Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Army Captures Eighth Straight Star With Walk-Off Win
April 11, 2011 | Baseball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
WEST POINT, N.Y. - J.T. Watkins delivered a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Army baseball team walked off with a 6-5 victory over Navy and gained a split of the teams' Patriot League doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Doubleday Field.
Navy, which split the four-game series with Army, forced a winner-take-all fourth game by holding on for a 3-2 win in Sunday's opener. The nightcap victory locked up Army's eighth consecutive series "star" thanks to the Black Knights' 3-0 victory in the first game of the weekend set on Saturday. Army has won 26 of its last 33 games versus Navy dating back to 2004.
"I thought our guys really battled and showed a lot of heart in the late innings of both ballgames today," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "In order to win a championship, you need that non-stop passion and desire to win, and hopefully we can take that away from this weekend.
"Navy played well throughout the four games, and I give them a lot of credit. It was one of the best Army-Navy weekends that I've been a part of, in terms of the entire series, and a lot of credit goes out to both ball clubs.
"I want to thank all of the family and friends of the Army baseball program for all of their support throughout the weekend," added Sottolano. "We had great crowds both days and their positive energy does not go unnoticed. I also want to congratulate the seniors for winning four straight stars and thank them for everything that they've contributed to this program."
Army (13-16, 6-2 PL) remains in first place in the Patriot League standings following today's split. Navy (20-13-1, 5-3 PL) and Lafayette (11-17, 5-3 PL) are tied for second place following the first two weekends of conference action.
Joey Henshaw started Army's game-winning rally as he singled up the middle with one out. Cody Murtle then singled to put runners on first and second for Watkins, who drove a single through the left side of the infield to score Henshaw with the winning run.
"I knew going up (to the plate) that I was going to swing if he threw me a strike," said Watkins of his game-winning hit. "I got the pitch I needed on the inner third and up a little bit. He threw me a breaking ball and luckily it got through the infield and Joey was able to score. There's no better feeling than a walk-off win in baseball. It was a complete team effort today. Everybody contributed to the win, which is always great to see."
Army jumped out to a 4-0 lead in third inning of the nightcap as the Black Knights sent nine men to the plate and scored four runs. Zach Price began the uprising as he drew a walk to lead off the inning. Price took second base when an errant pickoff throw sailed past the Navy first baseman, and he advanced to third on Ben Koenigsfeld's sharp single to center field. Clint Moore then strode to the plate and blasted a three-run home run over the fence in left field to stake Army to a 3-0 advantage.
"The beginning of that at-bat is kind of a blur, but all I remember is getting that hanging curveball with two strikes," said Moore of his three-run home run. "I was able to stay inside of it and backspin it out of here. There was a pretty tough win blowing in today, but fortunately I was able to put it out. It was a very good feeling."
Henshaw followed with a single, stole second and scored on Watkins' RBI single to extend the Black Knights' lead to 4-0.
Sottolano was pleased with the performance of Moore throughout both games of today's doubleheader.
"Clint came back and had a great day today after struggling at the plate yesterday," said Sottolano of his All-American shortstop. "He bounced back with several big knocks for us, and that speaks to his mental toughness, his character and his desire. I'm very proud of him."
Navy began to chip away at Army's lead in the sixth inning as the Midshipmen pushed across three runs to make it 4-3. The first five Navy hitters reached base in the frame, but a double play grounder helped to minimize the damage. Dylan Wheeler walked to lead off the inning and he advanced to second on Andrew Hahn's base hit. Jonathan Wright then hit an RBI single down the left field line to score Wheeler with Navy's first run of the contest. Alex Azor walked to load the bases and Hahn trotted home with the Mids' second run of the frame when Army was called for catcher's interference. Wright scored Navy's third run of the inning when Dave Milanes grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. With runners on the corners, Army reliever Gunnar Carroll got Jeff Bland to ground out to the shortstop, ending the threat.
