ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (10-14, 2-6 Patriot League) dropped both games of its Patriot League doubleheader against rival Army (7-15, 2-2 Patriot League) Sunday at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen fell to the Black Knights in game one, 7-0, prior to a 9-0 defeat in the night cap of the twin bill.
 
Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) led the way for the Mids at the plate over the two games, combining for three hits in seven at-bats, including a pair of doubles in game two. With his 1-for-3 showing in game one, Policelli eclipsed 100 hits for his career with the Midshipmen baseball program.
 
Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) also recorded two doubles in the second game of the doubleheader to round out Navy's top performers on offense Sunday.
 
On the mound, Reece Early (Jr., Reistertown, Md.) took his first loss of the season in game one, allowing two runs, one being earned, on two hits while walking a batter and striking out one. Game two starter Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) took the loss in game two, allowing four runs, only one earned, on seven hits. The freshman also walked just one batter while tallying three strikeouts.
 
"I think that Liam Golden pitched well in game two," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "He was a pitch away from getting out of there at 1-0 after five. I thought he did well in his first experience of an Army-Navy game, he showed some good poise and hung in there throughout. It's hard to find something in these games sometimes, the end results were two shutout losses.
 
"As I told the players, I know they are hurting, I know they made a lot of sacrifices to play here. Right now, things aren't going our way. It's been hard, losing Reece (Early) to an injury early on, you say it doesn't, but it jolts you a little bit. He's batted so hard to come back and be a contributor to this team. We are all fighting, we are all hurting, we've just got to support each other. We've got half the season left, we have to move forward from here and I know we will."
 
Game One: Army 7, Navy 0 (Seven Innings)
The Black Knights parlayed a four-run top of the sixth inning with a complete-game shutout by Patrick Melampy (1-1) on the mound to secure a 7-0 victory over Navy in game one of Sunday's twin bill. The Army right hander limited the Midshipmen to just two hits over his seven innings of work, in addition to striking out a pair of batters.
 
The Black Knights opened their scoring effort in the top of the first, as a Navy throwing error allowed a run to score, giving Army its first lead of the day at 1-0. Following the run in the first, Early (0-1) was able to settle in, working a 1-2-3 second inning to maintain the one-run deficit for the Mids.
 
However, in the top of the third, Early was forced to leave the game due to injury following an RBI single that put the Black Knights up 2-0. The junior was relieved by Colin Jones (Sr., Collierville, Tenn.) who worked out of the frame without further damage.
 
The Army bats would come back to life over the next two innings, scoring five runs on four hits against the Midshipmen pitching duo of Jones and Tanner Wade (Fr., Fayetteville, Ark.), including a four-run top of the sixth to take a 7-0 lead it wouldn't relinquish in the game one win.
 
Game Two: Army 9, Navy 0
In game two of Sunday's twin bill, Golden (1-4) retied 10 of the first 12 batters he faced, including two via strikeout. However, the freshman right hander was matched by his counterpart, Army's Brian Dawson (1-0), who also retired 10 of the first 12 he faced to send the contest to the fourth inning scoreless.
 
In the top of the fourth, after earning two quick outs, Golden yielded back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with two away. A wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed the Black Knights to take a 1-0 lead, but the newcomer was able to work out of the inning without further damage.
 
Following the escape by Golden, the Mids threatened to score in the bottom of the fourth, putting runners on first and second without an out in the inning. However, Dawson was able to work an escape act of his own, striking out two of the next three batters to get out of the frame unscathed.
 
Army's one-run advantage would be extended in the top of the sixth, as the Black Knights totaled three runs on four hits to take a 4-0 lead that forced Golden from the game in favor of Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.).
 
The sophomore held the Navy deficit at four runs through the sixth inning, but surrendered back-to-back singles in the seventh before giving way to Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) with two runners on and no outs.
 
The Black Knights added two runs against Kruer following the pitching change, taking a six-run lead. Army added another three runs in the eighth on three hits, highlighted by a two-run home run by Sam Ruta, the catapulted Army to a 9-0 win in game two and a sweep of the doubleheader.
 
Ruta led the way for Army at the plate over the two games, going a combined 4-for-7 with a home run, a double and four RBI.
 
UP NEXT
The Midshipmen will have an opportunity to bounce back Tuesday as they travel to Baltimore for a non-conference game against UMBC. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. from the Retrievers' Alumni Field.