran the count full and then singled out to right field to push across the Midshipmen's second run of the game. Navy loaded the bases with two outs in the inning and tacked on a third run following a wild pitch from Carter Bosch on the mound for the Hoyas.
In the top of the third inning,
Jacob Williamson (Jr., Sims, N.C.) singled through the left side of the infield with two outs to start a late-inning rally. Williamson then stole his team-leading fifth base of the season and
Zach Stevens (Fr., Lexington, Mass.) put Navy ahead, 4-0, with single to the gap in right-center field allowing Williamson to score from second base.
Wilson Ayers (Fr., Ashburn, Va.) retired the first six batters in order, but on the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning, Alex Gamache hit a solo home run to centerfield bringing the Hoyas deficit to three runs.
Without recording a hit to start the home half of the fourth inning, Georgetown cut the Navy lead to two runs. A leadoff walk came around to score on a groundout, followed by back-to-back wild pitches.
After seeing their lead cut to just a pair, the Midshipmen answered back in the top of the fifth inning.
Liam Lowery doubled off the wall in left-center field to bring home Biggers with no outs in the frame. Stevens also notched his second RBI of the day to regain the four-run lead for Navy with one out in the fifth inning.
Evan Lowery (Jr., Williamsburg, Va.) broke the game open with a two-out, two-RBI double to push the Midshipmen's lead to 8-2.
Navy continued to create separation down the stretch as
Liam Lowery drove in his third run of the day with an RBI single. Just four pitches later, Hodge belted a three-run home run to give the Midshipmen a 12-2 lead after eight complete innings.
In the ninth inning, Georgetown loaded the bases and pushed across a run, but Navy went on to win 12-3 over the Hoyas.
Tommy Goodridge (So., San Diego, Calif.) earned his first victory of the year after tossing 2-2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He allowed just a hit and a walk in his outing. In the start, Ayers went 3-1/3 innings giving up a pair of runs and a pair of hits for the Midshipmen.
"I thought we did a good job on the mound today," Kostacopoulos commented about his pitching staff. "I thought we were a little more aggressive today and that is what Coach [
Bobby Applegate] has been working on with them. Overall, it was an all-around good game today."
Bosch (1-3) suffered the loss for Georgetown in four innings of work where he gave up six runs on eight hits.
Navy is back on the road this weekend as it travels to Lafayette on Saturday and Sunday for a three-game series in Easton, Pa.
