Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Siena
Army's Offense Erupts In 11-8 Win Over Siena
March 30, 2011 | Baseball
Box Score
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Jonathan Crucitti blasted a three-run home run to cap a nine-run fifth inning as the Army baseball team rallied from an early three-run deficit to defeat Siena, 11-8, in a non-league contest Tuesday afternoon at Doubleday Field.
It marked the first career home run for Crucitti, who finished 1-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Clint Moore added two extra base hits for Army, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Zach Price, who has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games, went 2-for-3 with a triple.
"We really needed to come out and swing the bats well today, and we did that for the most part," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "We got down early, but showed good mental toughness in our ability to battle back. We strung together a number of hits during the fifth inning, which was nice to see."
Siena (7-15) actually built a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning, forcing Army to play from behind. The Saints got off to a quick start in the first inning as Dan Paolini's two-run home run to left field put gave the visitors a 2-0 advantage.
Army (7-13) trimmed its deficit in half in the bottom of the second inning when Moore walked, advanced to third base on a Siena error and scored on Sean McIlroy's RBI groundout.
Siena scored twice in the top of the fifth inning, though, to extend its lead to 4-1. Kenny Kirschner and Tyler Bell hit consecutive singles to start the uprising, and Kirschner plated the first run of the frame when he scampered home on a wild pitch. Bell scored the second run of the inning when he came around on Vinny Citro's RBI single up the middle.
Army responded in a big way in the bottom half of the fifth, sending 12 men to the plate and scoring nine runs. Cody Murtle reached on a throwing error to start the rally. Crucitti then drew a walk and David Darnell laid down a bunt single to load the bases for Price. The Black Knights' leadoff man came through with a single through the left side of the infield to score Murtle from third base with the first run of the frame.
Steve May grounded out to second base for the first out of the inning, but he picked up an RBI as Crucitti scored to cut Siena's lead to 4-3. Joey Henshaw delivered Army its first lead of the contest as he belted a two-run double into the right-center field gap. Moore followed with an RBI double to left-center, scoring Henshaw and making it 6-4 in favor of the Black Knights. After J.T. Watkins flew out for the second out of the inning, McIlroy reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners. Murtle followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 7-4, and Crucitti put an exclamation point on the inning when he crushed a towering home run over the fence in left-center field.
The Black Knights added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning as May was hit by a pitch and scored when Moore launched a triple to deep right-center field.
Siena pulled to within 11-8 in the top of the seventh as Paolini hit a grand slam to left-center field. The Saints were only able to muster one hit over the final two innings, however, as Army held on for the win.
Ken Jackson (3-1) picked up the victory on the mound for Army as the righty reliever allowed just two earned runs in 2.0 innings of work. Gunnar Carroll threw the final 2.2 innings and yielded just one run on two hits, while striking out three.
Jake Werdesheim (0-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up 10 runs (four earned) in 4.2 innings.
"It felt good to string some hits together during that fifth inning," said Price. "I think that will give us some confidence moving forward. The way we swung the bats today shows us all what we are capable of, and hopefully it will provide us some momentum as we head into the weekend."
Army will continue its 13-game homestand this weekend (April 2-3) when the Black Knights open Patriot League play against Holy Cross. The teams will begin their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon.
Game Notes: Army improves to 10-4 all-time versus Siena ... Army improves to 2-2 at home this season ... the Black Knights have scored in double figures six times in 20 games this season after reaching that number six times in 45 games last year ... Army's second-inning run snapped a 20-inning scoreless streak, dating back to the Black Knights' 12-0 win over Quinnipiac last Tuesday ... with his two RBI today, Clint Moore moved into a tie for first place with Mike Scioletti (USMA '98) on Army's career list (152) ... the mark lists tied for third all-time in Patriot League history ... Moore also moved into a tie for first place on Army's all-time doubles list, tying Andy Ernesto (USMA '09) with 47 career doubles ... the mark lists tied for fifth all-time in Patriot League history ... Moore's triple was the 12th of his career, moving him just three behind Milan Dinga (USMA '07) for the top spot ... Colin Briant matched his career high with four strikeouts ... Gunnar Carroll posted a career-high three strikeouts ... Jonathan Crucitti drove in a career-best three runs ... Crucitti also matched his career high with two runs scored ... Zach Price hit Army's first triple of the season in the third inning ... it marked the fourth triple of Price's career ... Army wore its white pants and gold jerseys with black caps for today's game.
