Baseball Resumes Road Trip in Florida

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Following the home-opener at Doubleday Field Wednesday afternoon, the Army West Point baseball team will resume its early season road trip with eight games in the Sunshine State from March 12-19.

The Black Knights, who sport a 3-8 record thus far, is scheduled to play a three-game series against UMass the opening weekend before a midweek tilt against North Dakota State. Army will conclude the trip with a four-game series against the Crimson of Harvard. The UMass series will be played at Tampa Jesuit High School, while the games against NDSU and Harvard will be in Clearwater, Fla., at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium.

Army's offense has been powered in the early going by John McCarthy, whose .345 average, three doubles, two homeruns and 14 RBIs all lead the team. Kris Lindner and Justin Reece, who have started every game for the Black Knights, share a 13-for-41 line (.317 average), with Lindner having the edge in runs scored with a team-high 14. The Morehead City, N.C., native has also drawn five walks while being plunked seven times.

The Minutemen are 0-3 following their series at Charleston Southern last weekend. Game one was the rubber match of the series, ending 3-1. The third and final game was a 12-8 slug-fest in which Charleston Southern used a five-run first inning to pull away. Mike Hart leads UMass offensively, with a .455 average, after notching five hits in his first 11 at-bats. Ryan Moloney gave the Minutemen six strong innings in the season-opener, scattering six hits while fanning seven.

Army then travels to the former spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies for its final five games of the trip, starting with a mid-week matchup against 8-3 NDSU. The Bison opened with a three-game sweep of Arkansas – Pine Bluff before taking three of four at Lamar. Most recently, NDSU split its last four games which were played in Florida against Maine, Boston College and St. Bonaventure. Both losses came at the hands of the Bonnies. The Bison have three more games against opponents from the Great Lakes State before they take on the Black Knights with matchups against Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Michigan State in Port Charlotte.

The Bison have used a patient approach while at the plate, walking 49 times in their first 11 games, and adding 12 more free passes by way of hit batsmen. They are without a .300 hitter in their lineup, however Mason Pierzchalski (.293), Drew Fearing (.282), Jayse McLean (.281) and Brayden Resch (.278) are all in the ballpark. All four batters have at least nine hits and four walks on the season. NDSU has a team earned run average of 2.65, led by Jordan Harms and Zach Mayo. Harms sports a spotless ERA with a save in three appearances spanning six and two-third innings and nine strikeouts. Mayo has appeared in three games, starting twice, allowing just two runs (both earned) in a team-high 10.1 innings. He is also the team-leader in strikeouts with 18.

The final series for Army is against Harvard. The Crimson are 2-2 on the young season after participating in the Wake Forrest Tournament last weekend. Harvard dropped its first game against Richmond, but rebounded with a pair of victories against Saint Peter's and Wake Forrest. The final game of the weekend came against Towson. Offensively, the Crimson are led by freshman Patrick McCool, who is hitting .429 (6-for-14), and sophomore John Fallon, who has slugged a pair of homers and leads the team with five RBIs. On the hill, Harvard received a gem from senior Sean Poppen, who dealt 10 strikeouts while yielding just four hits, one walk, and one run (earned) in seven innings of work against Saint Peter's.

To follow along with the live stats for all of the games in Florida, click here.

Baseball Resumes Road Trip in Florida

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Players Mentioned

Kris Lindner

John McCarthy

Justin Reece

Army West Point Athletics