Army Grounds Air Force, 17-2, in Season Opener

Friday, February 15

Baton Rouge, La.

12 p.m. CT (1 p.m. ET)

Army West Point

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Air Force

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Army West Point

Air Force

Army Grounds Air Force, 17-2, in Season Opener

February 15, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Army West Point baseball team kicked off its 2019 season in a big way here Friday afternoon after it defeated service-academy rival Air Force, 17-2, in the teams' season opener.

Anthony Giachin was the man of the day, finishing an impressive 5-for-5 in his season debut. The sophomore registered three extra base hits in two doubles and one home run to rack up eight runs batted in. That tied an Academy record for most in a game and was the first time a cadet achieved that feat since Mike Scioletti did so against New York Tech in 1997.

Tyler Giovinco got the opening day start on the mound and had a very solid outing. The senior allowed just three hits and two earned runs in 6.0 innings of work. The Las Vegas, Nev., native added six strikeouts in his first win of the year.

Jacob Hurtubise chipped in four hits in five at bats and touched home plate five times, which also tied a program record. He became the first Black Knight to do so since Andy Ernesto racked up five runs against Lehigh back in 2009.

Three other Cadets tallied multiple hits in the game in Andre Walden, Josh White, and Jeremiah Adams. White and Adams posted multiple RBI in the contest as well with three and two, respectively.

Anthony LoRicco and Ben DeLaubell closed out the final three innings for the Cadets on the hill, giving up just two hits between them.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army recorded its first opening day victory since 2010.
The Black Knights are now 2-8 in season openers in the last 10 years.
The 17 runs put up against Air Force on Friday were the second-most in the series after the Falcons' tallied 19 during 1995.
The 15-run win, however, was the largest margin of victory in the series, surpassing Air Force's 13-run win back in 2000.
White blasted his sixth career long ball in the sixth inning to hand the Black Knights an eight-run advantage at the time.
Giachin recorded his third career homer and his first career two-double game.
The sophomore became the first Black Knight player to register five hits in a contest since John McCarthy did so during the 2017 season.
He was also one triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
Army's pitching staff combined to strike out nine batters, while Air Force fanned just four.
Carter Macias made his first collegiate start, while Walden and Adams each earned their first career starts in a Black Knights uniform.
DeLaubell, Blake Ledoux and LoRicco also saw action in their first career game for Army.

How It Happened

The Black Knights jumped out to a quick 3-0 advance following the first frame thanks in part to a White single up the middle.
Army added two additional runs in the second frame after Giachin and Walden picked up an RBI.
The Falcons cut into the lead in the bottom of the second and fifth to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
Fortunately, the Cadets offense exploded for 12 unanswered runs to ultimately put the game away. Six of the Black Knights' final 13 hits were for extra bases, including Giachin and White's home runs.

FACTS & FIGURES

Army notched 17 runs on 18 hits, while Air Force posted two runs on five hits.
Neither team recorded an error in the game.
The Cadets left eight runners on base. Air Force stranded six.

UP NEXT

Army will take on its host, LSU, in a Saturday matinee beginning at 2 p.m. Central (3 p.m. ET).
The contest is set for Alex Box Stadium and will have live video, stats and audio available.