ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Evan Brown's 11th-inning walk-off single in the nightcap ended a wild 18 innings of Patriot League baseball Saturday afternoon, as Navy used dominant starting pitching and timely hitting to notch a pair of victories over Lafayette, 7-1 and 1-0, at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
After allowing his lone run on the first pitch of the game,
Matt Archibald settled in to toss a seven-inning, 12-strikeout complete game in the opener, while
Chris Klug homered for the second-straight day to kickstart a Midshipmen offense (21-13, 8-7 PL) that scored runs in all but one frame of the first contest.
Tyler Grenn then posted 8.1 shutout innings against the Leopards (7-24, 3-12 PL) in the late game, while several game-altering plays in the final four innings led to the Mids eventually putting two runners for the hot-hitting Brown in the 11th, who punched a hit into left field to clinch the weekend series win for Navy.
Game One Recap
Lafayette struck first in the top of the first inning when Liam Ebbs launched a solo shot to right field on the first pitch of the ballgame, but the early advantage was short-lived. Klug answered for Navy in the bottom half of the frame with a solo homer just inside the right-field foul pole to tie the game at 1-1.
Navy took the lead for good in the second inning, as
Jake Hooten singled and stole two bases before
Tyler Cripe brought him home with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Midshipmen extended their advantage to 4-1 in the third inning after capitalizing on a Lafayette throwing error, with Hooten being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in an unearned run and
Will Howard immediately followed with a sacrifice fly to left.
Patrick Walsh then broke the game open in the fourth by lining a two-run double down the left-field line to score Brown and Klug, highlighting a contest that saw him reach base safely in all four of his plate appearances.
After Archibald worked around a first-and-third situation in the top of the sixth, Navy added a final insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Klug singled and moved up to second on a
Victor Izquierdo single, took third on a double steal and came in to score on a throwing error by the Leopards during the steal attempt.
Inducing a double play in the seventh after letting the leadoff hitter reach, Archibald then punched out Ryan Ulisse to secure the seven-inning complete game.
Archibald (6-3) was masterful on the mound by striking out 12 Leopards, allowing just the one run on four hits and issuing only one walk for the winning decision.
On the other side, Lafayette's Alex Payne took the loss in his first start of the season, allowing four runs (two earned) in his 2.1 innings before Kellen Moore took over and surrendered three more runs (two earned) across 3.2 frames of relief.
Game Two Recap
Despite the Mids getting leadoff singles to start each of the first three innings and Lafayette putting two runners in scoring position in the second, Grenn and Lafayette starter Gregory Quintana both kept it scoreless and began to mow down hitters as the game progressed, with Grenn retiring 13-straight Leopards at one point.
Both teams finally got runners to third base again in the seventh, as Lafayette tried to take advantage of a Navy throwing error on a would-be double-play but Grenn then struck out Charlie Chropuvka to leave the go-ahead run at third, while Quintana was able to induce a flyout after Brown led off the home half with a single and moved up twice on groundouts.
Lafayette nearly took the lead in the top of the ninth when a pair of singles and a Matt Colella sacrifice bunt put Ebbs on third, but Brandon Doubek's fly-ball to right was caught by
Andrew Manning and rifled home, with
Will Howard tagging out Ebbs just in front of the plate.
With Owen Basso retiring six-straight Mids to send it to extra innings, the Leopards almost took the lead again in the 10th when Ryan Ulisse's single into left field brought in Boden Fernsler from second base, but Navy successfully appealed that Fernsler missed third base and that ended the frame. Navy also had its own misfortune in the 10th, as Walsh roped a ground-rule double over the center-field fence but the pinch runner for Walsh was then picked off, ending the Navy threat.
Entering his third frame of relief for Grenn,
Jackson Clark quickly shut the door on a Lafayette rally in the 11th after Alex Barrist's one-out single, as Howard threw out the stealing Barrist and Clark got Colella swinging to stop the Leopards.
Navy then got a little two-out magic in the bottom of the 11th when Klug singled up the middle and Izquierdo walked to bring up Brown, who smacked the first pitch he saw through the left side and plate Klug for the Mids' fifth walk-off win of the season.
Despite not factoring into the decision, Grenn lasted 8.1 shutout innings and held Lafayette to just six hits and a walk while retiring seven via the strikeout. Clark then notched the win with 2.2 shutout innings out of the bullpen, fanning three batters.
Quintana finished with seven scoreless frames and six strikeouts while limiting Navy to six hits, and Basso was handed the loss after allowing the game's lone run in his 3.2 innings of relief.
Game Notes
• Navy is now 109-55-2 in the all-time series with Lafayette, winning the last five meetings in the series.
• The opener marked Archibald's first career complete game, while it was also his seventh-straight start working six-or-more innings and his second-straight start with double-digit strikeouts.
• Archibald's 86 strikeouts on the season are the most by a Navy pitcher since Noah Song struck out 161 batters in 2019.
• Grenn's 8.1 innings marked a season high and the second-longest outing of his career, trailing only his nine-inning complete game at Army last season on March 28.
• Brown moved his hitting streak to seven games, getting a hit in every game since his return to the lineup on April 4.
• Walsh improved his on-base streak to 15 games.
Up Next
Navy will look to complete the four-game series sweep over Lafayette on Sunday, with the series finale set for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.
