March 16, 2004

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Army Spring Trip Notes

*Army carries a 6-6 overall record into Wednesday evening's contest at No. 12-ranked Florida. The Black Knights, whose scheduled game against Yale in Bradenton was rained out Tuesday, have captured two of their three games during their spring trip. Army defeated Columbia (12-4) and Fairleigh Dickinson (6-0) on Saturday before losing to Miami (Ohio) (8-1) on Sunday.

*For the second consecutive year, Army features just one senior on its roster. Senior team captain Wes Bumgardner splits time between center field and second base, while also holding a spot in the Black Knights starting pitching rotation.

*Army and Florida have met three times previously on the baseball diamond (1999, 2002, 2003). The Gators have won all three of those matchups by a combined score of 43-7. The teams met a year ago with Florida prevailing 16-0 on March 19, 2003. That evening marked the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Gators rapped out 15 hits and benefitted from five Army fielding errors in the victory. Starter Dan Cappello suffered the loss for Army. Cappello dropped just one other verdict the remainder of the season in posting a 6-2 overall record.

*Three freshmen and one sophomore are scheduled to start against Florida on Wednesday. Left fielder Milan Dinga (.325, 7 RBI), right fielder Justin Long (.250, 2 RBI) and shortstop Kyle Scogin (.250, 2 RBI) are among the freshmen slated to start, while third baseman Jeremy Stache (.333, 1 HR, 8 RBI) rates as the lone sophomore in a lead role.

*Two members of Army's impressive freshman class were honored heir efforts on Monday when Nick Hill was named Patriot League "Pitcher of the Week" and Milan Dinga earned Patriot League "Rookie of the Week" honors.

*Two members of the talented lot were recognized for their efforts on Monday when Nick Hill was named Patriot League "Pitcher of the Week" and Milan Dinga earned Patriot League "Rookie of the Week" honors. In the initial voting of the conference's top weekly honors this baseball season, all games to date were considered in the decision.

*Few Army pitchers have experienced greater success at the outset of their collegiate career than has Hill. The native of Bluff City, Tenn. (Sullivan East H.S.), has posted a 3-1 record with a stingy 1.80 earned run average in his first four appearances. Two of his victories have come by way of complete-game shutout, including Saturday's 6-0 one-hit blanking of Fairleigh Dickinson. In his strongest showing of the season, the rookie left-hander fanned five of the first six batters he faced and retired eight straight batters to open the contest before allowing FDU its only hit, an opposite-field double just inside the right field foul line. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter.

*Overall, Hill has allowed just 15 hits over 25.0 innings of work this season, while fanning 26 and walking only six.

*Classmate Dinga has made a similar impression on Army baseball followers, contributing on the pitcher's mound as well as at the plate for the Black Knights. The Tampa, Fla. (Robinson H.S.), native has posted a .325 batting average with four doubles and seven runs batted in through the season's first month. Army's starting left fielder boasts a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, handling 15 defensive chances flawlessly. An emerging bullpen force, the hard-throwing right-hander has also thrown a pair of shutout innings. He has allowed two hits, while striking out three. He has yet to walk a batter. He has collected three multiple-hit performances to date, leading the Black Knights' 12-4 defeat of Columbia on Saturday with a 4-for-6 showing at the plate. He has registered two other three-hit showings in the first 10 contests of his collegiate career.

*Senior right-hander Wes Bumgardner is slated to open on the mound against Florida on Wednesday. Bumgardner has made two starts spanning 6.2 innings this season, drawing appearances versus Texas-San Antonio and Maryland-Baltimore County. Bumgardner earned a no-decision in Army's season opener against UTSA, then met with a similar fate the following week opposite UMBC. Bumgardner has allowed 13 hits and eight earned runs (10.80 ERA) this spring. He has been a member of Army's conference pitching rotation since his freshman season and sports a 9-11 career record.

*Army carries a .288 team batting average and a 4.01 team earned run average in tonight's contest. Five different players top the .300 mark for the Black Knights led by junior second baseman Nate Stone (.375). Stone is playing with a small splint on the ring finger of his throwing hand after injuring the digit during warmups against LaSalle. He sat out all three games of that series due to the injury. He is followed by Jeremy Stache (.333), Schuyler Williamson (.325), Milan Dinga (.325) and Wes Bumgardner (.324). Williamson, a Pensacola, Fla., native (Pensacola Catholic H.S.), tops the squad in runs scored (10) and runs batted in (10).

*The Black Knights have ripped 24 doubles and nine home runs through 12 contests. Army managed just 64 doubles and 12 home runs all of last season. The Cadets finished 17-25-1 a year ago.

*Seven different Army players have smacked home runs this season after just five different Black Knights connected for round-trippers last season. Junior first baseman Walker Gorham tops the team with three home runs, equaling his entire total from last spring. Gorham earned first team All-Patriot League honors as a sophomore.

*Army has committed just 13 errors in its first 12 contests and boasts a .969 team fielding percentage.

*Junior catcher Schuyler Williamson has thrown out 6 of 15 potential base-stealers (.400). Williamson was selected to the Patriot League's first team all-star unit last spring.

*Williamson is chronicling his experiences throughout the spring with regular diary entries on Army's official Web site at www.goARMYsports.com.

*Army features three players on its roster from the state of Florida. In addition to Williamson and Dinga, freshman pitcher-designated hitter Brad Johnson (Tampa/Chamberlain H.S.) also hails from the Sunshine State.

*Wes Bumgardner carries a seven-game hitting streak into Wednesday's game against Florida. Jeremy Stache boasts a five-game hitting streak.

*Jeremy Stache leads the team with five multiple-hit games. He also shares the team lead with four multiple-RBI showings. Schuyler Williamson has registered four multiple-hit contests and driven home at least two runs on four occasions as well.

*Thirteen different pitchers have seen mound duty for Army this spring. The Black Knights carry 18 hurlers on their active roster.

*Army has been successful on 16 of 20 stolen base opportunities this spring. Schuyler Williamson is perfect in four stolen base tries and leads the club in thefts.

*Freshman designated hitter-first baseman Nolan Cork earned three varsity letters at Eastern Illinois University before graduating last spring. Cork elected to enter the U.S. Military Academy as a freshman last summer and boasts one year of baseball eligibility. Cork retains a freshman academic standing, despite earning his bachelor's degree from EIU last spring. He batted .284 with two home runs and 22 runs batted in last year for the Panthers. Cork smashed his first home run as a Black Knight (and the eighth of his collegiate career) during Sunday's loss to Miami (Ohio).

*The Black Knights wrap up their spring trip to Florida with games against Columbia and Wright State on Friday, before facing Iowa at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota Saturday evening. Army begins Patriot League play on Saturday, Mar. 27 with a doubleheader versus Lehigh. The Black Knights captured their last league championship in 2000, making their first-ever visit to the NCAA Regionals.