ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (20-21, 12-10 PL) could not overcome Army's dominant pitching on Sunday afternoon, as the Black Knights (28-12, 16-2 PL) limited the Midshipmen to two runs over 17 innings to notch a pair of wins, 3-2 and 10-0, and finish off a sweep of the Star series at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Army's baseball sweep finishes off the overall 2022-23 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, as the Mids claimed the overall series at 14-10 across 24 varsity competitions.
 
Game One Recap
Despite a two-hit performance from Eduardo Diaz that included a two-run double and multiple defensive highlights, Navy could not get enough going against the Black Knights' Mike Ruggieri, as the Army starter allowed just one run in six-plus innings before handing the ball off to his bullpen, while Army's Sam Ruta went deep in the third inning as part of a three-hit contest to pace the visiting offense in a 3-2 Army victory.
 
After Derek Berg opened the afternoon with a single and took third on Ruta's first knock of the game, the Army leadoff hitter was able to scoot home on a double-play ball in the top of the first, while Ruta's solo shot in the third inning extended the game to 2-0.
 
Navy loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but Ruggieri worked out of the jam and got an additional insurance run in the next half-inning when Berg plated Ethan Ellis on a sacrifice fly after Ellis led off the frame with a double in the gap.
 
With Reece Early coming in during the sixth and facing just one batter over the minimum in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, the Mids finally got on the board in the home half of the seventh thanks to a Henry Mitchell walk and a Nick Burch double setting up Diaz for his two-run laser into the left-center gap, cutting the Army lead to just 3-2. Unfortunately for Navy, Army relievers Robbie Buecker and Sean Dennehy combined to retire nine of the final 10 Mids to come to the plate, dashing Navy's hopes at a comeback and clinching the Star for the Black Knights.
 
Ruggieri wrapped up his sixth win by surrendering just five hits and three walks while striking out five in six frames, while Buecker was on the hook for one run in 1.2 innings of work and Dennehy struck all three Navy batters in the ninth to close out a 1.1-inning save.
 
For Navy, starter Matthew Shirah suffered the loss despite holding a potent Army offense to three runs in 5.1 innings and striking out three Black Knights, while Early allowed just three hits and punched out two in his outing.
 
Game Two Recap
A complete-game shutout from Army starter Matthew Ronnebaum was matched by the Black Knights tallying six extra-base hits, as the visitors captured a 10-0 win in the series finale, as the game ended in the eighth inning on a 10-run rule. Colin Smith put together a two-hit nightcap, as him and Alex Smith both doubled in a losing effort for the home side.
 
An RBI single from Kevin Debrule opened the scoring in the first, while a three-run blast from Braden Golinski two batters later put Army in front, 4-0, before the Mids came to the plate.
 
Despite the shaky start, Navy starter Thomas Russell settled down and allowed just one run over the next four frames in the form of a fourth-inning RBI single to Chris Barr. The Mids almost got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after putting Logan Keller and Colin Smith in scoring positions to lead off the frame, but Army snuffed out the rally and got another run in the top of the sixth when Ellis double home Golinski to make it 6-0.
 
Army put the game out of reach with its first batter in the top of the eighth, as Ross Friedrick homered for the third time on the weekend, while an RBI single from Barr and a Berg two-run triple completed the Black Knights' scoring. Ronnebaum then finished off his complete game by retiring the Mids in order in the home half of the eighth, putting the Patriot League's series-finale 10-run rule into effect.
 
Ronnebaum wrapped up the shutout victory by allowing just six hits and two walks while recording nine strikeouts. Russell got the loss after giving up five runs in five innings despite four punchouts, while Jackson Beattie was dinged for four runs in 2.1 innings and Landon Kruer surrendered one run in 0.2 innings of work.
 
Paul Kostacopoulos Postgame Comments
"I thought the first game was a really good game. I mean, there were some clutch defensive plays and some clutch pitching, and it comes down to a 3-2 ballgame. We left too many guys on base, but I thought we competed well and it was just one of those games where we were one run short."
 
"In game two, they just jumped us early and we could never get our feet going. Their guy threw a really good game with a two-pitch mix. He was getting a ball or two off the plate for strikes and that certainly helped him, but to his credit he kept nailing it and he kept putting it there. They're very good team and they just beat us."
 
"We've got to get it going this week. We haven't been very good offensively for the last four games. We got to regroup and get it going. There's no extra time now. We're talking about the last weekend of the season, and we've got to get rolling."
 
Game Notes
• Army cuts Navy's lead in the all-time series to 129-128, winning nine of the last 10 meetings.
• Diaz and Brock Murtha both extended their on-base streaks to 10 games, while Alex Smith's hit streak grew to six straight games.
• Alex Smith has recorded at least one hit in 15 of his last 16 games.
• Colin Smith now has a hit in six of his last seven starts.
 
Up Next
Navy welcomes Maryland Eastern Shore for a 5 p.m. contest on Wednesday, April 26 in Annapolis.