Sunday, April 18
West Point, N.Y.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
13-11, 10-6
4
at
3
Army West Point
14-13, 9-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
Lehigh
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
4
6
3
Army West Point
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
3
10
0
Photo by: Mady Salvani/Army West Point Athletics
Lehigh outlasts Army in both games of eight-hour road twin bill
4/18/2021 11:53:00 PM | Baseball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – In a crucial doubleheader that lasted upwards of eight hours, the Lehigh baseball team came out on top in both games at Doubleday Field on Sunday afternoon into the nighttime, besting Army West Point to split the weekend series. The Mountain Hawks (14-11, 11-6 PL) are the first team in Patriot League to eclipse the 10-win mark and are 10-3 on the road this season, also a league-best mark.
In a marathon double feature on Sunday following two disappointing efforts on Saturday at J. David Walker Field, the two teams combined for 27 runs in 20 innings on the day.
Sunday turned out to be a team effort for the Mountain Hawks in both victories, turning to unlikely names at unlikely moments to make big plays and come up big when the team needed it most.
"I think the difference today was our pitching," said head coach Sean Leary. "We've had such strong pitching all season that some guys hadn't had their number called. And today they did and stepped up. Will Grisack was outstanding in Game 1 and in Game 2, [Tyler] Thompson and [Nick] Pave were just phenomenal. They came out and battled and Pave in particular was pretty special. It was the first time for him being in those kind of tight moments at the end of the game and he was incredible."
Junior lefty Matt Stamford set the tone early in the first game of the afternoon with steady pitching, going six innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
Joe Gorla started the scoring in the top of the first inning for Lehigh with an RBI single to third base, scoring Eric Cichocki to take a 1-0 lead.
Army added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 2-1 lead.
In the seventh, senior outfielder Quinn McKenna provided one of the post pivotal moments of the weekend. He hit a towering shot over the left field fence, scoring Tyler Young to put the Mountain Hawks on top, 3-2. McKenna's homer was his first of the season and first since the 2019 season.
"Quinn has probably been our best energy guy this season," said Leary. "He's been someone that has been playing great defense and getting on base the last two weeks. But all of a sudden in the last 10 games or so, he's started to come through with some big hits and that was the biggest one. That hit changed the whole energy of the day. We thought it might have won the game in the moment, but it definitely gave us the shot to win. Our guys started to believe we could win this thing when that ball went out of the park."
Making his sixth relief appearance of the season, sophomore right-hander Will Grisack was excellent on the day in what became the best outing of his career so far. Grisack worked out of bases loaded jams in the seventh and ninth innings and ended up going four full frames, giving up six hits and walking five, but allowed just one earned run on the day.
"One of the reasons [we stuck with Will], was that we didn't have a ton of depth in our bullpen today," Leary said. "We were trying to go with our most experienced guy in that situation. He just didn't show any emotion and had some really big moments today. There's something to be said for guys wanting to be in the moment and he wanted to be out there as long as he could. That was the longest outing he's had for us. It was pretty special, especially considering there were some really tough moments."
Starting Game 2 at around 5 p.m. with the sun setting, the teams reconvened for nine more innings in West Point.
Freshman right-hander Lucas Rich got the start for Lehigh and gave up a home run in the very first inning as Army took a quick 1-0 advantage.
The Mountain Hawks started their scoring frenzy in the second inning with three runs, two of which came on SAC-flies to take a 3-1 lead. Taking advantage of a nearly 35-minute bottom of the second inning, Army batted around and countered with four runs in the bottom of the inning with two singles and an RBI groundout, pulling ahead 5-3.
In the top of the third, Gerard Sweeney belted his second home run of the season off the white tent out in center field to bring the Mountain Hawks within one run at 5-4. Casey Rother followed that up with a triple to right field that just missed being the second consecutive homer and freshman Andrew Nole knocked in Rother to tie the game at 5-5.
Runs 9, 10 and 11 scored in the top of the sixth after the Mountain Hawks loaded the bases again following two walks and a single. The runs scored unconventionally for the second straight frame, as Rother came across to score on a passed ball, Joe Gorla scored on a groundout and Nole scored on another passed ball to take an 11-8 lead.
"Tonight was our most complete offensive effort, just based off the vast amounts of ways we scored," said Leary. "We had some home runs, we had guys get hit, some guys went first to third, some guys reading the passed balls to score. We did a lot of the little things well and in a time where we've played six league games in the last five days, we were a little thin, so we knew we probably needed to score some runs today. Every one of those mattered. I thought the runs we tacked on in the middle innings were indicative of the fight we had today."
Despite a rough bottom of the fifth inning that had Army score three times and tally two hits in the inning, junior right-hander Nick Pave settled in and delivered one of the best performances of the season in the final three innings. Pave retired the side in order in the seventh inning, held Army to just one run in the eighth and got the Black Knights to go down 1-2-3 in the ninth to record his first career decision – a win – to gain the victory in the second game as well, 11-9.
