Army West Point Athletics

Baseball Falls Twice Closing Out Trip to Kansas State
March 05, 2023 | Baseball
GAME 1 – Stonehill 7, Army 4
Trailing 4-0 after five innings, the Black Knights rallied behind a three-run sixth keyed by Sam Ruta's solo homer, Braden Golinski's RBI groundout and Bret Copeland's run-scoring single, as Army collected three of its eight hits drawing to 4-3.
Reliever Steven Graver, who took over for Army in the fifth, retired the side in the top of the seventh on a double play. Black Knight Derek Berg's leadoff homer in the bottom knotted the score 4-4.
Stonehill's Jack Iannibelli (1-0) took over the mound with one out with runners at second and third in the eighth. Following a strikeout, he loaded the bases on a hit batsman before nipping Army's rally on a groundout.
The Skyhawks snapped the tie on Ryan Flahert's first hit of the game, a three-run blast, in the top of the ninth.
Army threatened in the home half with two outs, but Ray Douglas nixed that when he came into the game and got the next batter on a flyout to right field to pick up the safe. Black Knight Mike Ruggieri (2-1) was tagged with the loss.
GAME 2 – Kansas State 14, Army 8
The Black Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first keyed by a pair of solo home runs by Derek Berg and Ross Friedrick.
Kansas (7-5) tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the second and broke it on Brady Day's two run homer in the third to pull ahead 5-3.
Army (5-6) rallied in the fifth with Friedrick (2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored) doubling in the first run and the next two scoring on sacrifice flys by Kevin Dubrule and Braden Golinski to pull ahead 6-5.
After Kansas State answered with three runs in the sixth (8-6), Army tied it 8-8 on Dubrule's two run shot in the seventh. The Wildcats scored six runs over their final two frames to put the game in the books.
Shay Hartis picked up the win after yielding two hits and a pair of runs over the final five innings with Army's Mike Ruggieri (2-1) tagged with the loss.
NEXT UP
The Black Knights continue their road trip during spring break, taking on Arkansas Tuesday, March 7, before heading to Ohio for a three-game series with Wright State (March 10-12).
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jack Iannibelli (1-0)
L: Buecker, Robbie (1-1)
S: Ryan Douglas (1)
Batting:
HR: Trey Ciulla-Hall 1 ; Ryan Flaherty 1 ; Taylor Gaspar 1
RBI: Trey Ciulla-Hall 3 ; Ryan Flaherty 3 ; Taylor Gaspar 1
SH: Mike Swanholm 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Conor Kiely 1 ; Trey Ciulla-Hall 1 ; Ryan Douglas 1 ; Will Florio 1 ; Ryan Flaherty 2 ; Taylor Gaspar 1
SB: Sam Parks 1
HBP: Chris Roberti 1

Batting:
2B: Copeland, Bret 1
HR: Berg, Derek 1 ; Ruta, Sam 1
RBI: Berg, Derek 1 ; Ruta, Sam 1 ; Golinski, Braden 1 ; Copeland, Bret 1
SH: Dubrule, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Berg, Derek 1 ; Ruta, Sam 1 ; Friedrick, Ross 1 ; Lehman, Justin 1
SB: Lehman, Justin 1
CS: Ruta, Sam 1 ; Golinski, Braden 1
HBP: Ainsworth, Addison 1