Army-Bucknell Split DH to Force Decisive Game 3

Saturday, May 12

West Point, N.Y.

12 p.m.

Army West Point

31-22

Bucknell (Semifinals)

17-25-1

Bucknell

Army West Point

Army-Bucknell Split DH to Force Decisive Game 3

May 13, 2018 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point baseball team split a doubleheader with Bucknell here Saturday in the Patriot League tournament semifinals.

The Black Knights dropped the opener, 4-1, before taking the nightcap 11-7. The two teams will now play one final contest on Sunday to determine the series winner. That game is scheduled for a noon first pitch at Doubleday Field and will be carried live on the Patriot League Network. Sunday's winner will play the winner of the Navy/Holy Cross series, which is knotted at 1-1 after their twin bill on Saturday in Annapolis, Md.

Trey Martin and Jon Rosoff led the Army charge on Saturday finishing 5-for-8 and 6-for-10, respectively. Martin recorded a team-best four runs batted in, while Rosoff accounted for a team-high three runs scored.

Tyler Giovinco was credited with the tough loss in the opener, after pitching 6.0 innings allowing just two hits and two runs. Daniel Burggraaf notched the win in Game 2, shifting his season record to 7-2. The junior gave up only a three-run home run in the second inning for his lone blemish on the day.

In the opener, the Bison got on the board quickly with a run in the first frame following a sacrifice fly ball.

The Black Knights knotted the score after Rosoff touched home plate in the fourth inning. The senior started the frame singling to right field. He shifted to second on a wild pitch before back-to-back sacrifice bunts brought him home.

The visitors broke the deadlock in the seventh with two runs on two hits to create a 3-1 gap between the teams.

Army tried to answer but one final run by the Bison in the ninth ultimately put the game away.

The Cadets flipped the script in the second game, scoring two runs early in the first inning. The Black Knights added an additional run in the top of the second but the Bison would erase any lead following their two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the inning.

Army quickly broke the 3-3 tie with three runs on two hits in the third frame. Josh White, Anthony Giachin and Trey Martin all touched home during the inning.

The Black Knights tacked on two more runs in the fifth after Anfernee Crompton's two-out, two-RBI single scored John McKenna and Drake Titus. That hit made it an 8-3 ballgame.

The two teams then finally gave way to the weather, which had been a consistent rainfall for nearly the entire day. Despite multiple attempts by the Army grounds crew to keep the field playable, the umpires finally made the call to tarp the field in the top of the seventh.

After more than an hour-and-a-half rain delay, the two teams resumed play around 9:02 p.m.

Army plated three additional runs in the eighth to create an 11-3 advantage.

The Bison wouldn't go away though, scoring one run in the bottom of the eighth and three runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull within 11-7. Fortunately, the Black Knights registered the final out of the contest to force a Game 3 on Sunday.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Rosoff and McKenna both notched a double in the twin bill for their 14th and eighth of the season, respectively.
Martin drilled his first triple of the year in the second game.
Jacob Hurtubise, McKenna and White all touched home plate twice in the games, while Hurtubise, Titus and Giachin each registered an RBI.
Titus earned Army's lone stolen base on the day.
Army used seven pitchers throughout the doubleheader.
The Black Knights pitching staff accumulated 19 strikeouts, while the Bison staff compiled 15.
Burggraaf led the team with eight on the day, marking his fifth-straight outing in which he's tallied eight or more strikeouts.
The Cadets registered six extra base hits in the games to three for Bucknell.
Both teams turned a double play on the day.

FACTS & FIGURES

Army finished with 12 runs on 20 hits, while Bucknell compiled 11 runs on 11 hits.
The Black Knights were credited with three errors in the games to just two for the Bison.
The Cadets left 18 runners on base for the day. Bucknell stranded 12.

UP NEXT

These two teams will play one final contest on Sunday to determine the series winner.
First pitch is slated for noon at Doubleday Field.
The winner advances to the Patriot League tournament Championship series.