ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In its first game in over 340 days, Navy baseball (1-0) opened its 2021 season by beating Coppin State (0-1) in a 7-2 decision on Sunday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
The junior pair of
Joe Simourian (Andover, Mass.) and
Zach Stevens (Lexington, Mass.) both finished the day going 2-for-4 with two RBIs each, while
Alex Smith (So., Laguna Hills, Calif.) also chipped with two hits en route to the Midshipmen's nine hits. Navy's win on Sunday also extended its winning streak to 15 game dating back to last season.
"What a great feeling to be back on the field," head coach
Paul Kostacopoulos said. "One of the players said it was over 340 days since we had played a baseball game. Just to get back on the field and get back here to play at Max Bishop Stadium was a tremendous feeling. Certainly, really happy and little normalcy today.
"I thought we played the game fairly well. There are going to be a bunch of things we are going to have to work through in the first three weeks or so to get straight. We still do not have all the things in that we would like to have in right now. But at the same time, baseball is the type of game that you have to play continuously to get better at it and that is what we hope to do in the next few weeks."
Coppin State struck first with a pair of runs in the first inning after Conner Walker's RBI double and Eddie Javier's infield RBI single. However, Navy bounced back right away with four runs of its own in the home half of the opening frame. Following a one-out walk to
Eduardo Diaz (Fr., Miami, Fla.), Smith doubled down the left field line to place two runners in scoring position. Stevens then drove in his first run of the day with a single out to left field. On a sacrifice fly from
Logan Keller (Fr., Longwood, Fla.) that was dropped the Eagles, Smith and Stevens both scored and Keller found himself at third base.
Kody Milton (So., Arnold, Md.) drove in Navy's final run of the inning on a groundout but the Midshipmen grabbed a 4-2 lead after one inning.
After a pair of scoreless frames, Navy's offense got back in the run column as Simourian recorded his first of two triples on the day to drive in
Kiel Brenczewski (So., Fishers, Ind.) and Milton, who reached on a hit by a pitch and a walk, respectively, to start the fourth inning.
With the 6-2 lead, Navy added another insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Stevens' double to deep centerfield brought home Smith after the sophomore started the inning with a single. The Midshipmen threatened again in the eighth inning with Simourian's second triple but he was stranded on third as Navy closed out a 7-2 win.
Following its two-run first inning, Coppin State's best scoring chance came in the sixth inning after it loaded the bases, but
Tommy Goodridge (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) worked out the jam to keep Navy in front.
On the mound,
Charlie Connolly (Sr., Wayne, Pa.) picked up the win after tossing three innings where he allowed two runs on three hits. Connolly (1-0) also finished the game with three strikeouts and walked two hitters.
Goodridge pitched three innings in relief without allowing a hit where he struck out four and walked three.
Reece Early (So., Reisterstown, Md.) and
Trey Braithwaite (Sr., Winchester, Va.) pitched the final three innings where they each allowed one hit to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
Aaron Rea (0-1) suffered the loss for Coppin State after allowing four runs – two earned – on three hits.
Navy is back at home on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. to host Coppin State.
