Navy Baseball Aiming for Sixth Patriot League Title This Weekend (Part I)
A Look Ahead (Patriot League Tournament)...
Game 55 - May 12 - No. 3 Navy (35-19) vs. No. 2 Army (24-21-1)
Time: 12 p.m.
Stadium: Class of 1978 Stadium (500); Easton, Pa.
Probable Starters: Navy - RHP Mitch Harris (8-4, 2.30 ERA) vs. Army - LHP Nick Hill (6-3, 1.78 ERA)
All-Time Series: Navy leads, 100-83
Live Stats: GameTracker available on
www.NavySports.com
This Year: Navy won one of four games (April 21-22; West Point, N.Y.)
IF NAVY WINS...
Game 56 - May 12 - No. 3 Navy at No. 1 Lafayette (30-17)
Time: 3 p.m.
Probable Starters: Navy – TBD vs. Lafayette - TBD
All-Time Series: Navy leads, 52-28-2
Television: CSTV; tape-delayed on Wednesday, May 16, at 2 p.m.; Talent: Gary Laubach (pxp), John Leone (color) and Scott Barr (field)
This Year: Navy won one of four games (April 8-9; Annapolis, Md.)
Game 57 - May 13 - No. 1 Lafayette vs. No. 3 Navy
Time: 12 p.m.
Probable Starters: Lafayette – TBD vs. Navy - TBD
Television: CSTV; tape-delayed on Wednesday, May 16, at 5 p.m.; Talent: Gary Laubach (pxp), John Leone (color) and Dan Mowdy (field)
Radio: SIRIUS satellite radio (live), Channel 122; Talent: Frank Santore (pxp and color)
Game 58 - May 13 - No. 3 Navy at No. 1 Lafayette (if necessary)
Time: 3 p.m.
Probable Starters: Navy – TBD vs. Lafayette - TBD
Television: CSTV; tape-delayed on Monday, May 14, time to be determined
Radio: SIRIUS satellite radio (live), Channel 122
Navy Making 12th Appearance in Patriot League Tournament
The Navy baseball team will play in the Patriot League Tournament for the 12th time in program history this weekend. The Midshipmen will take on second-seeded Army in an elimination game at Class of 1978 Stadium in Easton, Pa., with the winner taking on host Lafayette in a best-of-three series. The winner of the Patriot League Tournament will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament regionals, which will take place from June 1-4.
Navy owns a 3-1 all-time record in the opening round elimination game heading into its contest with arch-rival Army. During the three occasions that the Mids have advanced to the championship best-of-three series through the opening elimination game, they have played the full three-game series each time, winning the Patriot League Tournament in 1999.
Mids Come in as the No. 3 Seed
The Midshipmen come to Easton, Pa., for the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed for the second time in school history. In 1996, Navy came in as the third seed and blanked Lehigh, 10-0, before advancing to take on top-seeded Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa.
Navy Aiming For Ninth NCAA Tournament Appearance
The Navy baseball team will look to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history by winning this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament and claiming the automatic berth. The Midshipmen last appeared at the NCAA Tournament during the 2002 season, when they traveled to the Wake Forest Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C. During that trip, the Mids defeated George Washington, 6-4, in an elimination contest, becoming the second team in league history to win a NCAA Tournament game.
Navy’s History of Success in the Patriot League
Despite joining the Patriot League two years after it began competing in baseball, Navy has won more league postseason and regular season titles than any other team in league history. The Midshipmen, who entered the league in 1993, have won five Patriot League titles and been crowned regular season champions on eight occasions. Navy has won more Patriot League Tournament games (14) and played in more league tournament games (26) than any other team in league history.
Navy’s all-time winning percentage of .596 (180-122) in Patriot League action ranks second among teams currently affiliated with the league.
Navy Tabbed Second in Patriot League Preseason Poll
The Navy baseball team was picked to tie for second place in the 2007 Patriot League Preseason Poll, voted on by each school’s head coach and sports information contact. Each of the top-three teams in the preseason poll finished among the top-three squads this year to advance to this season’s Patriot League Tournament.
Scouting Army
Army makes the trip to this year’s Patriot League Tournament as the second seed with a 12-7 record in league play and a 24-21-1 overall mark. The Black Knights have won 11 of their last 15 games, with four of their wins coming in extra innings. Army has all three of its games on a neutral field this season, but are 9-15 in road contests in 2007.
Cole White leads the offense with a .407 batting average with 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 16 stolen bases and a .482 on-base percentage. Milan Dinga ranks second on the team with a .290 batting average and paces Army with 27 runs scored.
