BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Navy baseball (13-12, 8-11 Patriot League) dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Lehigh (18-14, 14-8 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon at Walker Field in Bethlehem, Pa.
Colin Smith (So., Wilmington, Del.) had a 4-for-5 game in the second half of the twinbill where he was one of four Midshipmen with an RBI in the game. In game one,
Tommy Goodridge (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) tossed a complete game only allowing two runs on five hits and striking out five.
"Lehigh's pitcher, Mason Black, was outstanding. He was 95-97 through the first three or four innings and really controlled the first game," head coach
Paul Kostacopoulos said. "I thought
Tommy Goodridge pitched really good too and it was that kind of classic pitcher's duel that they came out on top of. Then in game two, it was kind of back-and-forth early and they stretched it out a little at the end, but we really just didn't get enough key hits in the game to overcome what we needed to win the ballgame.
Lehigh 2, Navy 0
In the pitcher's duel to start the day, Goodridge and Black controlled the game as both teams only mustered up one hit apiece through the first three innings. In the fourth inning, the Mountain Hawks jumped ahead with two runs on two hits in the frame.
The Midshipmen got a hit in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, while getting a runner aboard in each of the first six stanzas, but they were unable to string the offense together and Lehigh picked up the 2-0 win in the opening game of the doubleheader.
Goodridge tossed Navy's first complete game of the season and his first career complete game. However, he suffered the loss after allowing two runs on five hits and a pair of walks but his five strikeouts hit a new season-best.
On the other side, Black threw seven shutout innings allowing four hits and a walk while striking out four.
Lehigh 8, Navy 4
After runs came at a premium in game one, the Mountain Hawks to the early lead in game two with a pair of runs in the opening frame. They carried the two-run lead into the third inning where the Midshipmen finally snapped its scoreless run with a three-run third inning to take the lead. Following a hit by pitch, three-straight singles and a putout on the base paths, Navy had the bases loaded with one out where
Christian Policelli (Jr., Walkersville, Md.) drove in the Midshipmen's first run of the game with a sacrifice fly.
Zach Stevens (Jr., Lexington, Mass.) tied the game at two with a single back up the middle to score
Zane Raba (Fr., San Antonio, Texas). The Midshipmen loaded the bases once again following another hit batter and then
Nico Valdez (Jr., Stevenson, Ranch, Calif.) worked a bases-loaded walk to cap off the inning and push Navy ahead, 3-2.
The lead of the Midshipmen did not last as Lehigh came back and tied the game at three with a run in the bottom of the third inning. The back-and-forth battle rolled on as Navy tacked on a run in the fourth inning with a two-out single from
Colin Smith that scored
Kyle Rausch (Fr., Middle Island, N.Y.) as the Midshipmen held a 4-3 advantage.
Lehigh regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning with three runs on four hits. After scoring four runs over the third and fourth innings, Navy was held scoreless over the final five frames and Lehigh added two more insurance runs in the eighth inning to seal the 8-4 win and sweep the doubleheader.
Nate Mitchell (So., Parker, Colo.) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on four hits while striking out a hitter.
Matt Svanson earned the win for Lehigh with 5-1/3 innings out of the bullpen where he only allowed two hits and a hit batter in his shutout appearance.
Navy and Lehigh return to Annapolis on Sunday for the series finale starting at 2 p.m. from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Prior to the game, the Navy baseball program will honor its nine seniors for Senior Day.
