Naval Academy Athletics

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A trio of big innings dealt the finishing blows to the No. 3 seed Navy baseball team as it lost to second-seeded Bucknell, 16-4, in the first game of the best-of-three Patriot League Semifinal Series Sunday afternoon at Depew Field at Marren Park.
 
While Jake Hooten's fifth-inning homer and two-hit contests from Evan Brown and Andrew Manning powered the Midshipmen (30-18) offense, the Bison beat Navy pitching with 17 hits, including Zach Selfon's two-hit, four-RBI performance and three-hit outings from Michael Trommer and Deacon Bowne.
 
Bucknell's win gave the Bison a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series and a victory away from advancing, while Holy Cross' sweep at Army in the other semifinal series has clinched the winner of Bucknell-Navy home-field advantage in the Patriot League Championship Series next weekend.
 
While both teams got some early baserunners, Bucknell grabbed the first lead of the day in the bottom of the second when John Calabrese singled to right to start the frame, moved to third on Lleyton Coupe's double and scored on Zach Selfon's sacrifice fly.
 
The Bison added to the lead in the third to make it 4-0, as Billy Fluharty worked the lead-off walk and eventually took home on a wild pitch while Michael Trommer crossed home on a Calabrese sacrifice fly and Selfon singled home Ty Lagoni later in the inning.
 
Bucknell then posted a six-run fourth inning off three Navy pitchers, as a Garrett Mathias bases-loaded walk, a Michael Chiaravallo hit-by-pitch, a Coupe sacrifice fly, Selfon's two-run single and Deacon Bowne's own RBI single accounted for the runs.
 
Jake Hooten attempted to start a Navy rally with his two-run homer to left field in the fifth, but Bucknell answered with another run in the home-half of the frame on Chiaravallo's RBI double.
 
Three-straight Navy hits led to Manning knocking in Brown in the sixth to cut the deficit to 11-3, but another big inning from Bucknell in the bottom of the sixth saw the Bison plate five runs off the Mids' bullpen, highlighted by Lagoni's three-run triple.
 
Navy continued to try to spark its offense when Chis Klug ripped a bases-loaded single to plate Hooten, but Tyler Hawkins was able to keep the Mids at bay the rest of the way to preserve the win and put the Bison one game away from a championship-series berth.
 
Bucknell starter Jake Schultz went six innings to pick up the win, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out three, before Hawkins notched the save by allowing one run on one hit over the final three frames.
 
For Navy, Brady Bendik took the loss after surrendering seven runs in 3.1 innings, while Timmy Virtudes, Adyn Lucero and John Carroll all gave up additional runs before Sachin Gopal pitched a scoreless eighth frame.
 
Game Notes
• Navy now holds a 103-91-1 all-time record against Bucknell, going 10-19 against the Bison in the postseason.
• Patrick Walsh extended his on-base streak to 29 straight games with his sixth-inning single
• Cripe moved his on-base streak to 12 games and Klug improved his on-base streak to 11 contests.
 
Up Next
Navy and Bucknell continue the best-of-three Patriot League Semifinal Series with the second game on Monday. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m.