Pave went five innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and only one walk on 90 pitches. Before that, freshman righty Tyler Thompson threw three scoreless innings, giving up three hits with four strikeouts.
Notably, junior Casey Rother and the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week increased his reached base streak to 20 straight games after recording two walks in the first game and a triple in the second.
The Mountain Hawks take the momentum into the upcoming week with a break into non-league play on Wednesday, taking on La Salle in Philadelphia at 3 p.m. A weekend series with Bucknell follows that up, with two games at J. David Walker Field Saturday, April 24 at noon and a single game on the road the following day.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
In a marathon double feature on Sunday following two disappointing efforts on Saturday at J. David Walker Field, the two teams combined for 27 runs in 20 innings on the day.
Sunday turned out to be a team effort for the Mountain Hawks in both victories, turning to unlikely names at unlikely moments to make big plays and come up big when the team needed it most.
"I think the difference today was our pitching," said head coach Sean Leary. "We've had such strong pitching all season that some guys hadn't had their number called. And today they did and stepped up. Will Grisack was outstanding in Game 1 and in Game 2, [Tyler] Thompson and [Nick] Pave were just phenomenal. They came out and battled and Pave in particular was pretty special. It was the first time for him being in those kind of tight moments at the end of the game and he was incredible."
Junior lefty Matt Stamford set the tone early in the first game of the afternoon with steady pitching, going six innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
Joe Gorla started the scoring in the top of the first inning for Lehigh with an RBI single to third base, scoring Eric Cichocki to take a 1-0 lead.
Army added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 2-1 lead.
In the seventh, senior outfielder Quinn McKenna provided one of the post pivotal moments of the weekend. He hit a towering shot over the left field fence, scoring Tyler Young to put the Mountain Hawks on top, 3-2. McKenna's homer was his first of the season and first since the 2019 season.
"Quinn has probably been our best energy guy this season," said Leary. "He's been someone that has been playing great defense and getting on base the last two weeks. But all of a sudden in the last 10 games or so, he's started to come through with some big hits and that was the biggest one. That hit changed the whole energy of the day. We thought it might have won the game in the moment, but it definitely gave us the shot to win. Our guys started to believe we could win this thing when that ball went out of the park."
The lead would not last however, as the Black Knights tied the game up in the seventh inning off a Tim Simoes RBI single to right field.HYPE US UP, @quinnmckenna35 😤😤😤
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 18, 2021
The first home run since 2019 for the senior gives Lehigh the go-ahead 3-2 lead in the seventh inning.
Lehigh looking to snap Army's 9-game #PatriotBaseball win streak.
Watch: https://t.co/kZvi1nR65b#GoLehigh | #RTTR | @NCAACWS pic.twitter.com/aGRCGNf0Nl
Making his sixth relief appearance of the season, sophomore right-hander Will Grisack was excellent on the day in what became the best outing of his career so far. Grisack worked out of bases loaded jams in the seventh and ninth innings and ended up going four full frames, giving up six hits and walking five, but allowed just one earned run on the day.
"One of the reasons [we stuck with Will], was that we didn't have a ton of depth in our bullpen today," Leary said. "We were trying to go with our most experienced guy in that situation. He just didn't show any emotion and had some really big moments today. There's something to be said for guys wanting to be in the moment and he wanted to be out there as long as he could. That was the longest outing he's had for us. It was pretty special, especially considering there were some really tough moments."
It was a Tyler Young single in the 11th inning with two outs that proved to be the go-ahead, then winning run as Sam Wurth shut the door in the bottom of the inning to earn his second save of the season.End 7 | GOT 'EM!
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 18, 2021
Will Grisack gets Jeremiah Adams to go down on strikes on a 3-2 pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. Free baseball in West Point with the game knotted at 3-3.
Watch: https://t.co/kMLwUYPfdl pic.twitter.com/7Vk8GfySi1
The win snapped a four-game skid for the Mountain Hawks and a nine-game Patriot League winning streak for the Black Knights.T11 | LETS GOOOOOOO!
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 18, 2021
Tyler Young's RBI single brings Rother all the way around from second to score as the Mountain Hawks take a 4-3 lead.
Lehigh 4, Army 3
Watch: https://t.co/kMLwUYPfdl pic.twitter.com/BgfuSsNKQC
Starting Game 2 at around 5 p.m. with the sun setting, the teams reconvened for nine more innings in West Point.
Freshman right-hander Lucas Rich got the start for Lehigh and gave up a home run in the very first inning as Army took a quick 1-0 advantage.
