4/6/2004 - Baseball
Mids Hit Road
Files associated with this release:
Navy Baseball Notes (4/6-4/7)
Pete Curnow returned to the field this past weekend. |
Complete PDF attached
Navy begins a six-game road trip on Tuesday at George Washington before heading to Delaware State on Wednesday. Both games are at 3 p.m. The Mids return to Patriot League play this weekend when they travel to Lafayette for four games.
Tuesday's game will be available on GameTracker at GWSports.com
Navy (10-22) at
George Washington (19-11)
Tuesday, Apr. 6, 3 p.m.
Arlington, Va. (Barcroft Park)
Navy at Delaware State (12-17)
Wednesday, Apr. 5, 3 p.m.
Dover, Del. (Soldier Field)
Tuesday's Opponent: George Washington
Series Record: Navy holds a 13-5 advantage
Last Meeting: The teams have not met since Navy beat the Colonials, 6-4, in the NCAA Regionals at Wake Forest in 2002.
Tied at three in the bottom of the fourth, Navy scored three runs to take control. After Chris Ashinhurst singled up the middle to drive in Pete Curnow, Craig Candeto launched a two-run home run to left field.
The Colonials rallied for a run in the ninth when Jeff Fertitta drove in Nick Iovachinni and threatened more, but Steven Goocey ended the game with a strikeout.
Ashinhurst and Curnow each had two hits for Navy with Ashinhurst driving in three runs and Curnow scoring twice. David Woolsey added two hits. Matt Foster earned the win to improve to 4-1.
About The Colonials: GW is 19-11 entering Tuesday's tilt after sweeping Fordham in Atlantic-10 action this past weekend. The Colonials are 5-1 in conference play.
Head Coach: Tom Walter, 253-177 (eight seasons at GW and overall)
Scouting The Colonials: George Washington is batting .295 as a team with three regulars averaging .364 or better. Tom Shanley leads GW with a .391 average. Anthony Smith is hitting .376 with eight home runs and a team-high 45 RBIs, while Ryan Roberson is batting .364 with nine homers, 28 RBIs and 29 runs.
On the mound, the Colonials have a 4.69 team ERA. Smith has a team-high five wins, while Nick Koken has a 1.88 ERA and three saves. Josh Wilkie is 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA in 43.2 innings.
Wednesday's Opponent: Delaware State
Series Record: Navy holds a 5-0 advantage
Last Meeting: Navy and the Hornets met at Max Bishop Stadium two weeks ago with the Mids winning, 3-2, when B.J. Bickel drove in Matt Lukevics with a two-out single to right-center field in the ninth inning.
The Mids jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second when Ryan McGinn and Lukevics blasted solo home runs off Jimmy Conroy. It was the first multiple home run game for Navy since hitting four at Temple in 2003.
Lukevics led the Mids with three hits, while Bickel and Craig Candeto each posted two. Brandon Gravely had two hits and a run scored for the Hornets.
Joe Koessler earned his first career win in 0.2 innings of relief.
About The Hornets: DSU is 12-17 entering Wednesday's game after downing Florida A&M, 10-3, in MEAC action over the weekend.
Head Coach: J.P. Blandin, 4th year at DSU (116-71), 4th overall
Scouting The Hornets: Delaware State is batting .276 as a team. The Hornets are led by Kevin Hill and Kelly Williams, who are batting a team-high .317 and .315, respectively. Williams has a team-high 23 runs scored and 19 RBIs. Bret Underwood is tops in home runs (7) and RBIs (28).
On the mound, the Hornets have posted a 5.08 ERA. Shawn Phillips has been the Hornets top hurler with the team-best in ERA (2.57), wins (5), innings pitched (66.2) and strikeouts (56).
Last Time Out
This Week: Navy dropped the first game of its four-game Patriot League series with Holy Cross over the weekend, 4-1, but rebounded to take the last three games (9-6, 6-3, and 2-1) to move into third place a game ahead of Lafayette at 4-4 in the league.
Recap: A quick start to the second game helped Navy put Saturday's opening game loss behind it scoring five runs in its first at-bat. Chris Ashinhurst had the inning's big hit with a two-run double to the gap in left-center field. The Mids extended its lead to 9-0 with two runs each in the fifth and seventh innings, before the Crusaders scored six times in their last two at-bats. Jared Munde finished the game 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jonathan-Matthew Johnston and Ashinhurst each had two hits, while J.P. Temperilli scored twice. Ryan Hefner earned his third win of the year tossing a season-high 7.1 innings.
In Sunday's first game, Navy again got on the board early scoring twice in the first on a two-run double by Munde, who earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors after hitting .722 and driving in nine runs in five games. Three runs in the sixth provided the Mids a 6-1 lead and the cushion they needed as Holy Cross scored twice in its final at-bat. Jeff Lange earned the win for Navy striking out a career-high eight batters in six innings.
