April 29, 2001

Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette got two strong starting pitching performanes at Navy on Sunday, but was edged out 4-3 in both games of a Patriot League doubleheader at Bishop Stadium.

In the opener, sophomore James Duer (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) threw six innings of six-hit baseball while allowing just three runs (1 earned).

Lafayette led 2-0 after the first three innings. The Leopards got a run in the first when senior Ian Burley (Nazareth, Pa./Notre Dame) doubled to to right field to bring home lead-off hitter Jason Boyd (Littlestown, Pa./Littlestown) who had started the inning with a single. Boyd came plateward with no outs, but Navy's starting pitcher stuck out one Lafayette batter and enticed another to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Lafayette scored again in the third. Freshman Craig Alexander (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) led off the frame with a single. He advanced to second when junior Jon Kline (Hingham, Mass./Thayer Academy) drew a walk. A double-steal moved both runners up a base and sophomore first baseman Matt Tambellini (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) drove in Alexander with a sac fly.

Navy evened the scored in the home fourth, scoring on an error and one of two wild pitches in the inning.

Both teams posted a run in the fifth inning -- the Leopards on Spence Green's (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) RBI-single and the Midshipmen on Nick Sylvester's single that tied the game at 3-3.

Neither team scored in the sixth. Lafayette reliever Kevin Swords (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) came on to face the top of the order in the seventh. He struck out the first batter before surrendering a single to Jason Guidos and a walk to Sylvester. Willie Gury reached on an error by the centerfielder which moved Guidos to third. The next batter Andy Mild hit a fielder's choice. The throw came home, but Guidos slid under the tag and Navy notched the 4-3 win.

In the nightcap it was another close game. Navy took the early lead, scoring two runs over the first two innings. Navy tacked on two more in the home half of the fourth. Dominic Niccolini's triple and Adam Green's single accounted for the runs as Navy led 4-0.

The Leopards sliced the lead to 4-3 with three runs in the top of the sixth. Boyd legged out a triple to left that scored Brian Heyesey (Highstown, N.J./Highstown) who had reached on a lead-off single. The 'Pards second run came home on an error by the rightfielder. Alexander brought the Leopards within one with an RBI-single.

Lafayette had a last chance in the seventh. Tambellini led off with a single to center. Green reached on a fielder's choice and advanced Tambellini to second on the play. Tambellini moved to third on a throwing error, leaving runners at the corners with no outs. Heyesey struck out and Eric Vacca (Philadelphia, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) grounded out to third. The inning and the game ended when Tambellini was thrown out trying to steal home.

Freshman Marcus Ward (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) took the loss, throwing four innings while scattering eight hits and four runs (3 earned). Senior Ross Butler (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) threw two innings of no-hit relief for the Leopards in the fifth and sixth. He faced just six batters while playing in his native state.

Lafayette (10-31, 5-15) closes out the 2001 season at home on Wednesday vs. nationally-ranked Rutgers. Navy (21-23-1, 14-6) will host the Patriot League Tournament May 12-13.