BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 1 Army West Point (36-16, 21-4 PL) swept Sunday’s doubleheader from No. 4 Lafayette (15-37, 10-15 PL) to advance to the 2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship Series against No. 2 Bucknell for the second-consecutive season.

The top-seeded Black Knights exploded four 15 runs on four home runs in a 15-6 victory in game two. Army senior RHP Robbie Buecker allowed just one run on one hit through seven innings to earn the win in game three to clinch the series against the Leopards.
 
The best two-of-three Patriot League Baseball Championship Series will begin on Saturday, May 20, at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field.
 
Coverage for each game of the 2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship Series will be available live on ESPN+. For more information, visit CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL.
 
At No. 1 Army West Point 2, No. 4 Lafayette 1, (Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field/West Point, N.Y.)

Date	Game	Time/Result	Coverage
Saturday, May 13	Semifinals – Lafayette at Army West Point	Lafayette, 7-5	ESPN+
Sunday, May 14	Semifinals – Lafayette at Army West Point	Army, 15-6	ESPN+
Sunday, May 14	Semifinals – Lafayette at Army West Point (if necessary)	Army, 5-1	ESPN+

 
At No. 2 Bucknell 2, No. 3 Navy 0 (Depew Field/Lewisburg, Pa.)

Date	Game	Time/Result	Coverage
Saturday, May 13	Semifinals – Navy at Bucknell	Bucknell, 2-0	ESPN+
Saturday, May 13	Semifinals – Navy at Bucknell	Bucknell, 7-6	ESPN+

 
2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship – Semifinal Round
AT NO. 1 ARMY WEST POINT BLACK KNIGHTS (36-16, 21-4 PL) NO. 4 LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (15-37, 10-15 PL)
Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field/West Point, N.Y.
Game 1: At No. 1 Army West Point 15, No. 4 Lafayette 6 | BOX SCORE
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The top-seeded Black Knights hit four home runs in an offensive explosion to defeat No. 4 Lafayette, 15-6, to force a game three in the best two-of-three game series in the Patriot League Championship semifinals.
*Senior catcher Derek Berg, junior third baseman Sam Ruta, junior centerfielder Braden Golinski and sophomore DH Coleson Titus homered to help Army West Point erase an early three-run deficit.
*Junior RHP Mike Ruggieri allowed four runs on five hits through six innings to earn the victory for the Black Knights.
*Junior RHP Trevor Finan threw the final three innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts to pick up the save.
*Lafayette scored two runs in the second inning on an RBI double from sophomore second baseman Ben Petrone and an RBI single from junior shortstop Blaze Fadio.
*Leopards’ senior right fielder Pete Ciuffreda hit a solo home run in the third inning to extend the lead to three runs.
*The Black Knights scored the next 10 runs, including a seven-run fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Berg and a three-run shot by Titus.
*Lafayette got solo home runs from freshman catcher Ethan Swidler and junior left fielder Justin Grech, but Army continued to pour it on.
*Ruta homered in the seventh inning, and freshman left fielder Addison Ainsworth drove in two runs with a double in the eighth inning before freshman second baseman Chris Barr doubled in the Black Knight’s 15th run of the game.
 
Game 2: At No. 1 Army West Point 5, No. 4 Lafayette 1 | BOX SCORE
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Senior RHP Robbie Buecker one run on one hit through 7.0 innings to lead No. 1 Army West Point to a 5-1 victory over No. 4 to clinch a spot in the 2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship Series next weekend against Bucknell.
*Buecker allowed a solo home run in the second inning and then kept the Leopards’ bats silent the rest of the way to earn his fifth win of the season.
*Titus led the Black Knights’ offense, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Barr and freshman right fielder Ethan Ellis also drove in runs.
*Lafayette got on the scoreboard first, as Swidler hit a solo homer to left field in the top of the second inning.
*Army’s Barr tied the score at one in the bottom of the second inning, driving in Ellis on an RBI single.
*Titus extended the lead in the third inning with a two-run single into the gap in left-center, putting Army in front 3-1.
*Ellis drove in a run with a single in the fifth inning, and Golinski scored in the seventh inning to extend the Black Knights’ lead to 5-1.
*Senior RHP Patrick Melampy tossed two scoreless innings to seal the Black Knights’ game-three victory.
*Lafayette sophomore RHP Joe Skapinetz took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits through three innings.
RECAPS: LAFAYETTE | ARMY WEST POINT
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athlete can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.