The Mountain Hawks started their scoring frenzy in the second inning with three runs, two of which came on SAC-flies to take a 3-1 lead. Taking advantage of a nearly 35-minute bottom of the second inning, Army batted around and countered with four runs in the bottom of the inning with two singles and an RBI groundout, pulling ahead 5-3.
In the top of the third, Gerard Sweeney belted his second home run of the season off the white tent out in center field to bring the Mountain Hawks within one run at 5-4. Casey Rother followed that up with a triple to right field that just missed being the second consecutive homer and freshman Andrew Nole knocked in Rother to tie the game at 5-5.
Sweeney 💣s are back!
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 18, 2021
Solo homer for Gerard Sweeney of the center field 🎪makes it a 5-4 game!
Watch: https://t.co/ovsJQPzeT1 pic.twitter.com/Ye1VE0tfGS
Lehigh re-gained the lead in the fourth inning after Eric Cichocki homered to left field for the second time this season, handing the Mountain Hawks a 6-5 lead with two outs. In the fifth inning, two more runs came across to score with two outs following three walks that loaded the bases. Tyler Young walked in a run and Adam Retzbach scored on a wild pitch to give the Mountain Hawks an 8-5 lead.Look at Moose run! 🏃♂️💨
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 18, 2021
Casey Rother legs out a triple and the Mountain Hawks are in business with no one out in the third.
Watch: https://t.co/ovsJQPzeT1 pic.twitter.com/X85Dt7gbLF
In the bottom of the fifth, the Black Knights answered back with three more runs to tie game back up at 8-8, capped off by an Anthony Giachin double to right center field that scored the tying run.It's pronounced SUHHHHH-hocki and don't you forget it. 😏
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 18, 2021
Just an absolute tater to left field from Eric Cichocki and the Mountain Hawks take a 6-5 lead.
Watch: https://t.co/ovsJQPzeT1 pic.twitter.com/w0j9q7VVPi
Runs 9, 10 and 11 scored in the top of the sixth after the Mountain Hawks loaded the bases again following two walks and a single. The runs scored unconventionally for the second straight frame, as Rother came across to score on a passed ball, Joe Gorla scored on a groundout and Nole scored on another passed ball to take an 11-8 lead.
"Tonight was our most complete offensive effort, just based off the vast amounts of ways we scored," said Leary. "We had some home runs, we had guys get hit, some guys went first to third, some guys reading the passed balls to score. We did a lot of the little things well and in a time where we've played six league games in the last five days, we were a little thin, so we knew we probably needed to score some runs today. Every one of those mattered. I thought the runs we tacked on in the middle innings were indicative of the fight we had today."
Despite a rough bottom of the fifth inning that had Army score three times and tally two hits in the inning, junior right-hander Nick Pave settled in and delivered one of the best performances of the season in the final three innings. Pave retired the side in order in the seventh inning, held Army to just one run in the eighth and got the Black Knights to go down 1-2-3 in the ninth to record his first career decision – a win – to gain the victory in the second game as well, 11-9.
Seven of Lehigh's nine starters tallied at least one base hit on the evening, but all nine reached base at least one time.BALLGAME.
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 19, 2021
Lehigh wins a wild one and gets the Sunday sweep at Doubleday Field! First career decision - a winning one - for junior RHP Nick Pave.#GoLehigh | #RTTR pic.twitter.com/nt2LsSA8ih
Pave went five innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and only one walk on 90 pitches. Before that, freshman righty Tyler Thompson threw three scoreless innings, giving up three hits with four strikeouts.
Notably, junior Casey Rother and the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week increased his reached base streak to 20 straight games after recording two walks in the first game and a triple in the second.
The Mountain Hawks take the momentum into the upcoming week with a break into non-league play on Wednesday, taking on La Salle in Philadelphia at 3 p.m. A weekend series with Bucknell follows that up, with two games at J. David Walker Field Saturday, April 24 at noon and a single game on the road the following day.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Grisack, Will (2-0)
L: DeLaubell, Ben (0-2)
S: Wurth, Sam (2)
Batting:
2B: Retzbach, Adam 2
HR: McKenna, Quinn 1
RBI: Gorla, Joe 1 ; Young, Tyler 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Cichocki , Eric 1 ; Rother, Casey 1 ; Young, Tyler 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 1
SB: Rother, Casey 1
CS: Gorla, Joe 1 ; Young, Tyler 1
HBP: McKenna, Quinn 1
Batting:
2B: Walden, Andre 1
RBI: Macias, Carter 1 ; Simoes, Tim 1 ; Ledoux, Blake 1
SH: Macias, Carter 1 ; Ruta, Sam 1 ; Dubrule, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Manesis, Nick 1 ; Walden, Andre 2
SB: Meade, Hunter 1 ; Walden, Andre 2
HBP: Adams, Jeremiah 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
pr/ss
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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