Baseball Drops Series Opener at No. 4 Vanderbilt

Friday, February 25

Nashville, TN

5:30 PM

Army West Point

1-3

Vanderbilt

3-2

Army

Vanderbilt

Baseball Drops Series Opener at No. 4 Vanderbilt

February 25, 2022 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A six-run sixth inning caused Army West Point Baseball to drop its series-opener against No. 4 Vanderbilt on Friday night, as the team fell 7-2 at Hawkins Field.

In addition to the Commodores' unanswered outburst, the result of the game was influenced by a pair of Black Knight (1-3) errors and seven issued walks. Despite the freebies, Army's pitching staff successfully limited Vanderbilt (3-2) to a season-low five hits.

The Cadets were the first to get on the board, striking in the fourth following a quiet first few innings. After drawing a leadoff, full-count walk, Sam Ruta scored on Nick Manesis' RBI single to award the team a 1-0 lead.

Connelly Early, who tossed three scoreless frames to start the night, was relieved by Tanner Gresham in the bottom half of the fourth after walking the leadoff batter. The Commodores capitalized on the change and knotted up the score with an RBI groundout, but Gresham prevented the home team from taking the lead by ending the inning with a swinging punchout.

Thanks to Andre Walden, the score did not remain knotted for long as he got Army its run back in the next inning. Using a one-out walk to get on base, he went on to steal a bag before advancing to third on a wild pitch. The senior then used his speed to beat out a play at the plate and regain the Black Knights' advantage at 2-1.

Though Gresham retired the side in the bottom of the fifth, the home team's consequential scoring spree took place in the following inning. Vanderbilt first tied things up with a wild pitch before an error and two RBI walks allowed the team to plate four additional runs for its first lead of the night. An RBI fielder's choice extended the edge to 7-2 before Teddy Lepcio, one of three Cadet arms to appear in the inning, recorded out number three.

After the six-spot, Brian Dawson effectively shut down the Commodore offense, retiring six-straight while recording three strikeouts in his first appearance of the year. On the other side of the ball, Army worked a runner on in both the seventh and eighth innings and managed to load the bases up in the ninth, but the team was unable bring any Cadets in.

Gresham was tagged with the loss, moving him to 0-1 on the year.

Coach's Corner
"The guys played a great game. If we clean up a few things, like a couple walks and a couple errors, it would've changed things. The guys are getting after it. They're competing very well and doing everything they can to get better. We just have to play a more complete game. Especially when you're playing one of the best teams in the country. You can't give them extra outs. We gave them a few of those tonight and they took advantage of it." - Head Coach Jim Foster

Cadet's Corner
"Tonight's game was not what we wanted, but I think the biggest thing to take away is just minimizing that one big inning. We need to continue to stay in the game, both hitters and pitchers. Each side needs to help the other out and we need to be able to respond whenever they hit us. We're ready for another chance tomorrow." - Brian Dawson

What's Next
The series between the Black Knights and the Commodores will continue tomorrow with a game at 3 p.m. EST. The series finale is scheduled for a 2 p.m. EST first pitch on Sunday afternoon.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Baseball, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Baseball and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.