April 20, 2005
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Nate Stone blasted a one-out single to the base of the left-center field fence to drive in Milan Dinga with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as Army fought from behind to defeat Connecticut 6-5, Wednesday afternoon at sun-soaked Doubleday Field.
Army (22-10) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to battle back from a 5-2 deficit, then scored the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth when Dinga drew a leadoff walk, Schuyler Williamson lined a single to center field and Stone crushed an 0-1 curveball to the gap in left-center field off Connecticut reliever Ted Garry (1-2). Stone's infield single had delivered Williamson with the tying run in the seventh after Williamson drew Army to within 5-4 on a two-run double to left-center field.
The Black Knights grabbled an early 2-0 lead, touching Connecticut starter Matt Karl for two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kyle Scogin smacked a leadoff double and moved to third on a single to right field by Dinga. A walk to Stone loaded the bases before Jeremy Stache's line-drive single to left plated Scogin and Dinga.
Connecticut (22-15) nicked Army starter Drew Clothier for a single run in the second inning on a leadoff double by Jeff Hourigan and an RBI double by Josh Farkes. A three-run double by Farkes with two outs in the top of the third provided the Huskies' with a 4-2 advantage. Tony Mallozzi's RBI single in the fourth stretched that margin to 5-2.
Following a shaky first inning, Karl silenced Army's bats until the seventh. In fact, the freshman left-hander retired eight in a row before Scogin was hit by a pitch opening the seventh. Dinga followed with a double to left-center field before Williamson's two-run double chased Karl.
Huskies' reliever Josh MacDonald retired Walker Gorham on a groundout, before Stone's infield single brought home Williamson with the tying run.
MacDonald (1-2) worked a scoreless eighth inning, but issued a leadoff walk to Dinga in the ninth. He departed after Williamson singled and advanced to second on the play, placing runners at first and second with no outs.
Dinga collected three hits and three runs batted in to lead the Black Knights' 14-hit attack, while Stone and Williamson added two hits and two RBI each.
Dan Pluff (2-0) pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his second victory of the season, capping a stellar performance by the Army bullpen. Ben Mayhew (2.2 innings), Wade Greenlee (1.0), Monte Jones (1.0) and Pluff combined to shut out the Huskies on just three base hits over the final 5.2 innings, fueling the Black Knights' comeback efforts.
"This was a real good win for our team," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "To come from behind against a quality opponent and quality (pitching) arms is a tribute to the mental toughness of our kids. This was certainly in the right direction leading into this weekend's conference play.
"The bullpen did a great job keeping the game in reach. They did a great job of keeping the game in reach until our offense could take the lead."
Army, which stands tied with Lehigh for first place in the Patriot League standings, returns to conference action with doubleheaders versus Holy Cross on Friday and Saturday. The four-game series was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, but was moved up a day due to the inclement weather forecast for Sunday. First pitch at Doubleday Field on Friday is set for 1 p.m.