Baseball Hosts Navy for Patriot League Championship Series

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Baseball's quest for its sixth consecutive Patriot League Tournament Championship will be determined against rival Navy.

Having escaped elimination in the league semifinal series against Bucknell with a pair of late comeback wins Monday, Army will begin the best-of-three championship series Sunday.

ESPN+ will broadcast each game from Doubleday Field, with Game 2 slated for Monday and an if necessary Game 3 on Tuesday. Each game in the series will start at 1:05 p.m.

Notes and Storylines

» The Black Knights are five-time defending Patriot League Tournament Champions, and will seek a sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Army possesses the longest active streak of consecutive conference tournament titles in NCAA Division I Baseball.

» The Patriot League Tournament Championship series pits two seasoned rivals, after a razor-thin regular season series.

Army secured a thrilling series win over Navy April 26-28, in a series Baseball America described as the best in the country that week.

Game 1 saw Justin Lehman deliver a complete-game, 129-pitch shutout with eight strikeouts as the Black Knights scored their only run on a fifth-inning squeeze bunt from Coleson Titus. It was enough to win 1-0.

After falling in Game 2, Army rallied in Sunday's Game 3 to claim the Baseball Star. Addison Ainsworth doubled in the tying run in the ninth inning before Chris Barr's walk-off base knock to the right-center gap to score pinch-runner Zak Farrell.

Army allowed just eight total runs in the series win. In addition to Lehman's gem Friday, Mike Ruggieri (Saturday, 6.0 IP) and Matthew Ronnebaum (Sunday, 7.0 IP) had quality starts.

Army has won the Star three years in a row. Dating back to 2022, Army has won 12 of the past 15 over Navy. The all-time series, which dates to 1901, is 130-130 stalemate.

Army is the tournament's No. 1 seed, with Navy the No. 2 seed. The programs have met seven times in the Patriot League Tournament, including five times in the championship series, most recently in 2019 in Annapolis. The Black Knights are 4-1 all-time over Navy in Patriot League Championship series, and 5-2 overall in playoff series (including one single semifinal game in 2007). The teams will play at West Point in the postseason for the first time in Patriot League history.

» Army knocked off Bucknell May 13 in consecutive elimination games, after dropping Game 1 of the best-of-three series May 11.

In Game 2 of the series, the first game May 13, the Black Knights came back from 7-2 down in the seventh inning to tie the game, before taking the lead in the eighth inning en route to a 9-7 win. Later Monday, with the season once again on the line, Army hung four runs in the eighth inning to rally from 5-2 down to win 6-5, and secure a spot in the league championship series. Dating back to 2018, Army has won 10 consecutive Patriot LeagueTournament elimination games.

» Army's bullpen combined for just one earned run allowed in 11.2 innings pitched in the semifinal series against Bucknell.

» Justin Lehman has enjoyed a breakout season on both the mound and at the plate, and was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year.

Having pitched in 11 games and started in 10, Lehman's 1.85 ERA is best in the Patriot League, and slots third in the nation.

In March 24's doubleheader Game 2 win at Navy, the native of Fort Mill, S.C. (Charlotte suburbs) earned the win with 6.1 innings pitched, three strikeouts and just one run allowed. He then moved to first base for the remainder of the matchup and drove in a run in the eighth inning.

On April 26 against Navy at home, Lehman gave up just three hits and induced a trio of double plays in the first three innings, tossing a complete-game, nine-inning, 129-pitch shutout. He went 21 batters without allowing a hit in the first through eighth innings, and had five innings where he sat the Midshipmen down in order.

Eight of Lehman's starts have been five frames or longer, with six starts of six-plus innings and four seven-plus inning starts. The junior has also pitched two of Army's complete games in 2024.

Not to be outdone by his pitching performance, Lehman also came up big with his bat late Monday, delivering the pinch-hit, game-tying two-RBI single against Bucknell in the eighth inning to make it 5-5. Army took the lead two at-bats later to secure its spot in the championship series.

» RHP Tanner Gresham made his first appearance in 372 days on April 27 against Navy, after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The 2023 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year had a scoreless ninth inning in his first appearance, with one strikeout. Gresham returned May 4 to throw an inning against Lehigh, and had his first win of the season in Game 2 of the league semifinals May 13 vs. Bucknell.

» In D1 Baseball's Week 12 Player Position Rankings, the outlet slotted Derek Berg as the No. 13 catcher nationally, Sam Ruta as the No. 34 third baseman in the country, and Justin Lehman as the No. 106 starting pitcher.

Behind Enemy Lines

» Like Army, Navy was forced to win twice in one day to advance to the championship series. Playing Holy Cross in the Patriot League Semifinal Series in Annapolis, the Mids dropped Game 1 Friday before taking two from the Crusaders Saturday.

» Starting pitcher Tyler Grenn was named to the Patriot League All-League First Team. Relief pitcher Nolan Jorgenson and second baseman Brock Murtha each made the Second Team. Shortstop Eduardo Diaz meanwhile won the conference's Defensive Player of the Year Accolades.

» The Mids are 28-21 and were 15-10 in the Patriot League regular season.

» Murtha's .349 AVG leads the team, with Logan Keller's six home runs being a team-high.

» Navy boasts two starting pitchers with sub-five ERAs, Tyler Grenn (3.63) and Brady Bendik (4.48).

Next Up

With a series win, Army can punch its ticket to the NCAA Baseball Regionals. The bracket reveal will be held May 27.

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 Hosts Navy for Patriot League Championship Series

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Players Mentioned

Addison Ainsworth

Chris Barr

Derek Berg

Tanner Gresham

Justin Lehman

Matthew Ronnebaum

Mike Ruggieri

Sam Ruta

Coleson Titus

Army West Point Athletics