Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Army Splits Doubleheader With Navy
April 09, 2011 | Baseball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Logan Lee pitched six scoreless innings to lead Army to a 3-0 victory over Navy in the first game of the teams' Patriot League doubleheader on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Doubleday Field. Navy salvaged a split of the twinbill as the Midshipmen hung on for a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.
Army (12-15, 5-1 PL) remains in first place in the Patriot League standings, one full game of Navy (19-12-1, 4-2 PL).
Lee (3-5) was dominant throughout his start, allowing three hits and facing just four over the minimum. The junior lefty struck out four and did not issue a walk during his outing. Lee lowered his ERA to a conference-best 3.13 following six scoreless frames. The Mids put only two men in scoring position during the contest.
Ben Koenigsfeld pitched a perfect seventh inning to record his fourth save of the season.
Army opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning as Cody Murtle singled, moved to second when Zach Price walked and scored on Koenigsfeld's RBI single.
The Black Knights padded their lead in the fourth on Steve May's two-run single. Joey Henshaw singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second when J.T. Watkins laid down a sacrifice bunt. Shaun Wixted followed with a single, putting runners on first and third with just one out. Wixted then stole second base and both he and Henshaw scored when May looped a single into shallow left field.
Navy's best scoring opportunity came in the top of the sixth inning as the Midshipmen put runners on first and second with two outs. Lee was able to strike out Navy designated hitter Dave Milanes to end the uprising, however, and the Mids did not threaten in the seventh.
Ben Nelson (4-3) was the tough-luck loser for Navy in the opener after giving up three runs on six hits in a complete-game effort. He struck out seven and issued just one walk.
Army jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in the second inning of the nightcap on Murtle's RBI triple down the right field line. Henshaw was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and he moved to second base on Watkins' sacrifice bunt. Then, with two outs, Murtle hit a line shot just inside the first base bag to score Henshaw with the game's first run.
Navy responded in the top of the fourth inning as the Midshipmen pushed across three runs to take their first lead of the day. Milanes doubled to begin the rally and he moved to third base on Greg Dupell's base hit. Jeff Bland followed with an RBI double to score Milanes and move Dupell to third base. Then, after two outs had been recorded, Dylan Wheeler singled to load the bases and Brandon Beans delivered a two-run single to put Navy on top, 3-1.
The Midshipmen added another run in the top of the fifth inning as Alex Azor singled to lead off the inning and eventually came around to score on Nick Driscoll's sacrifice fly.
Army pulled to within 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Black Knights scored a pair of runs. David Darnell singled to lead off the frame and moved to third base on Koenigsfeld's one-out double. Darnell then scored on Clint Moore's RBI groundout, and Koenigsfeld plated the second run of the inning on Henshaw's RBI single.
Navy reliever Preston Gainey limited Army to just one hit over the final 3.1 innings as the Midshipmen held the Black Knights off the scoreboard and secured the victory. Gainey struck out six batters and did not allow a walk en route to his first career save.
John Schoberl (4-1) earned the victory for Navy after permitting three runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings of work.
Army starter Thomas Casey (0-2) took the loss in the second game after being touched for four runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. John Buckley came out of the Black Knights' bullpen and gave up just three hits in 3.2 scoreless innings of work, and Ken Jackson got the final two outs.
Koenigsfeld and Watkins both collected two hits apiece to pace Army's offense in the nightcap.
Azor went 3-for-5 to highlight Navy's 11-hit attack.
Army will wrap up its four-game series versus Navy on Sunday (April 10) when the two teams meet in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Game Notes: Army trails the all-time series versus Navy, 103-95 ... Army honored the senior members of the team in a special Senior Day ceremony prior to the first game of the day ... Game One started at 12:15 p.m., and lasted just 1 hour, 36 minutes ... Ben Koenigsfeld moves into a tie for eighth place on Army's all-time saves list with six career saves ... it marked the second career combined shutout for Logan Lee ... Steve May has hit safely in seven straight games ... a capacity crowd of 880 witnessed this afternoon's doubleheader ... Army wore its white uniforms with black caps for both games of today's doubleheader.
