Lehigh Secures Doubleheader Split At Army West Point

Saturday, May 4

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Lehigh University

22-22-1, 7-15

Army

26-19, 15-7

LEHIGH

ARMY West Point

Photo by: Maria Bouchard

Lehigh Secures Doubleheader Split At Army West Point

5/4/2024 6:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Lehigh baseball looked to keep its postseason hopes alive this afternoon in a road doubleheader against the top-seeded Army Black Knights. The Mountain Hawks split with the Black Knights by taking game two, but their loss in game one eliminated the team from Patriot League tournament contention.

Pitching was the story for Army West Point (26-20, 15-8 PL) in game one, as starting pitcher Matthew Ronnebaum delivered a complete-game one-hitter with nine strikeouts in seven innings to hold Lehigh (23-21-1, 8-15 PL) scoreless. Mountain Hawk starter Marcus Danchision was the losing pitcher in the game after allowing two earned runs while striking out four in 2.2 innings of work.

Army West Point threatened in the first inning after retiring Lehigh in four batters to begin the game. The Black Knights got two runners on base, but a backwards K from Danchision stranded them to end the inning. The tie would be broken the next inning, however, as Thomas Schreck's groundout scored Coleson Titus to put the Black Knights ahead 1-0.

Ronnebaum continued to impress throughout, allowing Army West Point to slowly but surely build upon their lead. A bases-loaded hit by pitch gave the Black Knights a 2-0 lead in the third while Braden Golinski's scamper home on a throwing error in the fifth set the score at 3-0 after five. The Mountain Hawks would get three runners on base in the top of the seventh, but the Black Knights held strong to claim their 15th Patriot League win on the year.

In game two, Brandon Coughlin earned the win in relief of Teddy Tolliver. The senior tossed 5.2 innings with three strikeouts in the final start of his career before Coughlin allowed no runs and only one hit in 3.1 innings of relief. Andrew Berg was credited with the loss for Army West Point after conceding the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning.

While Ronnebaum frustrated Lehigh's offense in game one, the Mountain Hawks had much more success at the plate in game two. Lehigh registered 12 hits in the game, which included an Aidan Quinn RBI single in the top of the first that gave the Mountain Hawks an early lead.

After scoring early, Lehigh would not be able to get past home plate for another five innings, which allowed Army West Point to take a 3-1 lead in that time frame. However, the top of the seventh proved to be beneficial for the Mountain Hawks. Tyler Young started things off with a double to left field, and a subsequent Justin Butler double to right field sent Young past home plate. First-year Raffaele Rogers then scored Quinn on a sac-fly, tying the contest 3-3 after seven.

Coughlin closed the lid on the Black Knights in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Mountain Hawks a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth. They would do just that courtesy of a Young sac-fly that sent Braydon Hubbard home to put Lehigh out in front. After walking his first batter in the bottom of the eighth, Coughlin and the Mountain Hawks then recorded six-straight outs to seal the doubleheader split.

The Mountain Hawks will conclude their season tomorrow in Worcester, Massachusetts for a doubleheader against the Holy Cross Crusaders. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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