ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Lehigh capitalized on late defensive miscues to score five runs over the final two innings Sunday afternoon and dash the Navy baseball team's hopes of a weekend sweep, as the visiting Mountain Hawks rallied to defeat the Midshipmen, 11-6, at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
Despite Navy (18-12, 5-7 PL) posting its own early comeback from a 2-0 hole with a five-run third inning that was accentuated by
Patrick Walsh's three-run home run, Lehigh (7-21, 3-9 PL) was able to even the game in the fourth before taking advantage of two errors in the eighth to retake the lead, with Ian Wirtz leading the way by scoring three times in a two-hit day.
The Mountain Hawks soared out to the early edge in the top of the third, using an Aidan Quinn double down the right-field line to plate Ryan Davis for the game's first run and Owen Walewander immediately followed with an RBI groundout to score Ryan Cochran.
Down 2-0 in the bottom of the frame but with two runners on base for him, team captain
Victor Izquierdo ripped a two-run double into the left-center gap to tie the game. Two batters later, Walsh then launched his three-run homer to deep right-center, vaulting the Mids ahead, 5-2.
Lehigh quickly responded in the fourth, tying the game at 5-5 thanks to a two-run double from Davis and Cochran's RBI groundout. The Mids reclaimed a narrow 6-5 lead in the seventh when
Will Howard delivered an RBI single up the middle to score Izquierdo after the captain logged his second double of the contest, but the defense faltered minutes later.
After Trystan Crawford's leadoff double in the eighth, a dropped fly ball in centerfield allowed Crawford to score the tying run and for Wirtz to replace him at second, while Robbie Carvelli singled home Wirtz later on for the go-ahead run. After a pitching change, another Navy error on Davis' sacrifice bunt allowed two more runs to come across, extending the lead to 9-6.
Adding insurance runs in the top of the ninth with Carvelli's bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Jack Frankovic's safety-squeeze bunt for an 11-6 edge, Lehigh had Brandon Coughlin shut the door by retiring all six Mids he faced, capped off with a lineout double play to conclude the game.
Following Jake Mulvehill's 2.2-inning start that ended with five runs on five hits, Max Treonze (1-2) picked up the win for Lehigh by tossing 4.1 innings of relief that saw him limit Navy to one run on four hits while striking out six, and Coughlin earned the two-inning save that included two punchouts.
For Navy starter
Owen Phypers, he lasted 3.1 innings and surrendered five runs on six hits.
Tyler Grenn (1-3) got the loss in relief despite a strong 3.2 innings, with three of his four runs being unearned, while
Jackson Clark allowed two runs in 1.1 innings and
Aidan Healy got the final two outs for the Mids.
Game Notes
• Navy is now 108-60 all-time against Lehigh.
• Walsh has now recorded an extra-base hit in four of his last five games.
•
Ty DePerno moved his on-base streak to 13 games before leaving the game due to injury, while Walsh improved his on-base streak to 11-straight contests.
Up Next
Navy continues the homestand on Wednesday, playing a 3:00 p.m. contest against in-state foe Maryland.