Pitching has been the strength for the Black Knights this year, posting a 3.77 team ERA. Staff ace Nick Hill owns a 6-3 record with a 1.78 ERA in 76.0 innings with only 18 walks and 87 strikeouts. In addition to his exploits with the bat, White also carries a 7-2 record with a 3.14 ERA in 63.0 innings. Another two-way player, Dinga serves as the closer, as he has saved five ballgames and holds a 0.93 ERA in 17 relief appearances.
All-Time Series: Navy 100, Army 83
Navy owns a 100-83 (.546) all-time advantage over Army in the 101-year series history that began in 1901. The Midshipmen recorded their 100th all-time victory over the Black Knights this year with a 6-4 victory in West Point on April 21.
Away From West Point ... Advantage Navy
This Saturday’s matchup between Navy and Army will be the 100th game played away from West Point in series history, with the Midshipmen holding a 61-38 (.616) all-time advantage. The Midshipmen have won 10 of their 13 games against the Black Knights at a neutral site.
All-American vs. All-American ... Round 2
Navy All-American right-handed pitcher Mitch Harris and Army All-American southpaw pitcher Nick Hill are slated to go in the elimination game on Saturday, marking the second time that the two will face off this year. On April 21 in West Point, Harris only allowed an unearned run over five-plus innings with seven strikeouts for the Mids and left with the lead. Hill was touched for three runs on eight hits over seven innings, but did not factor in the decision.
Prior to this year’s first meeting, two All-American pitchers had not faced off against one another during the storied 101-year Army-Navy series history.
Scouting Lafayette
Lafayette have earned the right to host this year’s Patriot League Tournament by winning the regular season title with a 17-3 record in league play and own a 30-17 overall record. The Leopards have been impressive on their home field in 2007, posting a 14-4 record at Class of 1978 Stadium.
Sparking a Lafayette offense that has averaged 5.34 runs per game is leadoff hitter James Conrad, who is hitting .352 with 59 runs scored, 42 stolen bases and a .456 on-base percentage. Jeff Butler (.366), Chris Luick (.327) and Mike Raible (.324) all sport batting averages above the .300 mark heading into the weekend. Kevin Leasure has belted 15 doubles and four home runs while driving in 44 runs and hitting .299.
Complementing the offense is a pitching staff that has 12 complete games and features a starting rotation that has combined for an ERA under 3.00. Starters Kevin Reese (6-1, 2.30 ERA), Matt Kamine (6-3, 2.55 ERA), Jeremy Atkins (6-2, 2.98 ERA) and Ted Gjeldum (2-3, 3.28) have logged 257.2 of the team’s 396.1 innings and have maintained a 2.78 strikeout/walk ratio (167 strikeouts/60 walks).
All-Time Series vs. Lafayette
Navy owns a 52-28-2 (.646) advantage in the all-time series against Lafayette, one that dates back to the 1900 season. The Midshipmen have gone 17-13 (.567) against the Leopards in Easton, Pa., which includes last year’s four-game series split between the two ballclubs at Class of 1978 Stadium.
Navy Breaks School Record for Wins
The Midshipmen broke the school record for wins in a season with its 35th victory of 2007 coming against Maryland-Eastern Shore on May 6 in Annapolis. The 2007 ballclub topped the previous mark of 34 wins set by a 1995 squad that won the Patriot League and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Records Were Made to be Broken
In addition to breaking the school record for wins, this year’s Navy baseball team has set two team records and will break another on Saturday. The Midshipmen have set school records for innings pitched (449.1) and strikeouts (402) and have matched the program record for games played (54).
The 2007 Midshipmen also rank among the top 10 teams in eight additional statistical categories: at bats (2nd, 1739), saves (2nd, 11), strikeouts/nine innings (3rd, 8.05), hits (4th, 463), total bases (5th, 597), runs scored (10th, 281), runs batted in (10th, 255) and shutouts (10th, 4).
Back-to-Back 30-Win Seasons
With their 6-4 win over Army in West Point on April 21, the Midshipmen posted back-to-back 30 wins seasons for the first time in the program’s storied 112-year history. In fact, the most wins by a Navy ballclub following a 30-win season prior to this year was 24 by the 1996 squad, as the 1995 team tallied a then-program record 34 wins.
Navy in the National Rankings
The Navy baseball squad ranks among the nation’s top 50 schools in three statistical categories going into this weekend’s action. The Midshipmen have fanned an average of 8.1 batters per nine innings in 2007, the 21st-highest mark in the country. Navy’s pitchers have also combined for a 3.93 team ERA, which ranks 45th in the nation. Navy’s .648 winning percentage by virtue of its 35-19 record places itself 44th on the national list.