Army Postseason Bound After Doubleheader Sweep

Saturday, May 4

Bethlehem, Pa.

12 p.m.

Army West Point

27-21, 0

Lehigh

20-26, 0

Army West Point

Lehigh

Andre Walden and Anthony Giachin celebrate after Giachin recorded a home run against Navy

Army Postseason Bound After Doubleheader Sweep

May 04, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Army West Point baseball team earned its third-straight postseason berth here Saturday afternoon following a twin bill sweep of Lehigh.

The Black Knights registered a 3-2, seven-inning win in the opener before taking a thrilling 8-7, 13-inning win in the nightcap.

While the Cadets know they are playoff bound they are still unsure about their seed in the Patriot League Tournament. They are currently tied with Holy Cross for second place at 14-9 with two games remaining. The Crusaders hold the tiebreaker over Army though after having won the season series, 3-2.

Jacob Hurtubise finished an impressive 5-for-8 in the doubleheader, while Anthony Giachin followed closely behind at 4-for-9.

Andre Walden reeled in a team-high four runs batted in and they all came from one swing of the bat as he drilled his first career grand slam in a Black and Gold uniform during Game 2. Trey Martin added three RBI to Army's final total as well.

Tyler Giovinco and Cam Opp were both credited with wins. Giovinco allowed six hits and two runs in 6.1 innings during the opener, while Opp pitched 5.0 innings of relief work in the nightcap giving up just one walk. Both earned multiple strikeouts as well with Giovinco notching six and Opp five.

A highlight from the day was Hurtubise breaking Army's career walks record. The junior now has 126 to his name. Giachin also tied the Black Knights' single-season doubles record after notching two in the games on Saturday. The Livingston, N.J., native sits tied with Kevin McKague's 2008 mark of 19.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights advanced to the Patriot League Tournament for the third-straight season.
10 of the Cadets' 11 runs on the day came with two outs.
Army posted eight extra base hits to just five for Lehigh. Seven of those eight were doubles.
Giachin touched home plate an impressive three times, while Walden crossed twice.
Walden drilled his fifth home run of the year, which ties him with Giachin for second on the team.
Hurtubise, Martin (2x) and Walden (2x) all tallied a stolen base on the day.
Hurtubise pulled within four of breaking the Patriot League steals record (99) as he now sits with 96 in his career.
Both teams turned a double play on the day.
Harry Flannery Jr. recorded his second save of the year after coming in to earn the final two outs of Game 1.
Sam Messina started the nightcap and allowed three hits, five runs, three of which were earned, and three walks in 5.0 innings.
Mike Gagliardi, Jacob Carte, and Anthony LoRicco each saw action in Game 2 as well.

How It Happened - Game 1

Jeremiah Adams broke the scoreless deadlock in the fourth after he converted on a sacrifice fly to center field to score Giachin for the 1-0 edge. Giachin led off the frame with a double before advancing to third on a wild pitch one batter later.
The Black Knights added to their lead in the sixth following a two-out, two-RBI single by Tim Simoes. His knock brought home Giachin and Blake Ledoux for the 3-0 edge.
Lehigh wouldn't go away though, posting two runs on two hits in the seventh to make things interesting late. Fortunately for Army, Flannery Jr. came in to register the final two outs to secure the win.

How It Happened - Game 2

The Mountain Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first after a Ryan Malloy double brought home two runs.
The Cadets cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fourth following an RBI-single by Martin but Lehigh responded in the bottom half with an additional two unearned runs to make it a 4-1 ballgame after four.
Another run by the home team in the fifth increased their advantage to 5-1.
The Black Knights would battle back in the seventh following a two-out rally. Carter Macias, Giachin and John McKenna all found themselves on base with two outs. That's when Walden stepped into the batter's box and cleared the bases with a blast over the left center fence to knot the score at 5-5.
Lehigh responded back in the bottom half with two runs on one hit to create a 7-5 gap between the teams.
Again, the Cadets sparked a two-out rally to tie the game in the ninth. This time it was Martin who came up with the big hit as the senior launched a double into the right center gap to plate Anfernee Crompton and Simoes.
Army then held on in the bottom half to force extra innings.
The game remained tied at 7-7 over the next three frames until Adams posted what ended up being the game-winning RBI-double to right center in the 13th inning. His hit brought home Martin, who had singled and stole second during the previous at bat.
Opp then closed the door on the Mountain Hawks with a 1-2-3 frame to earn the doubleheader sweep.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Black Knights finished with 11 runs on 23 hits, while Lehigh registered nine runs on 11 hits.
Both teams posted an error on the day with Army being tagged with two and the Mountain Hawks' one.
The Cadets stranded 23 runners on base. Lehigh left 13.

UP NEXT

Army travels to Lafayette on Sunday to close out its Patriot League regular season schedule.
The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Live stats and video will be available at the start of each game.