April 30, 2011
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With just two games remaining in the Patriot League season, the race for the league's four postseason berths remains wide open. The Lafayette baseball team did its part to remain in the hunt on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader split at Navy. The Leopards dropped game one, 4-2, but bounced back to a 9-8 win in the nightcap.
With the split, the Leopards move to 9-9 in league play and 16-24 overall. Lafayette is in third place in the Patriot League tied with - but owning the tiebreaker over - Bucknell. The Midshipmen are in sole possession of first place with an 11-7 league tally. Navy is 28-19-1 overall.
Senior right fielder Alex Bechta led the Lafayette hitting corps with a 4-for-8 day. Bechta drove in two runs in each end of the twinbill. Kevin Casey, Brian Davila, Matt Fenster, Rob Froio, Scott Kelleher and Brad Hopek each notched an RBI on the day.
Freshman southpaw Connor Ortolf earned the game-two win, firing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. Junior Jeff Snell got the final two outs to pick up the save in the nightcap.
Despite taking the loss, senior right-hander Zach Fritz turned in a solid five-inning effort in game one.
The Leopards got on the board first in game one, striking for a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Davila reached on an error with one-out to start the rally, and Froio followed with an infield hit. After Fenster grounded out to move the runners 90 feet, Bechta cashed in on the RBI opportunity with a two-run single that gave Lafayette a 2-0 lead.
Navy got on the board with an unearned run in the fourth inning and finally got to Fritz in the bottom of the fifth frame. Tyler Cato's RBI single tied the contest at 2-2, and a two-run base-hit from Dave Milanes put the Midshipmen on top by a score of 4-2.
Juniors Chris Boyce and Jack Rems combined to fire a scoreless sixth inning, but the Leopards' bats were kept in check by Navy ace Ben Nelson as the 4-2 advantage held up as the final score.
Fritz (2-4) was saddled with the loss, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned) in five innings on the hill. The senior right-hander struck out six batters and issued one walk.
Nelson (5-5) scattered five hits and allowed just two earned runs in a complete-game victory. He rang up 10 strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
The Leopards struck first again in the nightcap, as Froio reached on error to lead off the contest. Davila then slapped a double that rattled around in the left field corner to spot Lafayette a quick 1-0 lead. The Maroon and White extended their cushion in the top of the second inning with three more tallies. Kelleher led off the frame with a single and, two batters later, Hopek knocked him in with a single of his own. After Froio walked, Bechta delivered again with a two-out, two-run single to give the Leopards a 4-0 advantage.
Navy posted single runs in the third and fourth stanzas, but the Leopards responded with a tally in the fifth. Junior Bobby Fargnoli doubled with two out and stole third. He then came home on a single by Froio.
The 5-2 cushion held up to the bottom of the seventh when the Midshipmen pushed two runs across to trim the margin to a single run at 5-4. Lafayette would add two insurance runs - which proved crucial - in both the eighth and ninth innings. A Fenster single and a Kelleher groundout knocked in the runs in the eighth, while a bases-loaded walk from Casey and a balk accounted for the tallies in the ninth.
Trailing 9-4, the Midshipmen rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth before Snell slammed the door, stranding the tying and winning runs to do so, in a 9-8 Lafayette win.
Junior right-hander Ethan Perro got the start and went the first 3.2 innings. He allowed just two earned runs on three hits. Perro, who struck out four batters and walked six, was ineligible for the win despite leaving with the lead - as he did not hurl five complete innings.
Ortolf (3-3) was the first man out of the bullpen, earning the victory with 2.1 innings of work. He allowed two hits and just a pair of unearned runs. Junior left-hander Sean McGrath bridged the gap to Snell, who closed out the game for his fifth save of the season.
Josh Heller (1-3) took the loss for Navy. He allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned) over the first 4.2 frames on the hill.
The Leopards and Midshipmen are back in action tomorrow, closing out the Patriot League regular season with a noon doubleheader. Only a sweep will guarantee a postseason berth for Lafayette, though several scenarios remain in play should the Leopards split the twinbill.
