BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bouncing back from a 4-3 walk-off loss to begin the day, the Navy baseball team (23-22, 14-11 PL) rode
Matt Archibald's dominant start to a 2-1 nightcap victory over Lehigh (21-21, 10-12 PL) to pull out the doubleheader split Sunday afternoon at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park in Bethlehem, Pa.
Locking up the No. 2 seed and a home semifinal series against Army in next month's Patriot League Tournament with the nightcap win, the Midshipmen saw
Victor Izquierdo tally five hits on the day and
Henry Mitchell add three hits himself, while
Matt Archibald held the Mountain Hawks to just one unearned run in a combined two-hitter with
Landon Kruer to close out the twin-bill.
Game One Recap
Lehigh grabbed some early momentum after stranding three Navy runners in the top of the second inning, using it to get a pair of singles to start the home half of the frame and then taking a 2-0 lead later in the inning on Sam Holtz's two-out triple into the right-field corner.
The Mids were able to answer right back in the third, as a
Brock Murtha plunking and
Evan Brown's double put two runners in scoring position, while
Ty DePerno's sacrifice fly plated Murtha and a Lehigh throwing error brought in Brown to even the game at 2-2.
Navy took its first lead of the day in the fourth when a Mitchell walk, a
Mason Ceccarelli single and Murtha's walk loaded the bases for
Andrew Manning, who himself worked a walk to make it 3-2 Mids.
After a Navy fielding error on Robbie Carvelli's fly ball extended the sixth inning with two outs, the Mountain Hawks took advantage of the opportunity when Andrew Kohl laced a single into right-center to plate Carvelli, tying the game at 3-3.
Despite Navy putting two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh with Izquierdo's single and
Owen Peterson's double, Cole Kochanowicz worked out of it with a strikeout, while Dom Patrizi led off the bottom of the frame with a walk, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and then came home on Owen Walewander's game-winning single that dropped in to complete the rally.
Following Noah Gyauch-Quirk's 3.1-inning start that saw the rookie allow three runs (two earned) despite five strikeouts, Kochanowicz came on to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings on top of four punchouts to lock up the winning decision.
Navy starter
Brady Bendik lasted 5.2 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) in the start, striking out four with no walks, while Kruer got the hard-luck loss in a three-out appearance.
Game Two Recap
Navy grabbed the early lead when Ceccarelli led off the game with a walk and eventually came in on DePerno's two-out single up the middle, giving Archibald a 1-0 edge before even taking the mound.
With Archibald cruising early, the Mids added to the lead in the third when Murtha singled, stole second base and got to third on a groundout, eventually trotting home on a Manning single into left-center to make it 2-0 Navy.
After Archibald left the bases loaded in the fourth, Lehigh finally got its first run of the nightcap in the fifth when a leadoff error led to Patrizi eventually doubling in Kohl with two outs, cutting the Navy lead to 2-1. Walking the leadoff batter in the sixth, Archibald then found a second gear, retiring nine-straight Mountain Hawks to get the Mids to the ninth.
With Kruer taking over for Archibald to start the ninth, the Navy closer worked around a pair of baserunners to strike out Holtz and secure the No. 2-seed-clinching victory for the Mids.
Archibald wrapped up the career-high eight-inning start with just one unearned run allowed on two hits while striking out seven, earning the win, while Kruer notched his eighth save of the season in another one-inning outing.
On Lehigh's side, Jack Hamilton took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits in four innings, while Max Treonze pitched the final five frames, holding the Mids scoreless on three hits.
Game Notes
• Navy is now 105-57 in the all-time series with Lehigh.
• Izquierdo's three hits in Sunday's first game matched his career high.
• Archibald has recorded five-or-more strikeouts five times this season.
• Ceccarelli has drawn multiple walks in six games on the campaign after registering two base-on-balls in the nightcap.
• Bendik has gone five-plus innings in each of his last seven starts.
Up Next
Navy will travel to Charlottesville for a 4 p.m. midweek contest at Virginia on Wednesday.