Navy needed late-inning help in completing the doubleheader sweep with a 2-1 victory in game four. Tied at one in the bottom of the eighth, Munde, who had three hits, singled and moved to third on back-to-back walks to D.J. Faldowski and Temperilli. With two away, Keith Simard threw a wild pitch allowing Munde to score the winning run. Robert Herrick was credited with the win for Navy, while Burgess Nichols struckout the final two batters for his third save.
In the 4-1 loss, Munde had an RBI single in the first but Drew Bigda out dueled Andy Froistad to get the win.
T.G.I.M. (Thank Goodness Its Munde)
Sophomore first baseman Jared Munde has been a bright spot offensively for the Mids in his last 11 games,, and, especially, the last seven games posting an 18-of-25 mark with 11 RBIs. In five games last week, the sophomore batted .722 with nine RBIs to be named the Patriot League Player of the Week. He leads the league with a .667 average in Patriot League contests.
Munde began the week by going 4-for-4 with five RBIs against Temple on Tuesday - both were career highs. Munde continued his torrid pace collecting another four-hit game and a three-hit game in the series with Holy Cross. Munde has posted a hit in 10 of his last 11 games and is in the midst of a career-best, seven-game hitting streak. His average has risen from a season low of .062 following the March 7 game with Pace to .463 . Eleven of Munde's team-high 13 RBIs have come during the seven-game span.
Rookie Of The Week
J.P. Temperilli became the first Navy player recognized by the Patriot League this year when he was named the Patriot League Freshman of the Week last week. Temperilli batted .400 for the week with a .450 average in the Mids four-game series with Bucknell. He was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in Navy's 9-7 win over the Bison in last Sunday's first game. In the second game, Temperilli again went 2-for-3 scoring the Mids' lone run with a solo home run. It was his team-leading third homer of the year. The freshman had four walks for the week to finish with a .526 on-base percentage.
Late Inning Heroics
Three of Navy's eight home wins have come in its last trip at the plate. In Sunday's finale with Holy Cross, Jared Munde scored in the bottom of the eighth on a wild pitch for a 2-1 win. Against Delaware State on Mar. 23, B.J. Bickel lined a two-out single to score Matt Lukevics in the bottom of the ninth. Lukevics also scored the final run for a 5-4 win in the Mids' home opener with UMBC on Mar. 2. The junior tallied on a single by D.J. Faldowski capping a three-run eighth inning.
Quick Start
Slow starts have plagued Navy for most of 2004, but in the last seven games, the team has taken the early lead. They scored in the first in three of four games with Holy Cross including a five-run opening inning in its 9-6 win on Saturday. The turnaround began with the first game of last Sunday's doubleheader with Bucknell. The Mids came out smoking scoring six runs in the first inning, which are the most they have scored in an inning all season. The total was more than double the runs the team had scored in the first inning of its first 24 games combined.
Top Of The Heap
Navy starter Ryan Hefner leads the Patriot League in innings pitched. Hefner has tossed 44.2 innings after throwing a 2004 team-high 7.1 innings on Saturday for his third win.
Reliever Joe Koessler enters the week as the Patriot League's leader in appearances with 17. Koessler appeared twice in the Patriot League series with Holy Cross. Burgess Nichols' 12 games pitched are third.
Junior Jeff Lange is fourth in the Patriot League in strikeouts with 35. He fanned a career-high eight batters en route to his third win on Sunday. Lange is averaging 9.74 Ks per nine innings pitched.
Froistad Suffers Rare Loss, Pt. I
Senior pitcher Andy Froistad faced a new experience on Saturday in Navy's 2-1 loss to Bucknell, the senior right-hander lost for the first time in his career in a Patriot League contest. Froistad, who entered the seven-inning game with an 8-0 league record, tossed a complete game. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits, while striking out four and walking two.
Curnow Is Back
Junior center fielder Pete Curnow, who found himself on the bench for five weeks after fracturing his ankle, is back in the lineup. Curnow, who was injured trying to beat out a throw to first base for an infield hit to leadoff the second game of Navy's doubleheader at UMES on Feb. 22, batted leadoff in all four games with Holy Cross. The junior made an immediate impact for a team struggling to score as he tallied in each of the first three games and two steals. At the time of his injury, Curnow had a team-best .476 average at the plate and was first in steals (4) and hits (10).
Bats Like Friendly Confines
The familiar surroundings of Max Bishop Stadium have helped the offense for the Mids, who are 8-6 at home. At Max Bishop, the Mids are averaging .269 with 68 runs scored (4.9 per game), while Navy has scored just 40 runs (2.2 per game) and is batting .211on the road in 18 contests. The Mids have recorded 11 hits four times at home including Saturday's 9-6 win. The Mids roped a season-high 14 hits at Bishop Stadium against Duke on Mar. 10.
