Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Lehigh
Lehigh Sweeps Doubleheader From Army
April 17, 2011 | Baseball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Kevin Mihalik went 4-for-7 with four RBI and two runs scored to help Lehigh sweep Army in the teams' Patriot League doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Goodman Campus.
Mihalik's singled and scored during Lehigh's three-run fifth inning that lifted the Mountain Hawks to a 3-2 win in the opener, and his first-inning grand slam keyed an 8-6 victory in the nightcap.
Army (13-18, 6-4 PL) falls into a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings with Navy and Lafayette following today's action. The Midshipmen split with Bucknell this afternoon, while the Leopards split with Holy Cross.
Lehigh (20-14, 5-5 PL) moves into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings after sweeping two games from the Black Knights for the first time since 2003.
Army took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning of the opener as the Black Knights pushed across a pair of runs on three hits. J.T. Watkins and Cody Murtle hit consecutive singles and Shaun Wixted was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Steve May, who came through with a two-run single up the middle to plate both Watkins and Murtle.
Army starter Logan Lee, who faced the minimum and did not allow a hit through the first four innings, ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth as the Mountain Hawks scored three runs on four hits. Mihalik began the uprising as he dropped a looping single into shallow right field. Logan Winchester then lofted a single down the left field line, and Austin Borden walked to load the bases for Brendan Pifer. Lehigh scored its first run on Pifer's fielder's choice groundout to third base, slicing Army's lead to 2-1. Then, with runners on the corners, Chad Warga laid down a bunt to score Winchester from third. Casey Turner followed with a pinch-hit RBI double to deep right-center field to score Warga all the way from first base with the go-ahead run.
Army got a runner to third base with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, but the Black Knights were unable to score the equalizer. Cory Kent came out of the Lehigh bullpen and worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to nail down the victory for the Mountain Hawks.
Lee (3-6) allowed just three runs on six hits in a complete game effort. The junior lefty struck out four and walked two during his outing.
Mike Lebo (3-2) picked up the victory after yielding just two runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
Watkins and Clint Moore each collected two hits apiece for the Black Knights, who outhit the Mountain Hawks by an 8-6 margin. Mihalik and Winchester each went 2-for-3 to pace Lehigh at the plate in the first game of the twinbill.
Lehigh jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the nightcap as Mihalik crushed a grand slam home run to left-center field in the bottom of the first inning. Brendan McGahern was hit by a pitch leading off the frame and Billy Goldman singled to put runners on first and second. Andrew Russell then walked to load the bases for Mihalik, who connected with the grand slam off Army starter Thomas Casey (0-3).
The Mountain Hawks made it 5-0 in the bottom of the second inning as Goldman belted a solo home run over the fence in right field.
Army got two runs back in the top of the third inning as Ben Koenigsfeld and Moore hit back-to-back home runs. Koenigsfeld's homer was a line shot down the right field line, while Moore's dinger was a towering blast that cleared the wall in right-center field.
Lehigh pushed a run across in the bottom of the fourth inning as McGahern reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on Russell's infield single.
Army threatened in the top of the fifth as David Darnell and Zach Price hit consecutive singles to start the inning. Lehigh starter Nick Cassell (1-0) got Koenigsfeld to ground into a double play and then retired Moore on a foul popup to first base to get out of the jam unscathed.
Lehigh extended its advantage to 7-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning as Borden singled and scored on Turner's RBI double.
Army trimmed its deficit to 7-6 in the top of the sixth inning as the Black Knights plated four runs on five hits. Henshaw doubled to left field leading off the frame and he moved to third base on Murtle's single down the left field line. Sean McIlroy then slammed a pinch-hit three-run home run that sailed high over the wall in right-center field and into a grove of pine trees. May followed with a single and he scored on Price's RBI double.
Lehigh added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Warga was hit by a pitch, advanced to second base on Pifer's sacrifice bunt and scored on McGahern's RBI single.
Kent worked around a leadoff single in the top of the ninth inning to pick up his second save of the day.
Price and May both recorded three singles apiece in the nightcap as the Black Knights banged out 13 hits in the contest. Eight different Army players registered at least one base hit as the Black Knights outhit the Mountain Hawks, 13-10.
Cassell earned his first career win after giving up five runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. Casey was saddled with the loss after allowing seven runs on seven hits in four innings. John Buckley pitched one scoreless inning of relief for Army, while Nick Dignacco permitted just one run in three innings of work.
Army and Lehigh will conclude their four-game series on Monday (April 18) with a doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game Notes: Army's all-time record versus Lehigh dips to 67-34 ... the Black Knights had won 11 straight games against the Mountain Hawks entering play today ... Clint Moore's home run was the 29th of his Army career, moving him into sole possession of first place on the Black Knights' all-time ledger ... Moore leads Army with five home runs this season ... Army hit back-to-back home runs for the first time since Moore and Kevin McKague did it against Bucknell in last season's Patriot League Tournament (May 15, 2010) ... Sean McIlroy's home run was the first of his Army career ... McIlroy set a career high with three RBI in the nightcap ... McIlroy is hitting .583 (7-for-12) as a pinch-hitter this season ... Zach Price extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games after recording base hits in both ends of today's doubleheader ... Ben Koenigsfeld has hit safely in six straight games for Army ... Steve May equaled his career high with three hits in the nightcap ... Logan Lee threw his second complete game of the year ... he had not thrown one prior to this season ... Nick Dignacco made his first appearance since March 15 versus Massachusetts ... it marked Dignacco's first career relief appearance ... Army donned its road gray uniforms with black caps for both games of today's doubleheader.
