Baseball Heads to Florida for Second Weekend of Season

DeLAND, Fla. – Army West Point Baseball is back in action this weekend at Stetson University, for a round robin of matchups against Fordham, Stetson and Maine at Melching Field at Conrad Park.

The Black Knights (2-2) will open the weekend Friday at Noon against in-state foe Fordham. Army will face hosts Stetson Saturday at 5:00 p.m. before concluding the slate in Central Florida with a 9:00 a.m. matchup against Maine.

Fans can follow the action along this weekend on Stetson's live stats platform. A live stream is unavailable. Tickets are also available on Stetson's website for fans making the trip in person.

Notes and Storylines

» Army went 2-2 to open their season last weekend in Cary, N.C., defeating Monmouth twice but falling in a pair of games to Penn State.

» INF Sam Ruta is off to a hot start to 2024, going 9-for18 at the plate last weekend with three home runs and a 1.667 OPS. The Yardley, Pa. native also had nine RBIs to open the season.

» The Black Knights received excellent starting pitching debuts from RHPs Matthew Ronnebaum and Bryce Brownlee opening weekend. Ronnebaum went 6.2 innings with four strikeouts and just two runs allowed against Monmouth on opening day. Two days later, Brownlee went 5.2 frames scoreless and allowed just five total baserunners as the Black Knights moved to 2-0 against Monmouth.

Series History

Army will look for its third consecutive win over Fordham when the teams meet Friday. Against Stetson, the Black Knights are 2-2 all-time and will renew a series last played in 2018. Army meanwhile is 4-2 against Maine all time.

Behind Enemy Lines

» Fordham is still seeking its first win of the season. The Rams faced No. 1 Wake Forest, Akron and Illinois last week in a round robin at Wake Forest. The team from the Bronx will rely on C Tommy McAndrews, who batted .400 last weekend, as well as 1B Steve Luttazi, who had two home runs and a 1.151 OPS across opening week.

The Rams went 19-36 last season with a 7-17 mark in A-10 play.

» Atlantic Sun Conference foe Stetson is coming off a 2-2 weekend at home last week against West Virginia. OF Kyle Jones was .500 at the plate against the Power Five opponent, and four different Hatters recorded home runs.

Stetson was 35-23, and 20-10 last year in the ASun.

» Army will face fellow 2023 NCAA Tournament participant Maine in the weekend finale Sunday. The Black Bears are defending America East Conference Tournament champions. However, like Fordham, Maine is also looking for its first win of the year, having gone 0-3 last week against Pittsburgh in Port Charlotte, Fla.

Maine is led at the plate by INF Jake Marquez (.531 AVG; 1.893 OPS) and OF Zach Martin (.455 AVG; 1.045 OPS).

Next Up

Army will be back in action March 1-3 at Constellation Field in Sugarland, Texas. They'll be playing Louisiana Tech, service academy rival Air Force, and Creighton in the Battle of the Ballpark event.

Follow the Black Knights

Follow Army Baseball on X @ArmyWP_Baseball and on Instagram @armywp_baseball. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about baseball and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.

Baseball Heads to Florida for Second Weekend of Season

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Brownlee

Matthew Ronnebaum

Sam Ruta

Army West Point Athletics