Around the Bases: Army and Navy baseball set for key Patriot League series this weekend

Hard to believe we are more than halfway through the baseball season, but here we are. While Army and Navy lead the Patriot League (no surprise there), Air Force is struggling with a sub-.500 record in conference and non-conference action.

Navy (28-12, 13-4)

The Midshipmen maintained sole position of first place in the Patriot League after going 2-1 against Lehigh this past weekend.

Noah Song improved to 7-0 on the year after the series opener victory. Song gave up just one run on five hits and tallied yet another double-digit strikeout performance with 11 Ks in the 4-1 win. The senior pitcher now has 110 strikeouts on the season in just nine appearances, which is nothing short of absurd. In fact, his performance this season has earned him recognition on USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Mid-season Watch List.

Navy needed extra innings in game two to pull out a 3-0 win thanks to a three-run home-run in the top of the 10th inning compliments of Christian Hodge. The Midshipmen magic couldn’t continue into game there as the Mountain Hawks scored nine runs in the 8th inning to ultimately prevail 16-4.

Navy defeated Georgetown 17-3 in a Tuesday night match-up in a Annapolis. The Mids were led by Evan Lowery who contributed three hits and four RBIs. Wilson Ayers (2-2) earned his second win of the season.

Up Next: Navy will hit the road to take on Bucknell tonight (10-27, 3-14) before hosting Army in a three-game series this weekend. Sunday’s 12:30 tilt will appear on CBS Sports Network.

Stat Leaders:

Zach Stevens - .354 avg; .471 obp (leads team in both categories)

Christian Hodge - 42 RBIs, 10 home-runs (leads team in both categories)

Noah Song - 1.53 ERA; 110 Ks, 7-0

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Army (21-15, 8-5)

The Black Knights have won six of their last seven contests, which included a two-game sweep over Manhattan and a 2-1 Patriot League series win over Lafayette. The series victory over the Leopards has placed Army in a tie for second in the conference with Holy Cross.

Trey Martin played hero in the midweek double-header against the Jaspers with six RBIs and two home-runs, one of which was a grand slam in game one. His performance earned him Patriot League Player of the Week honors. Anthony LoRicco and Ray Batoli picked up their first win and save, respectively, of the 2019 season in game two.

Tyler Giovinco (6-2) earned his sixth win of the year in the Lafayette series opener. The senior pitcher threw for six innings and gave up only two runs in the win. John McKenna went 3 for 3 with two RBIs in the 10-2 win in game two where the Black Knights also benefits from Jeremiah Adams knocking in his second home-run of the year.

Up Next: The Black Knights host Holy Cross (13-24, 8-5) tonight before traveling to Annapolis to battle service academy rival Navy in a three-game road series over Easter weekend.

Stat Leaders:

Trey Martin - .330 avg; .578 slg (team leader)

Anthony Giachin - 43 hits; 35 RBIs (leads team in both categories)

Tyler Giovinco - 6-2, 3.07 ERA, 41 Ks

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Air Force (16-19, 6-9)

The Falcons played a five-game (yes, five) weekend series against Fresno State in an effort to make-up previously postponed games from earlier in the season. Unfortunately for Air Force, the Bulldogs were quite comfortable as hosts and the Falcons dropped four games to their Mountain West foe.

Air Force managed just two runs in their first two games of the series which included a 6-0 shutout loss where the Falcons managed only three hits and struck-out a combined 14 times.

Game four proved to be the only win for the Falcons thanks in large part to Colby Brown’s two-RBI single in the fourth inning. Luke Chilcutt picked up his second win of the season in the MWC affair.

Up Next: The Falcons travel back to California to battle San Diego State (21-15, 7-6) in a four-game road series.

Stat Leaders:

Ashton Easley - .333; 46 hits, 30 runs (leads team in all categories)

Nic Ready - .317; 46 hits, 24 RBIs (team leader)

Jake Gilbert - 1.90 ERA; 3-2, 32 Ks