The Midshipmen took their first lead of the nightcap in the top of the eighth inning as Greg Dupell launched a two-run homer down the right field line. Koenigsfeld retired Hahn and Wright in order to begin the inning, but Azor singled up the middle and Dupell followed with a home run that glanced off the foul pole.
Army came back to tie the score in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Black Knights pieced together a two-out rally. Clayton Mosley was hit by a pitch with two outs and the speedy outfielder came all the way around with the game-tying run on Steve May's RBI double.
"I hit some balls hard throughout the day, but nothing really fell for me," said May of his clutch game-tying double. "It was very nice to have one fall in when the game was on the line for us. I got a fastball up and fouled it off. I just stayed calm, and luckily he gave me another one. The pitch was a little outside, but it was up, so I just took it to right field and it worked out."
Neither team scored in the ninth inning, sending the game to extra innings as daylight started to fade and temperatures began to dip. Koenigsfeld (1-0) retired Navy in order in the top of the 10th inning, setting the stage for Watkins' dramatics in the bottom of the frame.
Koenigsfeld, Henshaw, Watkins and Shaun Wixted each collected two hits apiece in the nightcap as Army outhit Navy, 12-8.
Army starter Scott Lucado was steady for the Black Knights early on, allowing just two runs (one earned) in five innings of work. The junior righty allowed just three hits during his outing. Carroll was solid in relief, tossing two scoreless frames. Koenigsfeld struck out four batters and did not yield a walk in his three-inning stint en route to his first win of the season.
Joel Rinehart (1-1) was saddled with the loss for Navy after yielding Army's game-winning run.
Navy took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the opening game, pushing across an unearned run. The Midshipmen extended their advantage to 3-0 in the fourth inning on Dupell's leadoff home run and Nick Driscoll's sacrifice fly.
Army made things interesting late in the game as the Black Knights scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Price kick-started the sixth-inning rally as he singled, stole second base and scored on Moore's RBI single.
Wixted and Murtle drew consecutive walks to open the seventh inning, and May's sacrifice bunt put two men in scoring position with one out. Sean McIlroy then pinch-hit for David Darnell and he came up with an RBI single to plate Wixted. A wild pitch moved Murtle and McIlroy into scoring position with just one out, but Rinehart retired Price and Koenigsfeld to end the game.
Sam Long (3-3) allowed just one run on six hits in 5.1 innings to earn the victory for Navy. Rinehart worked the final 1.2 innings to record his fourth save of the season.
Army starter Chris Rowley (2-3) went the distance for the Black Knights, allowing just three runs (two earned) on five hits in seven innings of work.
Moore went 2-for-3 with an RBI to pace the Army offensively in the first game. The Black Knights outhit the Midshipmen, 7-5, in the contest.
"To win four straight stars is awesome," said Moore, who combined to go 3-for-8 with four RBI in today's twinbill. "We've won eight straight stars overall, and that kind of gives you chills just thinking about it. I think it goes to show that our program never quits. It was huge to come back and win that second game in the extra innings."
Army will return to action on Tuesday, April 12, when the Black Knights travel to East Orange, N.J., to face Seton Hall. First pitch for the non-league matchup is slated for 3:30 p.m.
Game Notes: Army and Navy have now met 200 times in series history ... the Midshipmen lead the all-time series, 104-96 ... it marked the first four-game series split between Army and Navy since 2001 ... Clint Moore moved into a tie for first place on Army's all-time home runs list with his 28th career homer ... Ben Koenigsfeld is now in sole possession of ninth place on the Academy's all-time wins list with 18 career victories ... Koenigsfeld pitched a season-high three innings and struck out a season-best four batters en route to his first win of the season in the nightcap ... Zach Price extended his hitting streak to eight straight games with base hits in both ends of today's twinbill ... Steve May saw his modest seven-game hit streak snapped in the first game after going 0-for-1 in the contest ... Army wore its pinstripe uniforms with black caps for both games of today's doubleheader.
