Baseball Captures Regular Season Title with Defeat of Bucknell

Sunday, May 1

West Point, NY

1 PM

Army West Point

22-20, 15-6

Bucknell

19-23, 14-11

BUCKNELL

Army

Baseball Captures Regular Season Title with Defeat of Bucknell

May 01, 2022 | Baseball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point baseball team came from behind to win a 6-5 ballgame over Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Johnson Stadium and with it, captured the 2022 Patriot League Regular Season Championship.

After splitting Saturday's doubleheader with the Bison (19-23, 14-11 PL), the Black Knights (22-20, 15-6 PL) scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn the series win along with the team's first regular season title since 2018.

The tandem of Sean Dennehy (4-2) and Tanner Gresham (5 SV) was credited with the win and the save, respectively, and combined for the final seven outs of the contest. The game was tight until the very end, as Bucknell stranded a runner on third base in the each of the final two frames. The visitors nearly tied the game up in the top of the ninth when a Bison reached third with just one out on the board, but a strikeout and a foul ball caught by catcher Coleson Titus ended the game.

Nick Manesis highlighted the bats with a 2-for-4 performance that saw him hit a home run over the center field wall at Doubleday Field and turn in a game-high three RBI. Manesis was one of four Cadets that contributed a multi-hit game and was joined in the RBI column by both Ross Friedrick and Braden Golinski, who chipped in one apiece.

Though Army did force a tie at one point, the eighth-inning advantage was its first of the game as Bucknell controlled the action early on. The Bison first struck in the opening frame when they plated three runs opposite starting arm Anthony LoRicco. A costly error, one of four committed by the Cadets throughout the day, made two of them unearned.

Friedrick answered the early push with an RBI single in the bottom of the first that scored Hunter Meade. While LoRicco was able to retire the side in the second, he got into trouble in the following inning when a one-out solo shot re-extended the visitors' edge to 4-1. The starter then left the game with a runner on first, handing the ball over to Brian Dawson who recorded the final two outs on strikes.

Meade and Kevin Dubrule led off the home team's half of the frame by getting on board with a walk and a single. Manesis later stepped up to the plate with two outs and hit a 406-foot bomb to dead center field that tied up the score at 4-4.

The teams did not remain knotted up for long, as the Bison used an RBI fielder's choice to regain the lead at 5-4 in the top of the fourth. Army struggled with timely hitting over the next few frames and stranded the tying run in three-straight. On the other side of the ball, Dawson faced the minimum in both the fifth and the sixth before he was relieved by Dennehy in the seventh.

Army's thrilling comeback began in the bottom of the eighth when a new arm issued back-to-back singles to Manesis and Carter Macias to lead things off. After Golinski plated the tying run with an RBI groundout, Macias came in to score on a ball that was bobbled by Bucknell's second baseman and put the Black Knights on top.

With a 6-5 lead and the regular season title on the line, Army opted to bring Gresham out of the bullpen to finish the game. Despite issuing a pair of one-out singles, the closer took a Bison down looking before Titus' fateful catch ended the contest.

Coach's Corner
"I'm proud of the guys. It's been an up-and-down season with differrent guys being [hurt]. We're trying to get everybody out there and get healthy ... But we just need to play. I'm proud of them. They hung in there and did just enough and picked eachother up. It was not pretty, but ... that's what we do. We work our way through it and find a way to get it done. Guys are stepping up and getting each others' backs. That's what I'm most excited to see. It's great to be in the playoffs again and we're looking forward to hosting." - Head Coach Jim Foster

Cadets' Corner

?? Nick Manesis (2-4, HR)
?? Sean Dennehy (W)
?? Tanner Gresham (SV)

Hear what these three key contributors had to say about today's ??. ?? #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/7GKiMelOSB
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) May 1, 2022

What's Next
Army has locked up the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will host a semifinal series May 14-15 at Johnson Stadium. The championship is set to be played May 20-22. Before the postseason begins, the Black Knights have a pair of midweek games against LIU (Tuesday, May 3) and Manhattan (Wednesday, May 4), as well as a pair of conference doubleheaders to close out the regular season against Lehigh (Saturday, May 7) and Lafayette (Sunday, May 8). The contest against the Mountain Hawks will serve as the Cadets' senior day.

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.