Army West Point Baseball had little trouble sweeping its doubleheader at Bucknell on March 25, moving to 3-1 in Patriot League play and becoming winners of three straight games.
After dispatching the Bison 9-1 in a scheduled seven-inning Game 1, the Black Knights ferociously cut into the Bucknell pitching in Game 2, winning 21-5 in a mercy rule-shortened contest. In the second game, William Parker tied a single-game program record with eight RBIs, matching a total set by Anthony Giachin vs. Air Force on Feb. 15, 2019.With the wins, Army is back at .500 on the season, evening its record at 12-12. Game 1The Black Knights never trailed in Game 1, as Andrew Berg delivered a masterpiece on the mound.With his brother, Derek, as his battery mate, the sophomore from Conroe, Texas, tossed 6.1 frames, striking out eight and allowing just one unearned run. His strikeout and innings pitched outputs were both career-highs. Twice, the righty was able to escape jams unscathed. Berg stranded runners on the corners in the third and another pair of runners in the fourth.Joel Rubin recorded the last two outs of the game, in just two pitches. After Derek Berg got Army on the board with a third inning solo home run, the Black Knights scored in the fourth on a balk, a two-run single from Derek Berg and a Chris Barr RBI single. A fielder's choice off the bat of Thomas Schreck made it 6-0 Army in the fifth before Bucknell got on the scoreboard with an unearned run. Parker's two-RBI double and an Ethan Ellis sacrifice fly in the sixth put the game out of reach for the Bison.Game 2Unlike the early matchup — when it took until the fourth inning to create separation — Army opened the floodgates in the first inning in Game 2. The Black Knights scored in each inning except the second, and exploded for seven runs in the sixth. Five Army hitters had multiple hits, led by Berg and Parker with 4-for-5 games. After Ruta had an RBI single in the first, Parker launched a grand slam to left field to make it 5-0. Justin Lehman tripled and scored in the third before the Bisons got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning. In the fourth, Lehman got back into the stat sheet with an RBI double before Bucknell plated a pair to make it 10-3. Parker had his fifth RBI in the fifth, but the Bisons answered with another run of their own to cut the deficit to 11-4.The Black Knights hung a crooked number in the sixth, with a Barr two-run single, a Parker three-run double, an Ellis sacrifice fly and a fielding error from the Bucknell catcher. Ruta logged another RBI in the seventh, and two more runs off Bucknell errors gift-wrapped the afternoon. Steven Graver started on the mound and threw three innings. Bryce Brownlee struck out five over five innings and picked up the win. By the Numbers30: Army plated 30 total runs in the doubleheader.6-for-8: Parker was a combined 6-for-8 in both games Monday, with 10 total RBIs. 3: The Black Knight pitching issued just three total walks across both games Monday, including none in Game 2. 8.0: Army was forced to use just 8.0 innings of total relief pitching across its 3-1 weekend. Black Knight NotesParker's grand slam was the first since 2019 for Army, when Andre Walden recorded one at Lehigh May 4. Army's 21 runs in a game are the most since scoring 21 in last season's Patriot League title-clinching win over Bucknell on May 22. The Black Knights had team single-game season-highs in runs, hits (17) and RBI (16).