Defensive Woes
Errors have been a source of concern and frustration for the Mids during the 2004 season as they have committed 75 (.938 fielding percentage) in 32 outings. Navy, which had 90 errors in 45 contests (.944) in 2003, has recorded just four error-free games this season including the first game of Sunday's doubleheader. Prior to Sunday, the last error-less game was against UMES on Mar. 9 and came on the heels of an error-free showing in the first game of twin-bill against Pace. Of the 190 runs allowed by Navy, 48 (25%) have been unearned.
Navy Ends Losing Streaks
Entering last week, Navy had a pair of losing streaks it was trying to end. The Mids had lost nine straight road games and its last five games. After watching each streak extend a game with a 3-1 loss at Georgetown on March 23, Navy ended its overall streak with at six with its 3-2 win over Delaware State on March 24 on B.J. Bickel's single scoring Matt Lukevics in the ninth. It was the second six-game losing streak of 04 for the Mids. Before beating the Hornets, Navy had not won since downing Maryland-Eastern Shore, 9-3, on March 9.
The road-losing streak extended to 12 games as Bucknell swept Saturday's Patriot League doubleheader, 2-1 and 5-1. The Mids ended their road woes in the first game on Sunday with a 9-7 win over the Bison. It was the first road win for Navy since downing Old Dominion, 4-2, on Feb. 14.
Froistad Suffers Rare Loss, Pt. II
Andy Froistad, who is still working his way back from injury, experienced a rarity on March 16 against San Diego. Froistad, who was 6-0 as a junior, suffered his first loss since losing 13-1 to Wake Forest in the 2002 NCAA Regional. In his third appearance of 04, he allowed four runs on five hits and struck out two in 5-1/3 innings. The senior made his season debut against Pace in the second game of the doubleheader March 7. The right-hander started the game and pitched three innings in Navy's 3-1 win. He allowed one unearned run and three hits, while fanning one and walking one.
Few, But Costly
The Navy pitching staff has allowed just six home runs during the 2004 season. The homers have been costly, though, as two have resulted in the winning runs for the opponent. At Georgetown on Mar. 23, Andrew Cleary's two-run home run in the sixth was the deciding factor in a 3-1 loss for the Mids. UMES' Robert Benak hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh in game one of a doubleheader Feb. 22.
Candeto Closes In On Third
Craig Candeto moved a step closer towards third place on the Mids' all-time home run list when he raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run at UMES, on Feb. 22. Candeto is fourth all-time at Navy with 13 career home runs - one behind Luke Braham. Marcus Lee holds the Academy record with 29, while Mark Zematis, is second with 23 homers in his career (1997-00).
Home Runs
1 Marcus Lee (1991-94) 29
2. Mark Zematis (1997-00) 23
3. Luke Braham (1997-00) 14
4. Craig Candeto (2001-present) 13
Four Return After Securing Honors
Four Mids who received either First-Team or Second-Team All-Patriot League honors in 2003 return this year. Craig Candeto and Pete Curnow were first-team selections, while Andy Froistad and Matt Lukevics earned second-team accolades. Three others graduated [Rich McDevitt (first team), Matt Foster (first team) and Rusty Hearn (second team)].
Mids Look To Regain Top Spot
The 2003 season marked the first time since 1997 that Navy had not finished with at least a share of first place of the Patriot League regular-season title. The Mids won the league outright in both 1998 and 00, while tying for first place in 1999, 01, and 02. Navy won three Patriot League tournament titles in 1998, 99 and 02. Since joining the league in 1993, the Mids have finished with at least a share of first eight times.
Candeto Named Top In League
Navy senior Craig Candeto was named the 2004 Pre-Season Patriot League Player of the Year by Baseball America in its college preview. The senior, who started at quarterback for the Navy football team, hit .370 in 2003 with six home runs and 31 RBIs. He led the Patriot League with 51 hits and 14 doubles and finished the season with a 20-game hitting streak.
Midshipmen Picked Second
Navy has been selected to finish in second place in the regular season according to the Patriot League Pre-Season Poll as selected by the league's coaches and sports information directors. Bucknell was chosen to retain its title, while the Mids edged Army for the second spot in the poll. The Bison finished first and Navy second in 03 during the regular season. They also met in the title game of the league tournament with Bucknell prevailing in the three-game series.
Rank School Points Overall League
1. Bucknell 45 (7) 27-16-0 (15-5)
2. Navy 38 (2) 21-24-0 (12-8)
3 Army 36 (2) 17-25-1 (9-11)
4. Lehigh 28 19-23-0 (9-11)
5. Lafayette 21 16-24-0 (7-13)
6. Holy Cross 12 13-23-0 (8-12)
Froistad Perfect As A Junior
With a 6-0 record as a junior, Andy Froistad became the fifth pitcher in Navy history to finish a year with an unblemished won-loss mark and at least five wins. He was the first to pull off the feat since Drew Tanner had a 9-0 record in 1985. Chuck Davis, who posted a 9-0 mark in 1959, and Tanner are tied atop the list, while Bruce Terwilliger is third at 8-0 and Froistad fourth.
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