Army West Point Athletics
Army Primed For Hosting Duties In Semifinals
May 11, 2018 | Baseball
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point baseball team enters postseason play for the second-straight season beginning Saturday at Doubleday Field.
Army will be the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament after securing a share of the conference regular-season crown.
The Black Knights will host No. 3 Bucknell in a best-of-three series beginning Saturday with a doubleheader. The two teams will then play a single game on Sunday, if necessary. First pitch for both days is slated for noon at Doubleday Field. All games will be carried live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco and Bryan Price on the call.
Army took 3-of-5 games from the Bison during the regular season. Heading into the weekend, the Cadets have won three straight and five of their last seven games. Bucknell closed its regular season on a two-game slide and finished 3-3-1 in its last seven games.
The Bison have had 10 days of rest to prep for the weekend, having not been in action since May 1. The Black Knights most recently defeated Albany on Tuesday in their regular-season finale, 11-4.
Both teams garnered major awards when the Patriot League announced its postseason honors earlier this week. Army saw Jon Rosoff named player of the year, while Anthony Giachin notched rookie of the year praise. Bucknell earned the pitcher of the year award after Connor Van Hoose was acknowledged.
Rosoff leads the Cadets and is third in the conference with a .337 batting average. The senior also sits second in runs batted in with 42, third in on-base percentage with a mark of .438 and first in hit by pitches with 11. Sophomore Jacob Hurtubise is a threat on the base path, leading all of Division I with 38 stolen bases. The centerfielder has earned a league-high 40 walks and 49 runs scored.
On the mound, Army's rotation has been one of the best in the league. The Black Knights post the second-lowest team ERA at 4.00. Starting pitcher Tyler Giovinco sits second in the conference with 74.2 innings on the hill. He has also struck out the second-most batters looking with 28 on the season. His seven wins lead the league, but teammates Matt Ball and Daniel Burggraaf follow closely on his heels with six each. Ball is second in the conference with a team-best 74 strikeouts, while Burggraaf boasts a team-low 2.13 ERA.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday - Game 1 - Stats | Video | Audio
Saturday - Game 2 - Stats | Video | Audio
Sunday - If Necessary - Stats | Video | Audio
Twitter • @ArmyWP_Baseball
Instagram • ArmyWP_Baseball
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Saturday - Game 1 - LHP Tyler Giovinco vs. RHP Connor Van Hoose
Saturday - Game 2 - RHP Daniel Burggraaf vs. RHP Jeff Gottesman
Sunday - If Necessary - RHP Matt Ball vs. RHP Jack Simpson
UP NEXT
- The Black Knights hope to continue their season in the Patriot League tournament championship series, which is set for May 19-20.
- The Cadets would face either the top-seed in Navy or the fourth seed in Holy Cross.
- If the Mids advance past their semifinal series with the Crusaders, then Army would travel to Annapolis, Md., for the best-of-three championships series.
- If Holy Cross can pull off the upset, than the Cadets would host the championship series at Doubleday Field.
