Around the Bases: Navy Baseball extends winning streak to 12 games

Midshipmen go 3-0 on the weekend to extend winning streak to 12 games

Navy needed extra innings and zero hits to defeat Penn State 2-1 Friday evening. Yes, you read that correctly - the Midshipmen not only scored two runs without recording a hit but also took home the win over the Nittany Lions to start a three-game home weekend. Zach Biggers capitalized on a throwing error by Penn State after a ground ball to the shortstop from Christian Policelli. The ball was under-thrown and skipped past the first-baseman while Biggers scored from second base on the play. Charlie Connolly held Penn State to just one run in 6 2/3s and Dalton Baker picked up the win in two scoreless innings in relief.

Biggers continued his impactful weekend in game two on Saturday as the Midshipmen defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 3-1. The leadoff hitter went 2-4 with a run and added a stolen base in the contest. Tommy Goodridge earned the win improving to 2-0 on the season and Trent Topping earned his first save.

After training 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning the Midshipmen managed to score six unanswered runs to record their 12th straight win in a 8-6 victory over UMBC on Sunday. Senior Jacob Williamson went 2-3 and contributed three RBIs thanks in large part to his two-run homer in the second inning. Evan Lowery found a way on base five times with three hits and two walks and managed to cross the plate four times.

Of note: Freshman Alex Smith earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week and Patriot League Player of the Week for last week’s performance. The California native was the first Patriot League player in conference history to sweep those awards in the same week.

Air Force goes 2-3 on the week against Wichita State and South Dakota State

The Falcons dropped game one to the Shockers 15-4 after giving up 13 hits and committing four costly errors. Only six of Wichita State’s runs were earned and the last nine runs scored were officially unearned due to a pair of errors in the fifth inning and another Falcon error in the seventh. Three of the team’s four errors were credited to shortstop Alexander Pup who now leads the team with seven on the season.

While errors attributed to the loss in game one it was the Falcons’ inability to score that was the culprit in game two. While Air Force managed eight hits against the Shockers the Falcons were unable to plate any base runners leaving eight players on base in the 2-0 loss. Cole Blatchford was 3-4 in the loss and John Byrnes (0-1) pitched five strong innings giving up just two hits and striking out six.

After the two-game road struggle the bats clearly came alive at home against South Dakota State. Kazlausky’s squad managed 15 runs on 19 hits in the series opening win (15-8) against the Jackrabbits. Gabriel Garcia went 4-4 and added four RBIs while Tommy Gillman was 3-5 for four RBIs of his own, two of which came by a second inning home run.

The Falcons combined for another 15 hits in the next two games to close out the series. After dropping game two (7-9) it was Blatchford who scored three times in the rubber match to earn Air Force a close 6-5 win to improve to 5-12 on the season.

Of note: The Falcons will host Big Ten foe Minnesota next weekend in Colorado Springs after traveling to Orem, Utah for a two-game midweek series against Utah Valley.

Army currently 1-2 in Snowbird Classic with games against St. Joseph’s and Georgetown upcoming

With five games scheduled as part of the Snowbird Classic, the Black Knights are more than halfway through their Port Charlotte, Florida appearance. The first game of the eight-game Florida trip featured Logan Smith on the mound against Western Michigan. Smith threw 112 pitches in seven innings and left the game with a 4-3 lead heading into the eighth inning. West Point expanded the lead to 6-3 heading into the top of the ninth inning after a pair of hits added two more runs in the eighth; and then the wheels fell off...

Army gave up five runs with two outs in the ninth inning. A Kevin Dubrule error kept the game alive for the Broncos and two wild pitches by reliever Harry Flannery eventually gave the Broncos the 8-6 lead which was good enough for a Bronco victory.

West Point only materialized one run on eleven hits against UIC in game two of the Classic in an eventual 5-1 losing effort. Anthony Giachin and Robert Regine contributed three hits a piece in the loss. A failure to advance runners into scoring position doomed the Black Knights who stranded 12 baserunners in the affair.

Rebounding after a pair of tough losses, head coach Jim Foster relied on a three inning save by Ray Bartoli to notch a 6-4 win over Iowa. Bartoli struck out three and game up just four hits in his appearance which also earned Anthony Lorrico his first win of the year. Senior Anfernee Crompton led the Black Knights going 3-4 with two RBIs.

Of note: Logan Smith has a 0.86 ERA in 21 innings pitched. The senior will likely be called upon again in the Snowbird Classic and again next weekend against Rutgers in Ft. Myers, FL. He also earned Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honors (see above).