Baseball Travels to Holy Cross for Midweek Bout

WORCESTER, Mass. – Army West Point Baseball travels to Holy Cross for its lone Patriot League midweek test of the season.

First pitch from Fitton Field in Worcester is slated for 5:00 p.m., with ESPN+ to broadcast.

Army sits at 19-16 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League, and goes into the matchup in first place among the league's six clubs.

Notes and Storylines

» Derek Berg currently possesses a nine-game hit streak, with home runs in back-to-back games at Lafayette April 13-14. He was named Patriot League Player of the Week April 16.

» Army leads the Patriot League in home runs across all games (36) and league games (12), and in batting average across league games (.304).

» Chris Barr's .412 AVG leads both the Black Knights and the Patriot League. The sophomore was 4-for-5 with a walk and a double in Army's win over Holy Cross April 7.

» Army swept Saturday's doubleheader at Lafayette to clinch the three-game Patriot League series, with 9-3 and 17-5 wins.

Army had 23 combined hits Saturday. Ruta reached base five times in Saturday's games, with a hit in each affair and three walks. Ethan Ellis and Coleson Titus each logged three hits.

In Game 1, Justin Lehman allowed three unearned runs in his five-inning start, striking out seven and receiving the win. Mike Ruggeiri took the win in Game 2, with five innings and a career-high 10 strikeouts.

» Army will look to secure a season series win over Holy Cross in Worcester on Wednesday night.

The teams played a four-game series at West Point April 5-7. One day after suffering a doubleheader sweep April 6, the Black Knights went ahead 5-0 after one inning April 7, and exploded for nine runs on seven hits in the third. Leading by as much as 21 after six, Army bludgeoned the Crusaders 21-6 in the weekend series finale for its second run-rule win in Patriot League play.

Not to be outdone by the lively hitting, Steven Graver delivered six scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just five baserunners.

Army finished the weekend series 2-2 after a win in the series opener April 5.

» Justin Lehman has enjoyed a breakout season on both the mound and at the plate.

In March 24's doubleheader Game 2 win at Navy, the native of Fort Mill, S.C. (Charlotte suburbs) earned the win with 6.1 innings pitched, three strikeouts and just one run allowed. He then moved to first base for the remainder of the matchup and drove in a run in the eighth inning. On March 26, Lehman took home Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honors.

Each of Lehman's last five starts have been five frames or longer.

Having pitched in seven games and started in six, Lehman's 1.26 ERA and 0.98 WHIP are team-bests among qualifying pitchers, with his ERA also leading the Patriot League.

» 14 games into Patriot League play, Army has:

-  Allowed six or fewer runs in all but one matchup, and three or fewer runs in eight games across that stretch.
-  A league-leading team ERA of 4.88, and 3.37 across conference games.
-  A conference-best .259 opponent batting average and have allowed fewer runs (182) than any other league foe.
-  Had its starting pitcher go five innings or longer in all but two league contests.

Behind Enemy Lines

» Since visiting the Black Knights in West Point, Holy Cross has won three of its past five matchups, including a series win against Navy April 13-14.

» The Crusaders are 17-20 overall and sit in third place with an 8-6 Patriot League record.

» Colin Brown leads the club with a .310 AVG, with Chris Baillargeon and Gianni Royer pacing Holy Cross with four home runs each.

Next Up

Army begins a season-ending, 12-game homestand Saturday, with a doubleheader against Bucknell.

Follow the Black Knights

Follow Army Baseball on X @ArmyWP_Baseball and on Instagram @armywp_baseball. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about baseball and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.

Baseball Travels to Holy Cross for Midweek Bout

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Players Mentioned

Chris Barr

Derek Berg

Ethan Ellis

Steven Graver

Justin Lehman

Coleson Titus

Army West Point Athletics