Saturday, April 29
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
20-23, 7-12
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Navy
20-23, 12-11
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3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Navy
0
0
0
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0
0
2
1
Lehigh
0
1
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X
1
4
1
Photo by: Maria Bouchard
Rettig Breaks Career Strikeouts School Record in Game One Shutout, Lehigh Drops Game Two for Saturday Split with Navy
4/29/2023 5:42:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team (20-24, 7-13 Patriot League) earned a two-hit 1-0 shutout victory over Navy (21-23, 13-11 Patriot League) before the Midshipmen defeated the Mountain Hawks 5-1 in game two to split the doubleheader on Saturday afternoon from J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park.
Game 1 – W, 1-0
The lone run of the game was scored in the bottom of the second inning when fifth-year first baseman Joe Gorla hit his sixth home run of the season. Gorla accounted for two of the four Mountain Hawks' hits, while fifth-year Gerard Sweeney and first-year Dom Patrizi reached base safely with singles.
Fifth-year Luke Rettig (W, 6-3) started the game, making his 11th start of the season, and delivered a two-hit shutout for his second complete game of the season. He retired 10 Midshipmen by strikeout, becoming Lehigh's record holder in career strikeouts. The former record of 262 strikeouts was held by Mitch Smith '79 and now Rettig has 268 strikeouts.
Navy's two hits came from Eduardo Diaz and Nick Burch, which was all that the Midshipmen could muster in the game. Nate Mitchell (L, 6-4) was on the mound for Navy and tossed six innings with one run on four hits with two strikeouts and a couple of walks.
Game 2 – L, 5-1
The Midshipmen got on the board in the top of the first when Alex Smith hit a sacrifice fly to right field for an RBI to score Burch and give Navy a 1-0 advantage. Kyle Rausch scored the second run of the game on a passed ball in the second frame and the Mids tacked on a third run with Smith connected on a solo home run in the fifth frame for a 3-0 lead.
Lehigh was able to get one run across the plate in the home half of the fifth when sophomore Justin Butler crushed his seventh homer of the season, cutting the deficit to just two runs, 3-1.
Navy added two more runs in the seventh when Burch hit a two-run home run to left field to conclude scoring for the afternoon and ride that to a 5-1 victory.
Fifth-year Casey Rother and junior Andrew Nole both had multi-hit performances in game two, each going 2-for-4. Four other Mountain Hawks recorded base hits, including sophomore Rafe Perich hitting a double and Butler's home run total for Lehigh's eight hits.
Three Midshipmen produced two hits apiece, with Burch and Smith both plating two RBIs with Burch scoring twice and Smith scoring a run. Ivan Aguirre, who made his first appearance of the afternoon in game two, went 2-for-3 while four others for Navy had base knocks for 10 hits.
Sophomore Alex Bouchard (L, 3-2) got the nod for game two, starting his 11th game of the year and went 3.1 innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Senior Ben Christian was the first out of the bullpen and tossed 2.2 innings with three runs on three hits, two Ks and a walk before sophomore Val Taddei entered the game. Taddei hurled 1.1 scoreless innings of action with two hits and a walk before senior Will Grisack concluded the game, throwing 1.2 innings with three strikeouts.
Liam Golden (W, 3-3) started game two and went 5.2 innings with an earned run on five hits with one strikeout and a walk before Reece Early (S, 2) entered in relief and earned a save by throwing 3.1 scoreless innings on three hits with six Ks.
The Mountain Hawks and Navy are set to finish the three-game series tomorrow, Sunday, April 30 at 12 p.m. from J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Game 1 – W, 1-0
The lone run of the game was scored in the bottom of the second inning when fifth-year first baseman Joe Gorla hit his sixth home run of the season. Gorla accounted for two of the four Mountain Hawks' hits, while fifth-year Gerard Sweeney and first-year Dom Patrizi reached base safely with singles.
End 2| GORLA GOES YARD!!
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 29, 2023
Joe Gorla puts Lehigh up 1-0 with his 6th homer of the season!
Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @espn (https://t.co/w2lAStyojz)#GoLehigh | #RTTR pic.twitter.com/2RcKKPaswk
Fifth-year Luke Rettig (W, 6-3) started the game, making his 11th start of the season, and delivered a two-hit shutout for his second complete game of the season. He retired 10 Midshipmen by strikeout, becoming Lehigh's record holder in career strikeouts. The former record of 262 strikeouts was held by Mitch Smith '79 and now Rettig has 268 strikeouts.
The 263 strikeout of Rettig's career to break the school record! pic.twitter.com/44FVBfBiKN
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 29, 2023
Navy's two hits came from Eduardo Diaz and Nick Burch, which was all that the Midshipmen could muster in the game. Nate Mitchell (L, 6-4) was on the mound for Navy and tossed six innings with one run on four hits with two strikeouts and a couple of walks.
Game 2 – L, 5-1
The Midshipmen got on the board in the top of the first when Alex Smith hit a sacrifice fly to right field for an RBI to score Burch and give Navy a 1-0 advantage. Kyle Rausch scored the second run of the game on a passed ball in the second frame and the Mids tacked on a third run with Smith connected on a solo home run in the fifth frame for a 3-0 lead.
M4| Navy 2, Lehigh 0
— Lehigh Baseball (@LehighBaseball) April 29, 2023
Lehigh escapes the top of the 4th by turning a double play with the bases loaded. Rother, Perich and Gorla are due up.
📺:@PatriotLeagueTV (https://t.co/w2lAStyojz) 📊:https://t.co/NiLg8H5PgI#GoLehigh | #RTTR pic.twitter.com/JCdbhlqgXi
Lehigh was able to get one run across the plate in the home half of the fifth when sophomore Justin Butler crushed his seventh homer of the season, cutting the deficit to just two runs, 3-1.
Navy added two more runs in the seventh when Burch hit a two-run home run to left field to conclude scoring for the afternoon and ride that to a 5-1 victory.
Fifth-year Casey Rother and junior Andrew Nole both had multi-hit performances in game two, each going 2-for-4. Four other Mountain Hawks recorded base hits, including sophomore Rafe Perich hitting a double and Butler's home run total for Lehigh's eight hits.
Three Midshipmen produced two hits apiece, with Burch and Smith both plating two RBIs with Burch scoring twice and Smith scoring a run. Ivan Aguirre, who made his first appearance of the afternoon in game two, went 2-for-3 while four others for Navy had base knocks for 10 hits.
Sophomore Alex Bouchard (L, 3-2) got the nod for game two, starting his 11th game of the year and went 3.1 innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Senior Ben Christian was the first out of the bullpen and tossed 2.2 innings with three runs on three hits, two Ks and a walk before sophomore Val Taddei entered the game. Taddei hurled 1.1 scoreless innings of action with two hits and a walk before senior Will Grisack concluded the game, throwing 1.2 innings with three strikeouts.
Liam Golden (W, 3-3) started game two and went 5.2 innings with an earned run on five hits with one strikeout and a walk before Reece Early (S, 2) entered in relief and earned a save by throwing 3.1 scoreless innings on three hits with six Ks.
The Mountain Hawks and Navy are set to finish the three-game series tomorrow, Sunday, April 30 at 12 p.m. from J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rettig, Luke (6-3)
L: Mitchell, N. (6-4)
Batting:
HR: Gorla, Joe 1
RBI: Gorla, Joe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gorla, Joe 1
Game Leaders
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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C
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RHP
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RHP
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C
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IF/RHP
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LHP
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OF/RHP
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