Army West Point Baseball responded from a Game 1 loss to Navy in an emphatic way in Game 2 of March 24's doubleheader at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, securing a split in what was the squad's Patriot League opening day.
Justin Lehman powered the Black Knights after a 5-2 loss in the opening matchup, earning the win on the mound and recording an RBI at the plate as Army prevailed 8-1 in the late contest. Army has now won 10 of its past 12 games against the Midshipmen and is 13-3 in its last 16 against service academy rivals. Game 1A fast start wasn't to be in Game 1 of the twin bill.Army struck first with a Braden Golinski sacrifice fly to score Derek Berg. However, the Midshipmen answered with a trio of runs in the second.The Black Knights cut the deficit to one a frame later, when Sam Ruta had the team's second sacrifice fly of the game. But Navy responded by adding runs in the fourth and the fifth to go ahead by three. Mike Ruggieri went five innings, striking out five and walking just one. Trey Ates recorded a perfect sixth inning out of the bullpen.Berg went 2-for-3 with two doubles, and Chris Barr went 2-for-4.Game 2While Navy continued its momentum from Game 1 to open the scoring in Game 2, the Black Knight bats came alive in the third inning. Berg doubled to left center before Golinski and William Parker registered sacrifice flies to make it 3-1 Army.Parker continued his stellar afternoon in the fifth, with a two-run single to stretch the Army lead to four runs. Lehman and Barr then each drove in runs in the eighth to create plentiful separation late. Matthew Ronnebaum tossed 2.2 clean innings out of the bullpen. In total, Parker had three RBIs in Game 2. Barr and Berg each had multi-hit games. By the Numbers4-for-7: Berg was a combined 4-for-7 across both games Sunday, with four doubles.5-for-9: Barr was 5-for-9 in the doubleheader. 3.1: Army was forced to use just 3.1 innings of relief pitching, with the help of lengthy starts from Ruggieri and Lehman. 3: The Black Knight pitching issued just three walks total in both games; the defense committed just one combined error. Black Knight Notes* Sunday's doubleheader was not a matchup in the Star Series presented by USAA. The Baseball Star will be decided by a three-game series between the teams at West Point on April 26-28.* Barr returned to the starting lineup after missing 10 games due to injury. * Ronnebaum logged his first career at-bat in the ninth inning of Game 2, fouling out to right field. He batted for himself due to the designated hitter being burned when Lehman moved from pitcher to first base earlier in the game. * Per Patriot League rules regarding doubleheaders, Game 1 was seven innings and Game 2 was nine innings. * Parker has reached base in 20 consecutive games.