Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Indiana
Army Comes From Behind To Defeat Indiana, 12-10
March 18, 2011 | Baseball
Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. - Clint Moore smashed the game-winning home run during a four-run seventh inning as the Army baseball team rallied for a 12-10 victory over Indiana on a sun-splashed Friday afternoon at historic Henley Field.
Army (4-11) trailed 10-8 in the seventh inning, but Joey Henshaw ripped a two-run double to tie the score and Moore followed with his second homer of the season to give the Black Knights the lead for good.
Gunnar Carroll pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Ben Koenigsfeld worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his second save of the season.
Henshaw went 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored to pace Army at the plate. David Darnell authored his best offensive day of the season, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and one run batted in, while Koenigsfeld, J.T. Watkins and Steve May each recorded two hits apiece for the Black Knights.
"It felt great to go out there and contribute so much offensively in today's game, especially since we struggled at the plate against Dartmouth earlier in the day," said Darnell. "I was really just trying to put the bat on the ball. I went up there with a good approach and the mindset that I just wanted to get some base knocks.
"It was great to come from behind and get the victory," added Darnell. "Now we are getting a better idea of what it feels like to win, and we know what we're capable of. I think today's game will help us moving forward. Hopefully we can continue what we did today in tomorrow's game (versus Northwestern) and just keep racking up the wins."
Ken Jackson (2-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 2.2 innings to pick up the victory on the mound for Army.
The back and forth affair saw Indiana jump out to leads in the first (1-0), second (3-1) and third (6-3) innings, only to see Army tie the score in the bottom half of the frame each time. The Black Knights grabbed their first lead (8-7) in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Hoosiers took a 10-8 edge in the top of the sixth. Army held IU off the scoreboard over the final three innings, however, as the Black Knights posted the come-from-behind victory.
Trailing by two in the seventh inning, Darnell and Koenigsfeld were both hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Henshaw then hit a double down the left field line to score Darnell and Koenigsfeld and knot the score at 10-10. Moore followed with a two-run home run over the fence in left field to give the Black Knights a lead that they would not relinquish.
Indiana (11-7) jumped out to a fast start as the Hoosiers scored the game's first run in the top of the opening inning. Dustin DeMuth walked to lead off the frame, stole second and scored on Josh Lyon's RBI single.
Army knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Henshaw was hit by a pitch, advanced to second base when Moore's ground ball hit Koenigsfeld in the foot between second and third, moved to third base on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on Watkins' RBI single.
The Hoosiers reclaimed the lead in the top of the second inning, scoring a pair of runs on four hits. Jerrud Sabourin singled with one out, moved all the way to third base on a wild pitch and scored on Wes Wilson's base hit. Wilson then moved to second base on a passed ball and plated IU's third run of the contest on Casey Smith's RBI single. Army starter Thomas Casey was able to avoid further damage by inducing a 4-6-3 double play to retire the side.
Army once again matched Indiana's output by plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Darnell began the uprising with a leadoff single. He moved to second base on Zach Price's base hit, and both runners moved up following a wild pitch. Darnell scored the Black Knights' first run of the inning when Koenigsfeld grounded out to shortstop, and Price came around to score on Henshaw's hard single to center field.
Indiana grabbed a 6-3 lead in the top of the third as the Hoosiers pushed across three runs on two hits and an error. Sabourin provided the big blow in the frame as he smacked a two-run single.
Army rallied to tie the game for the third straight inning, plating three runs to knot the score at 6-6 following three complete innings. Watkins singled to begin the frame and he moved to second base when Shaun Wixted walked. May then smacked a run-scoring single to center field, plating Watkins from second. Darnell followed with a hard single to left field to load the bases. Indiana starter Blake Monar was then called for a balk, allowing Wixted to score and letting May and Darnell move up one base. Price was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Monar was replaced on the mound by Matt Carr. Koenigsfeld delivered his second RBI of the game as he grounded out to shortstop, scoring May from third. Henshaw then drove a 3-0 pitch to deep right-center field, but the right fielder was able to track it down on the warning track to retire the side.
Indiana threatened to recapture the lead in the top of the fourth inning, loading the bases with two outs in the frame. Casey was able to get Lyon to ground out to second base to end the inning.
Army took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Black Knights scored twice to assume an 8-7 advantage. May singled with one out and he scored when Darnell blasted an RBI double to deep right-center field. Army then loaded the bases as Price walked and Koenigsfeld dropped a base hit into shallow center. Darnell scored the go-ahead run on Henshaw's sacrifice fly to left field.
Indiana proved that it could come from behind, too, as the Hoosiers scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 10-8 lead. Johnson's run-scoring base hit tied the game at 8-8, and Wilson's two-run single gave IU a two-run cushion.
Army closes out its Florida slate on Saturday, March 19, when the Black Knights face Northwestern at Henley Field at 5 p.m.
Game Notes: Army improves to 2-1 all-time versus Indiana ... the Black Knights have scored double figures in three of their last four games ... Army's 14 hits matched its season high ... the Black Knights turned double plays in the first and second innings ... Clint Moore now owns 26 career home runs, moving him into a tie for second place with Mike Scioletti on the Academy's all-time list ... Joey Henshaw has hit safely in seven straight games ... Army wore its white pants and gold tops with black caps for this afternoon's contest.
