ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With its season on the line, the Navy baseball team (39-16) scored three runs in the second inning and got a strong start from sophomore Jared Leins (Raleigh, N.C.) to beat Army (33-24), 4-2, and force game three of the Patriot League Championship. The final game of the league championship is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Leins went a career-high eight innings in the victory and struck out eight to help the Midshipmen to the victory. After recording just one hit on Friday, Navy pounded out 11 hits on Saturday, with four different players notching multi-hit games to lead the offense.
 
"It started right out on the mound," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos said after his team forced game three. "After 55 games, your season boils down to one game and Jared Leins was spectacular for us today. He set the tone for us today. Offensively today, we scrapped, we battled, we struggled scoring runs but it was not the same struggle of scoring runs. We here hitting the ball well and ran the bases well we just need to get one in the gap and just have not been able to do that quite yet but we have to keep going at it and we have another shot tomorrow."
 
Following a scoreless first inning, Navy – who was playing as the visitors – scored three runs in the top of the second inning. The Midshipmen got three-straight singles from Zach Stevens (Fr., Lexington, Mass.), Christian Hodge (Sr., Winder, Ga.) and Liam Lowery (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) to start the second inning. Stevens scored the first run of the game on Liam Lowery's single. With no outs, Jacob Williamson (Jr., Sims, N.C.) loaded the bases with a bunt single and Navy doubled its lead after Christian Policelli (Fr., Walkersville, Md.) was hit by a pitch to bring home Hodge.
 
With a two-run lead, the bases loaded and no outs in the second inning, the Midshipmen looked to break the game open but a double play brought in a run and Navy was unable to increase on its 3-0 lead with the half inning coming to an end.
 
Army cut into its deficit with two runs in the fifth inning after the Black Knights had two runners in scoring position with one out. A groundout and a two-out single brought Army back within a run after five innings of play.
 
After the three runs came across in the second inning, Tyler Giovinco and the Black Knight defense kept Navy off the board after the Midshipmen had base runners on in each of the next four innings but they were unable to increase their lead.
 
In the seventh inning, Navy got another run across on a pair of hits. Policelli hit a towering fly ball that landed in shallow centerfield and Policelli was able to move all the way to second base on the play. With runners on the corners and no outs, Evan Lowery (Jr., Williamsburg, Va.) drove in a run with a single through the right side of the infield to score Policelli and move Joe Simourian (Fr., Andover, Mass.) from first to third. Still, with no outs, Michael Coritz (Jr., Clifton, Va.) flew out right field looking to drive in another run but the Black Knights kept their deficit at two runs after Simourian was throughout at home.
 
During the game, the Army defense turned three double plays and threw out two runners at home plate to limit Navy's big innings.
 
Holding a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, Leins looked for his first career complete game but he walked the leadoff batter in the ninth inning and he finished the day going a career-high eight innings. Trent Topping (Fr., Temecula, Calif.) walked the lone batter he faced and Jackson Zoch (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) came into the game with runners on first and second with no outs. 
 
Army looked to move both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt but Hodge was able to get the lead runner at third base following a nice scoop from Williamson to get the first out of the inning. Zoch then recorded a strikeout and a flyout to seal Navy's 4-2 win and force the if necessary game three on Sunday.
 
Leins (3-1) went eight innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out eight in the game. Leins recorded his second-straight quality start and pitched into the eighth inning in his last two outings striking out 17 combined in his last two starts.
 
Zoch picked up his first career save after shutting down Army late in the game and leaving two runners stranded to end the game.
 
Giovinco (8-5) suffered the loss after allowing 11 hits in eight innings and surrendering four runs.
 
"Tomorrow will be the eighth time we have played Army this year and the 15th time we play them in the last two years. It is just a battle and we have to play well tomorrow to give ourselves a chance to win," Kostacopoulos concluded about tomorrow's championship game
 
Game three of the Patriot League Championship is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.