Lehigh University
Navy
Mountain Hawks open PL play with a split
4/3/2010 5:15:00 PM | Baseball
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Senior Andrew Berger pitched his second straight complete game to help Lehigh earn a split with the Navy Midshipmen Saturday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium. Behind Berger’s strong performance the Brown and White defeated Navy 4-2 in the series opener. The Midshipmen rebounded in game two and were able to stop a late Lehigh rally to hold on for a 9-7 win. Lehigh ends the day with a 7-15 (1-1) overall record, while Navy sits at 18-9 (1-1).
“In the first game we played very well,” head coach Sean Leary said. “Berger had a very strong performance and it was important to start the series off right. I thought our defense was strong and we got some clutch hits from (Chad) Warga, (Logan) Winchester and (Jim) McConlogue.”
Leary continued talking about the teams play in game two. “I was proud of the fact that we continued to scrap and fight until the very last out. We played hard throughout the entire game, but just came up a little bit short. If we continue to play like we did today we will give ourselves the chance to win a lot of games.”
In the first game, Lehigh was able to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when McConlogue doubled in his classmate Kevin Mihalik. Warga capped off the inning when he knocked in McConlogue for the second run.
The Midshipmen struggled to get anything going against Berger in the first few innings, but they were finally able to break through and tie the game in the bottom of the third. The Mountain Hawks didn’t waste any time getting the lead back as they were able to respond in the top of the fourth inning. McConlogue struck again as he knocked in junior Austin Borden. The Brown and White got its final run of the game off a RBI single through the left side by Winchester.
Berger finished the game with seven strikeouts and he only allowed three hits. Warga, Winchester and McConlogue paced the Mountain Hawks’ offense with two hits apiece.
Lehigh got on the board first in game two, as junior Sean Killeen came into score off a wild pitch in the top of the second inning. Junior Brendan Pifer knocked in the second run of the game with a RBI triple to give the Brown and White a 2-0 lead.
The Midshipmen took the lead in the bottom of the third by getting four runs to pull ahead 4-2. Navy added to its lead by getting two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.
Junior Brendan McGaheran ended Lehigh’s offensive woes with a solo home run in the top of the seventh. The Midshipmen were able to answer right back though with two more insurance runs in the bottom of the inning.
Heading into the ninth Lehigh trailed 9-3, but it wouldn’t go away without a fight. The Mountain Hawks loaded up the bases and Pifer was walked to open things up in the inning. After McGaheran hit into a double play that scored Lehigh’s second run of the inning, junior Billy Goldman singled in Warga. Mihalik knocked in the Mountain Hawks final run of the game with a single to right field. Navy was able to get one more out to hold on for the victory.
Taking the loss on the mound for Lehigh was senior Ken Longernecker who gave up four runs in three innings of work. The Mountain Hawks finished the game with 11 hits and were paced by junior Andrew Russell who had three.
Lehigh and Navy will pick things up tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at noon.
