Army West Point Athletics
Army-Navy Battle For Patriot League Crown
May 17, 2018 | Baseball
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point baseball team has advanced to the Patriot League Tournament Championship Series for the first time since 2013.
The second-seeded Black Knights will meet their rival and the top-seeded Midshipmen of Navy in a best-of-three series this weekend. Army and Navy both finished atop the Patriot League standing with a conference mark of 18-7, forcing a share of the regular season title. The Mids, however, held the 3-2 edge on the regular season series to secure themselves hosting rights throughout the postseason.
The two teams will play a single game on Friday and Saturday before closing things out with one final contest on Sunday, if necessary. First pitch for all games is slated for 1 p.m. at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. All games will be carried live on the Patriot League Network with Ben Gordon-Goldstein on the call.
The Black Knights defeated Bucknell two games to one in the semifinal series at Doubleday Field last weekend. The Cadets dropped the opener 4-1 but rebounded to take the next two games, 11-7 and 4-3.
Navy's semifinal series against Holy Cross was much of the same. The Mids lost Game One, 4-2, before earning back-to-back victories in the final two games of the series, 4-0 (10 innings) and 4-1.
Both teams have won six of their last eight outings heading into the weekend. The two squads also garnered major award praise from the conference last week when the Patriot League announced its postseason honors. Army saw Jon Rosoff named player of the year, while Anthony Giachin notched rookie of the year accolades. Navy earned the defensive player of the year and coach the year award after Zach Biggers and Paul Kostacopoulos were acknowledged, respectively.
Rosoff leads the conference with a .351 batting average. The senior also sits second in runs batted in with 43, on-base percentage with a mark of .442 and 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 43 walks and 52 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 80.2 innings on the hill. He has also struck out the second-most batters looking with 30 on the season. His league-leading seven wins are tied with teammates Matt Ball and Daniel Burggraaf for tops in the conference. Ball is third in the league with a team-best 83 strikeouts, while Burggraaf boasts a team-low 2.38 ERA.Â
HOW TO FOLLOWÂ
Friday - Stats | Video | Audio
Saturday - Stats | Video | Audio
Sunday - If Necessary - Stats | Video | Audio
Twitter • @ArmyWP_Baseball
Instagram • ArmyWP_Baseball
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1 - LHP Tyler Giovinco vs. RHP Noah Song
Game 2 - RHP Daniel Burggraaf vs. RHP Sam Kamhoot
Game 3 - If Necessary - RHP Matt Ball vs. RHP Andrew Sauer
UP NEXT
- The Black Knights hope to continue their season in the NCAA Tournament, which is set to kick off in the regional round beginning June 1-4.Â
- The Cadets' opponents would be announced following the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Selection Show on Monday, May 28 on ESPNU at Noon.Â
- Regionals for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship are being played on 16 campus sites.Â
- At each campus site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted and the 16 winning teams advance to the Super Regionals.
