Baseball Bombards Air Force

Saturday, March 2

Sugar Land, Texas

6 PM ET / 5 PM CT

Army West Point

5-4

Air Force

4-6

ARMY West Point

AIR FORCE

Baseball Bombards Air Force

March 02, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score Cumulative Stats Photo Gallery

SUGAR LAND, Texas – Army West Point Baseball rode early runs and multiple crooked number innings to a 13-2, run rule win Saturday night over service academy rivals Air Force in seven innings.

The Black Knights (5-4) set the tone with a run in each of the opening innings, before a three-run third and a six-run fourth opened the floodgates at Constellation Field.

Army moves to 1-1 at the Peak Events Battle at the Ballpark showcase, with one more game to play.

Sam Ruta opened the scoring with an RBI groundout, and Ethan Ellis scored on a fielding error an inning later.

After Air Force got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning, Braden Golinski and Ellis each recorded third inning RBIs, and Ruta scored on a throwing error as Army took a 6-1 lead.

Derek Berg scored on Air Force's third error of the night in the fourth inning, and Golinski followed with a two-run triple two plate appearances later. Coleson Titus brought home Golinski, and Thomas Schreck completed the 10-batter frame with a two-out single to make it 11-1.

Army tacked on another pair in the seventh, on a William Parker two-RBI single.

On the mound, Matthew Ronnebaum pitched a complete game, striking out seven Falcons. The Kansas native allowed two runs. Ronnebaum's lengthy outing was his third in a service academy win over the past two seasons, logging 5.0 innings or more in wins last season against both Air Force and Navy.

By the Numbers

7: The number of innings and strikeouts for Ronnebaum.

2-for-2: Barr was 2-for-2 Saturday night with three walks. The Sarasota, Fla. native is 7-for-11 over the past three games, with four walks and two RBIs.

3-for-5: Golinski was 3-for-5 with three RBI.

4: Four Black Knights had multiple hits (Barr, Golinski, Titus, Parker).

3: Three Black Knights had multiple RBIs (Golinski, Parker, Schreck).

9: Army drew nine walks, just one short of its season-high against Louisiana Tech Friday night.

Black Knight Notes

Ruta has logged a hit in each game this season, and Barr has also reached base in each game.

Army improved to 12-2 in its past 14 games against service academy rivals.

The Black Knights have won three of their past four against Air Force.

Army's 13 runs were the most against a fellow service academy since defeating Air Force 17-2 on Feb. 15, 2019.

Army's six-run fourth inning was the highest single-inning scoring output against a service academy since April 1, 2013, when the Black Knights scored six in the eighth inning at home in a 14-7 win over Navy.

Next Up

Army will conclude its weekend in Texas with a 1:00 p.m. ET matchup Sunday against Creighton.

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.