Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Northwestern
Army Ends Florida Trip With 5-2 Win Over Northwestern
March 20, 2011 | Baseball
Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. - Chris Rowley pitched eight strong innings and Zach Price went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI as the Army baseball team closed out its spring break trip to Florida by defeating Northwestern, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at Henley Field.
Rowley (1-1) struck out a career-high seven batters en route to his first career victory. The sophomore righty allowed just two runs (one earned) on nine hits during his sterling performance.
"I had a great defense behind me today and I was able to get the ball down and allow (Northwestern) to hit a lot of groundballs," said Rowley of his outing. "The defense made a lot of great plays today. They did a great job.
"I remember last year we were 2-5 in Florida, so to win four out of seven and four of our last five is huge," added Rowley. "We are all excited to get back to West Point and continue playing good baseball."
Gunnar Carroll pitched the ninth inning to earn his first career save. The freshman allowed Northwestern to bring the tying run to the plate, but he retired Kyle Ruchim on a groundball to second base to end the game and seal Army's second straight victory.
The Black Knights, who won four of their final five games during their spring break trip, improve to 5-11 on the season.
Ben Koenigsfeld and Sean McIlroy both collected two hits and one RBI apiece to help spur the Black Knights at the plate.
Army got off to a fast start, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Price walked to lead off the game and he moved to third on Koenigsfeld's single through the right side of the infield. Joey Henshaw drove home the game's first run as he hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Price from third. Clint Moore then reached on a fielder's choice, moved to third base on J.T. Watkins' base hit and scored on McIlroy's RBI single.
Rowley, who was dealing from the outset, needed just eight pitches to retire Northwestern in the bottom of the first. The Black Knights turned a pretty 5-4-3 double play behind him to end the inning.
Northwestern (4-10) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning as the Wildcats pushed across an unearned run. With one out, Chris Kontos doubled down the left field line. He then moved to third base on an error by Henshaw and scored when Nick Linne laid down a squeeze bunt.
Army got that run back in the top of the fourth inning as McIlroy singled through the left side of the infield, advanced to second base when Steve May walked and scored on Price's RBI single to center field.
The Black Knights scored a pair of two-out runs in the top of the sixth to extend their advantage to 5-1. With one out, May walked and stole second base to ignite the uprising. After David Darnell struck out, Price hit a double to center field that scored May. Koenigsfeld followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield as Price scampered around with Army's fifth run of the contest.
Northwestern threatened to score in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Wildcats put runners on first and second with just one out. Rowley was able to induce a pair of fly balls to centerfield, however, to retire the side.
NU put runners on first and second once again in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Rowley recorded consecutive strikeouts to end the threat and keep Army on top by four runs.
Northwestern trimmed its deficit to 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Wildcats tallied one run. Ruchim doubled into the left-center field gap to lead off the inning, moved to third base on Chris Lashmet's single through the left side of the infield and scored on Paul Snieder's sacrifice fly to right field. Rowley was able to avoid any further damage, however, as he retired the next two batters.
Ruchim went 4-for-5 with a double to pace Northwestern's 10-hit attack. Wildcat starter Dan Tyson (0-2) allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings. Ethan Bramschreiber tossed three scoreless innings of relief for NU, allowing just one hit during his stint on the mound.
Army returns to West Point on Sunday, and the Black Knights open their home schedule on Tuesday, March 22, when they host Quinnipiac at Doubleday Field. First pitch for the non-conference midweek clash is slated for 3 p.m.
Game Notes: Army improves to 2-1 all-time versus Northwestern ... Chris Rowley set a career high with seven strikeouts ... Rowley pitched a career-high 8.0 innings ... Clint Moore has 46 career doubles, just one behind Andy Ernesto (USMA '09) for the top spot on Army's all-time list ... Army finishes its Florida trip with a 4-3 record ... the Black Knights were 3-0 against Big Ten teams during the trip, defeating Ohio State and Indiana prior to today's win over Northwestern ... Army, the road team for its Florida finale, donned its black jerseys and gray pants with black caps.
