ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Using a six-run fourth inning, the Navy baseball team rallied to defeat Maryland Eastern Shore, 7-3, and extend its winning streak to five games on Wednesday evening at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
Led by
Tyler Cripe's go-ahead, three-run double in the fourth inning, the Midshipmen (27-14) also had fellow freshman
Will Howard pick up two hits and rookie sensation
Patrick Walsh push his hitting streak to 13-straight games, while the Navy bullpen kept the Hawks (7-28) off the board in the final five innings to continue the Mids' recent surge that has seen the team go 9-1 in its last 10 contests.
Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the fourth after Julian Jimenez's third-inning homer and Darrius Brown's two-run triple earlier in the fourth, Navy's offense suddenly sprang to life. After
Patrick Walsh led off the frame with a streak-extending single,
Will Howard put the Mids on the board with an RBI single to right-center that scored Walsh while
Noah Stead was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Cripe then delivered the decisive blow, ripping a double down the right-field line to clear the bases and give Navy a 4-3 lead and
Evan Brown lined a two-run double down the left-field line two batters later to push the advantage to 6-3.
Navy added a final insurance run in the fifth inning when Walsh, who had walked and advanced on a passed ball and a groundout, scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.
After
Adyn Lucero and Aiden Healy each pitched two shutout innings to get it to the ninth,
Timmy Virtudes then got the first two outs of the inning before
Jackson Clark entered to close the game via a Jonathan Gonzalez Perez foul-out.
Navy starter
Spencer Stephens went three innings and struck out two, allowing one run on three hits, while
Ian Brown (2-1) notched the win despite giving up two runs in his frame of relief. Lucero then held the Hawks hitless in his two innings and Healy worked around two infield singles in his two frames out of the bullpen before Virtudes and Clark combined to pitch the ninth, with Clark notching his third save of the year.
Following two scoreless innings from starter Elijah Benton, UMES then went to Cade Williams (2-4), who surrendered six runs on five hits to take the loss. Amari Hackett then allowed an unearned run in his inning of work, while Carter Champey, Henry Clausell and Brown all pitched scoreless innings of relief.
Game Notes
• Navy is now 38-6 in the all-time series with Maryland Eastern Shore, winning the last three meetings.
• In addition to improving his 13-game hit streak, Walsh extended his on-base streak to 22-straight contests.
• Healy's two innings pitched marked a season high and a career high.
•
Evan Brown has an extra-base hit in each of his last three games.
Up Next
Second-place Navy will head to league-leading Bucknell for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday in Lewisburg, Pa., with first place in the Patriot League standings on the line.
