Saturday, April 17
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
12-10, 0
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Army West Point
13-12, 0
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7
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Army
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Lehigh
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2
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks struggle, lose both ends of doubleheader vs. Army West Point
4/17/2021 8:02:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bested by strong fielding and pitching on Saturday afternoon, the Lehigh baseball team dropped both ends of a home doubleheader against North division frontrunner Army West Point at J. David Walker Field. With the Mountain Hawks' (12-11, 9-6 PL) back-to-back losses to the Black Knights (14-12, 8-3 PL), the team's losing streak extends to four straight games.
In game one, it was a matter of Army figuring out how to solve the dominant right-hander Mason Black on Saturday, which they were able to do for the entirety of his outing. Black went just four innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits with five walks and three strikeouts and was saddled with the loss for just the second time this season.
Army West Point got out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning and never looked back despite a two-RBI double from Gerard Sweeney in the bottom of the third that brought the Mountain Hawks within one run at 3-2.
The Black Knights gained separation in the fifth inning on two more runs to take a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Lehigh had a chance to get within a run after outfielder Eric Cichocki singled up the middle and scored Chase Carlson, but Riley Davis was thrown out at home by the center fielder trying to score.
In the sixth, Adam Retzbach grounded out to the second baseman, but brought home Joe Gorla from third to trail 5-4.
Cichocki singled to right field with two outs in the seventh, but Sweeney struck out swinging to end the ballgame as Army held on for the 5-4 Game 1 victory.
It was the team-high 10th multi-hit game of the season for Cichocki, who registered his eighth two-hit game against the Black Knights.
In the second game, Army West Point struck first and continued to hold on from the get go. A Sam Ruta double to left center field put the Black Knights on top 1-0.
Junior Casey Rother rocketed his fourth home run of the season off the left field scoreboard in the bottom of the first to answer back and tie the game up at 1-1.
The Mountain Hawks got a run back on an RBI groundout for Gerard Sweeney, but Army had the last laugh on an Anthony Giachin homer to right field, capping off a 6-2 victory.
Svanson was charged with his third loss of the season after going six innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and three hit batsmen. Ben Christian stepped up and pitched well in relief, going three full frames, allowing one earned run on four hits, striking out two batters.
After getting hit in the first game and homering in the second, Rother extended his reached base streak to 18 straight games, a season-high for the team.
The Mountain Hawks will look to re-group and snap the four-game skid with a doubleheader at Doubleday Field in West Point. First pitch of the first game is set for 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
In game one, it was a matter of Army figuring out how to solve the dominant right-hander Mason Black on Saturday, which they were able to do for the entirety of his outing. Black went just four innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits with five walks and three strikeouts and was saddled with the loss for just the second time this season.
Army West Point got out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning and never looked back despite a two-RBI double from Gerard Sweeney in the bottom of the third that brought the Mountain Hawks within one run at 3-2.
The Black Knights gained separation in the fifth inning on two more runs to take a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Lehigh had a chance to get within a run after outfielder Eric Cichocki singled up the middle and scored Chase Carlson, but Riley Davis was thrown out at home by the center fielder trying to score.
In the sixth, Adam Retzbach grounded out to the second baseman, but brought home Joe Gorla from third to trail 5-4.
Cichocki singled to right field with two outs in the seventh, but Sweeney struck out swinging to end the ballgame as Army held on for the 5-4 Game 1 victory.
It was the team-high 10th multi-hit game of the season for Cichocki, who registered his eighth two-hit game against the Black Knights.
In the second game, Army West Point struck first and continued to hold on from the get go. A Sam Ruta double to left center field put the Black Knights on top 1-0.
Junior Casey Rother rocketed his fourth home run of the season off the left field scoreboard in the bottom of the first to answer back and tie the game up at 1-1.
The Black Knights got to Lehigh right-hander Matt Svanson in the middle innings, taking a 3-1 lead at the end of the second and eventually a 5-1 cushion following a Ruta homer in the fifth.There are home runs...
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 17, 2021
And then there are home runs like this one from Casey Rother in Game 2. 🚀 👀#GoLehigh | #RTTR pic.twitter.com/4ALMLPzQdl
The Mountain Hawks got a run back on an RBI groundout for Gerard Sweeney, but Army had the last laugh on an Anthony Giachin homer to right field, capping off a 6-2 victory.
Svanson was charged with his third loss of the season after going six innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and three hit batsmen. Ben Christian stepped up and pitched well in relief, going three full frames, allowing one earned run on four hits, striking out two batters.
After getting hit in the first game and homering in the second, Rother extended his reached base streak to 18 straight games, a season-high for the team.
The Mountain Hawks will look to re-group and snap the four-game skid with a doubleheader at Doubleday Field in West Point. First pitch of the first game is set for 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Loricco, Anthony (2-1)
L: Black, Mason (4-2)
S: Bartoli, Ray (2)
Batting:
2B: Macias, Carter 1 ; Dubrule, Kevin 1
RBI: Macias, Carter 1 ; Giachin, Anthony 1 ; Friedrick, Ross 1 ; Dubrule, Kevin 1
SF: Giachin, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Macias, Carter 1 ; Simoes, Tim 1 ; Manesis, Nick 1 ; Ruta, Sam 1 ; Dubrule, Kevin 1
SB: Macias, Carter 1 ; Meade, Hunter 1
HBP: Macias, Carter 1 ; Manesis, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Gorla, Joe 1
RBI: Cichocki , Eric 1 ; Sweeney, Gerard 2 ; Retzbach, Adam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gorla, Joe 1 ; Carlson, Chase 2 ; McKenna, Quinn 1
HBP: Rother, Casey 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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