ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (30-14, 15-6 Patriot League) was unable to rebound from a five-run sixth inning from Army (24-16, 11-6 Patriot League) in a 7-5 loss in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
The Midshipmen trailed the Black Knights by five runs heading into the final three innings and Navy put up three-two runs in the eighth inning but left the bases loaded to end the frame. The Midshipmen left 10 runners on base and left the bases loaded to end the sixth and eighth innings.
 
Joe Simourian (Fr., Andover, Mass.) guided the Navy offense with a 2-for-4 day at the plate and driving in three runs. Through the first five innings of play, the Midshipmen only mustered up one hit, which came from Simourian, and Navy had two hits in sixth and another two hits in the eighth inning.
 
"Today was a hard fought game," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos commented. "It was a 7-5 ballgame and we had the bases loaded with our third hitter up, so we gave ourselves a chance to win and to Army's credit, they pitched well in the clutch. Army's starter [Sam Messina] was excellent today in elevating fastballs and throwing sliders down, and we did not adjust to that very well. Overall, it was a hard fought game, which is what I expected it would be and the way it should be."
 
Army took the early lead in the series finale with a two-run first inning. The Black Knights the 2-0 lead after posting two hits and sending seven batters to plate in the opening stanza.
 
Navy was able to take advantage of an Army miscue in the second inning as Christian Hodge (Sr., Winder, Ga.) reached on an error to start the second inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Simourian delivered a two-RBI single up the middle to plate two runs and tie the game at two through two innings. 
 
Both pitching staffs settled in over the next three innings as the game stayed tied at two heading into the sixth inning. However, the Black Knights broke the game open with a five-run inning to grab a 7-2 lead over Navy. All five runs for Army came with two outs in the inning.
 
Following a slow start on offense, the Midshipmen started to find some life in the sixth inning and tried to respond to Army's crooked number. However, after getting two hits in the inning, Navy stranded three runners on base without pushing across a run to end the sixth inning.
 
The Midshipmen started to find their rhythm late in the game and sent nine batters to the plate in the eighth inning. Liam Lowery (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) reached on a one-out walk and moved up to third base after a pair of wild pitches. Christian Policelli (Fr., Walkersville, Md.) hit a pinch-hit single to left field scoring Liam Lowery and starting the two-out rally. Matt Wolff (Fr., Fishers, Ind.) was hit by a pitch and Simourian drove in his third run of the game to pull Navy within three runs. After Evan Lowery (Jr., Williamsburg, Va.) was hit by a pitch, Michael Coritz (Jr., Clifton, Va.) worked a two-out walk to load the bases to bring in another run and making it a 7-5 contest. 
 
With the middle of the order coming up, Navy looked to continue to cut away at its deficit but Zach Biggers (Jr., Walhalla, S.C.) struck out the with bases loaded and ended the threat for Navy in the eighth inning.
 
Both teams were retired in order in the ninth inning as Navy dropped its first league weekend series of the season after falling to Army, 7-5, on Sunday and the Midshipmen lost two of the three games over the weekend. With the victory, Army also captured the baseball Star in the 2019 Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA. However, the Midshipmen won the overall Star Series over Army, 13-11.
 
The top of Navy's lineup struggled throughout the day as the top four hitters for Navy went a combined 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts.
 
Trent Topping (Fr., Temecula, Calif.) suffered the loss and slipped to 1-3 after allowing two runs on four hits in two innings of relief. Jared Leins (So., Raleigh, N.C.) went 3-1/3 innings to start and gave up two runs on four hits.
 
Sam Messina (5-3) picked up the win after going 5-1/3 innings and allowed a pair of unearned runs on just three hits. Harry Flannery earned his first save of the season after recording the final four outs of the game for the Black Knights.
 
In the Patriot League standings, Navy holds a two-game lead over Army for first place in the standings. Navy has just four games left with two against Lehigh and Lafayette next weekend. Army has eight games with two against Lehigh and Lafayette in two weeks along with four games against Holy Cross next weekend.
 
Navy is back on the road for its final midweek game of 2019 at George Mason on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m.