WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy baseball team saw its extended hot streak cooled off by a frigid Sunday afternoon in Worcester, Mass., suffering a pair of shutout losses, 9-0 and 10-0, to Patriot League foe Holy Cross at Fitton Field.
The doubleheader defeat moved the Midshipmen to 15-13 overall and 7-4 in league play, while the Crusaders improved to 13-15 on the season and 5-3 in the league standings.
Game One Recap
Holy Cross took the 1-0 lead in the first when a double steal led to a Navy throwing error, letting CJ Egrie raced home for the opening run. A pair of walks then brought Egrie up with one out in the second inning, who hit a two-run homer out to left field to make it 4-0. Navy tried to get on the board when
Owen Peterson singled and stole second before getting to third on a groundout, but Jaden Wywoda worked to strand him 90 feet from home.
Egrie continued his career day with a solo homer to left in the fourth, while Chris Baillargeon drove in Sean Scanlon later in the inning with a single up the middle, Brendan Jones scored Gianni Royer on a bloop double and two-run error plated John LaFleur and Jones to increase the lead to 9-0.
With
John Carroll keeping the Crusaders in check for the final two innings, the Mids tried but failed to rally on Wywoda, who finished the complete-game shutout by punching out three batters in the seventh.
Wywoda earned the win by holding Navy to just three hits in his seven frames, walking one while striking out eight. For the Mids,
Matt Archibald lasted 2.1 innings in the start, giving up four runs (three earned) on one hit and seven walks, while
Jackson Beattie allowed five runs (two earned) on five hits in 1.2 innings and Carroll allowed two hits in his two frames of action.
Game Two Recap
The Crusaders jumped in front early again, as a three-run third inning saw Egrie get a safety-squeeze single down to score Connor Peek, Baillargeon plate Nick Spaner on a groundout and Egrie race home on a wild pitch.
Scanlon made it 5-0 when he launched a two-run opposite-field homer with Egrie on base following an error in the fifth. After Navy put runners in scoring position in the seventh with a Killelea double, an Izquierdo walk and a wild pitch, Jake Lenahan was able to thwart the rally with a flyout.
Holy Cross backed up their pitching staff in the seventh with a five-spot, as Jimmy King's RBI single set up a bases-loaded walk to Jones, Connor Cooney's hit-by-pitch and another bases-loaded walk to Peek, making it 9-0. Spaner then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Jones and finish off the run-ruled victory.
Derek Volz held the Mids hitless in a four-inning start for the Crusaders, striking out two for the win, before Lenahan came in for the final three innings to pick up the save by punching out six while allowing Navy's lone hit of the game. On the other side,
Mikey Plummer lasted four frames in the start while giving up three runs on four hits, with
Spencer Stephens following for 2.1 innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on three hits.
Kody Clancy pitched the final 0.1 innings for the Mids.
Game Notes
• Navy is now 93-57 in the all-time series with Holy Cross.
•
Evan Brown's three walks in the nightcap mark a career high.
•
Eric Sun recorded his first career hit in Sunday's first game.
• Carroll's two innings set a new career high for the left-hander.
Up Next
Navy will return home to host Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday, April 2. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
