Burggraaf Impressive Against Holy Cross in Finale

Sunday, April 17

Worcester, MA

4 PM

Army West Point

14-23, 0

Holy Cross

17-22, 0

Army West Point

Holy Cross

Burggraaf Impressive Against Holy Cross in Finale

April 17, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman Daniel Burggraaf tossed an impressive seven-plus innings of two-hit baseball for Army West Point as he led the Black Knights to a 3-0 victory in the series finale at Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon.

"These guys are tough minded and always fight no matter what the situation is," said head coach Matt Reid. "They're always composed. We have a lot to work on, but baseball is a process of working hard to get better in all details of the game. We will get back to work this week and get better."

The Black Knights scratched across another run in the first inning to open the scoring with the bases loaded. After a leadoff single by Kris Lindner, walks to Trey Martin and Jon Rosoff loaded the bases for left fielder John McCarthy. The Jupiter, Fla., native shot a single to right field on the first pitch to give Army its 1-0 lead. Freshman pitcher Pat McGowan settled down after that, however, as three-consecutive strikeouts would end the threat.

It was a bit of a rocky start for the righty from Belfair, Wash., allowing a two-out single in the first before allowing the baserunner to advance 90 feet, but from there on he was locked in. The righty from Belfair, Wash., retired 12 consecutive Crusaders until a single by Thomas Russo ended that streak in the fifth inning.

"Daniel did a great job on the mound, and our defense made the plays behind him," Reid commented. "We broke through early and added a couple more runs late. We grinded it out and did it as a team."

Army mounted another threat in the second inning, but was unable to push across any insurance runs. After second baseman Josh White led off with a single, David Monge was hit by a pitch. The two Cadets would advance 90 feet apiece, but two defensive stops by Holy Cross kept the deficit at one.

Monge utilized his speed two innings later as a one-out infield hit preceded his 10th stolen base of the season. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native would be stranded 90 feet from home after a Lindner single. McGowan was once again bailed out by his defense as a double-play ended the threat.

Back-to-back singles by Rosoff and McCarthy in the fifth chased McGowan from the game, allowing George Capen to take the hill for Holy Cross. Capen did exactly as his title expressed, relieving the pressure from the inning with a fielder's choice and a couple of strike outs to get out of the inning.

A four-hit seventh inning allowed Army to extend its lead to three runs, starting with Rosoff to lead off the inning. Stu Schley singled two batters later, followed by the designated hitter, Brock Davidson. Jacob Page hit a sacrifice fly for the first insurance run. White stepped up to bat next, singling in Schley.

After a leadoff walk started the eighth, Reid turned to senior Justin French to close the game's final two innings. The righty did just that, recording his fifth save of the season on one hit and three strikeouts.

The Black Knights will head to NYIT on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch before continuing their 10-game road trip at Navy for the weekend series with the Gold Star on the line.

For more information on Army West Point baseball, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_Baseball on Twitter.

GAME NOTES
Army's first shutout of the season … last shutout was April 1, 2015 vs. Air Force (8-0) ... fifth-straight split doubleheader … all five times the Black Knights have won the night cap … Daniel Burggraaf surpassed his season-highs in innings pitched (7+) and strikeouts (9) … previous bests were six innings and eight strikeouts against Lafayette on April 3 ... team-high in strikeouts for a single game … Trey Martin increased his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 11 … career high.