April 24, 2006
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Chris Simmons collected four hits and six different Army pitchers continued their weekend domination of Navy's offense as the Black Knights climbed into a tie for third place in the Patriot League standings by sweeping a doubleheader from arch-rival Navy, Monday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium.
After limiting the Mids to a total of two runs in a doubleheader split on Sunday, Army held Navy to a pair of runs Monday, winning by the scores of 4-1 and 6-1. With Monday's victories, the Black Knights passed Navy in the conference standings and captured their third consecutive "Star" against their chief rivals. The "Star" is presented annually to the winner of the Army-Navy series. Army swept four games from the Midshipmen last spring and have now won nine of its last 10 games against Navy.
Army (23-17-1 overall, 8-8 Patriot) broke on top in the second inning of Monday's opener when Jeremy Stache singled with two outs, advanced to second on a single by J.P. Polchinski and scored on a clutch single to center field by Barnes Connell.
Meanwhile, Black Knight starter Cole White worked out of trouble in each of the first three innings, stranding two Navy runners on base during each frame. He was relieved by Monte Jones with a runner on second base and two outs in the fourth. But Jones retired Navy leadoff batter Renaldo Hollins on a comebacker to preserve Army's 1-0 advantage.
Army padded its lead against Navy starter Joe Koessler (4-3) with two runs on three hits in the fifth inning. Tony Capozzi reached on a leadoff single to right field and moved to second on a single by Kyle Scogin. Andy Ernesto sacrificed both runners into scoring position and Milan Dinga was intentionally walked to load the bases. Simmons reached on a fielder's choice grounder to third, driving home Capozzi with the Black Knights' second run. White's RBI single through the left side delivered Dinga for a 3-0 Army advantage.
Navy (29-17-1 overall, 7-9 Patriot) pulled to within 3-1 in the bottom of the inning when Jonathan Johnston doubled and scored on a two-out single by D.J. Faldowski. But Army got the run right back in its next at-bat when Connell singled to right with one out and proceeded to steal second and third base. He scored later in the inning when Scogin narrowly beat out a relay throw at first base, averting a potential inning-ending double-play.
Jones (3-1) worked a scoreless sixth inning before turning the game over to Dinga in the seventh. Army's career saves leader struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh to register his eighth save of the season, equaling the single season Academy record he established a year ago.
Jones earned the victory by allowing one run on three hits in 2.1 innings of work. He struck out three and walked one. Koessler (4-3) suffered the loss for Navy, permitting eight hits and three runs in five innings.
Army's standout pitching continued in the second game, holding Navy scoreless into the fifth inning.
Freshman right-hander Tyler Stohr fired four scoreless innings in his Patriot League starting debut before leaving due to a pitch-count limit with Army ahead 2-0. Stohr (1-3), who earned his first collegiate victory, allowed just two hits, did not walk a batter and fanned three during his longest stint in more than a month.
Army touched Navy starter Daniel Kovalcik (1-3) for a pair of runs in the top of the fourth when Simmons drilled a leadoff double to the gap in right-center field. White singled down the right-field line and Polchinksi singled to right field, driving home Simmons. Connell's sacrifice fly plated White for a two-run Army lead.
Navy placed runners at first and third with two outs against Black Knight reliever Tyler Anderegg in the fifth. Dan Pluff was summoned to relieve Anderegg and induced Hollins to hit a slow trickler toward third base. Pluff snared the ball, but threw wildly to first for an error, allowing one run to score.
That proved to be Navy's final threat of the game as Pluff induced Michael Garcia to ground out to end the fifth, then retired nine straight batters entering the ninth. Pluff yielded just the infield hit by Hollins across 3.1 innings of dominant work. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.
By the time Pluff departed, Army had built a comfortable 6-1 cushion, scoring one run in the sixth and three big insurance markers in the ninth. Simmons smashed a leadoff double to straight-away center field in the sixth and scored on a single to right by Stache for a 3-1 Army lead. Connell stole home on the back end of a double-steal and a throwing error by Navy shortstop Dominic Lopez allowed two runs to score, accounting for the Black Knights' three runs in the ninth.
Dinga, who notched two saves during the weekend, fired a shutout ninth as he extended his consecutive scoreless appearance streak to 14, one shy of the school record he set last season. Dinga has now been scored upon just once in his last 30 pitching performances spanning the past two seasons.
Simmons went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while White finished with two hits to pace Army's offense in the second game. Connell and Scogin registered two hits apiece for Army in the opener.
"I'd like to congratulate the entire team, especially our four seniors," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "They played extremely well this weekend against a quality Navy team and led us to a third straight 'Star.' Hopefully, this is something that they'll never forget.
"The calling card all weekend long was the strength of our pitching. None of this would have been possible without the efforts of our associate head coach Fritz Hamburg, who does a great job with our pitching staff. Not only was the staff prepared, but it executed the game plan to perfection. When a staff gives up four runs over the course of four games, you have to be pleased. The weekend started with an outstanding performance by Nick Hill and ended with another standout effort by Milan Dinga."
In 32 innings against Navy this weekend, Army's pitchers allowed just 19 hits and four runs, only three of which were earned.
"We are certainly pleased with the way our pitchers competed," stated Army associate head coach Fritz Hamburg. "A big part of their success was the solid defensive performance by our position players and the outstanding job Chris Simmons did behind the plate all weekend. He's made a big difference in our pitchers' confidence.
"It was good to see Nick (Hill) pitch the way he's capable of. That really set the tone for our staff the rest of the weekend. We've worked and prepared hard to do the little things right this year and I'm proud of all of them. I'm especially happy for Dan Pluff and Monte Jones for what they accomplished in their last opportunities to pitch against Navy."
In sweeping its third doubleheader in four tries against Navy, Army moved into a third-place tie in the Patriot League standings with Lafayette. The Black Knights have won seven of their last eight Patriot League contests and 10 of 11 contests overall. The top three teams in the Patriot League's final regular-season standings quality for the conference's postseason tournament.
"We can't say enough about the way this team has battled its way back into the playoff hunt. We're excited about this opportunity and look forward to the week of preparation ahead of us."
Army concludes its Patriot League schedule with a four-game series against conference frontrunner Lehigh next weekend at West Point. Lafayette closes out Patriot League play with a four-game set at Holy Cross.