Game One Box Score (Army 9, Navy 6)

Game Two Box Score (Army 6, Navy 0)

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Kevin McKague ripped three hits in both games and Kirk Porter and Tyler Anderegg combined on a three-hit shutout in the nightcap as Army claimed its sixth consecutive “star” against arch-rival Navy by sweeping an Easter Sunday doubleheader from the Midshipmen at gusty Doubleday Field.

After outlasting Navy 9-6 in the opener, the Black Knights dealt the Midshipmen a 6-0 loss in the second game. With the victories, Army ran its winning streak against Navy to nine games and climbed back into the thick of the Patriot League playoff race. The Black Knights have now defeated the Mids in 20 of the teams’ last 23 meetings, spanning six seasons.

The first game featured a matchup of two of the Patriot League’s top left-handed pitchers in Army’s Matt Fouch and Navy’s Sam Long. But both starters struggled in the windy conditions and neither lasted past the third inning.

With the wind blowing steadily at 25 miles-per-hour to left-center field and gusts reaching 35 miles-per-hour, Navy pushed across the game’s first run in the top of the first. Mike Guadignini and Jonathan Wright dumped leadoff singles into right field and Steve Soares reached on a two-out fielding error that scored Guadignini.

Army answered in the bottom of the second as J.T. Watkins smacked a two-out single to center field and Zach Price followed with a triple off the center-field fence. Andy Ernesto’s ringing double off the fence in left-center provided Army with a 2-1 advantage.

Navy tied the score at 2-2 in the third on leadoff home run to right-center field by Michael Speciale. But the Black Knights averted further damage in the inning when Tyler Anderegg relieved Fouch with runners at first and third and one out. Anderegg promptly picked off JD Melton at first base, then struck out Nick Driscoll to retire the side.

The Black Knights took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning, plating four runs on three base hits. Clint Moore drew a leadoff walk against Long, advanced to third on a single by McKague and scored on a single to right field by Joey Henshaw. McKague scored when Long threw wildly to second base on a comebacker by Koenigsfeld. That proved to be the last batter Long would face.

Drew Carlson relieved Long and induced J.P. Polchinski to ground out to shortstop, but Henshaw scored Army’s third run of the inning on the play. The Black Knights took a 6-2 lead when Price lined a clutch two-out RBI single to left field, scoring Koenigsfeld.

A two-run home run to right-center field by Guadignini off Anderegg in the fourth inched Navy to within 6-4, but Army got the run back in the fourth when McKague singled and scored when Navy left fielder Jonahthan Wright mishandled Henshaw’s opposite-field double down the left-field line.

Navy chipped away at the lead, pushing across single scores in both the fifth and sixth innings. A leadoff homer by Soares in the fifth, just inside the left field foul pole, carried the Mids to within 7-5, before Bolt’s run-scoring single to left field in the sixth brought the Mids to within one run at 7-6.

But McKague provided Army with a pair of valuable insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, blasting a mammoth two-run home run off Navy reliever Chris Murray that traveled an estimated 500 feet. The two-run shot came on an 0-1 offering from Murray and landed on the roof of Cullum Hall, a monstrous six-story building that sits 50 feet beyond the fence in left-center field.

McKague, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two runs batted in at the plate, then worked a perfect ninth inning on the pitcher’s mound to notch his third save of the season. Price and Henshaw collected two hits apiece for the Black Knights, who finished with 11 base hits.

Anderegg (2-1) earned the victory out of Army’s bullpen, allowing four runs on four hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out six and walked two. Long (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season for Navy, permitting six runs (four earned) on five hits over two-plus innings of work. He struck out two and walked three after entering the game amongst the nation’s leaders in strikeouts per nine inning.

Porter was magnificent in the nightcap, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before yielding a leadoff single to Matthew Curley. By that time, Army had chased Navy starter Wes Olson by registering six runs on 10 base hits over the first five frames.

Run-scoring singles by Kyle Fleming and J.T. Watkins in the bottom of the second inning gave Porter an early 2-0 lead. It proved to be all the offense he needed as Army’s sophomore right-hander retired the first six batters he faced and 18 of 21 overall entering the seventh.

Henshaw’s towering solo home run to center field in the third stretched the Black Knights’ lead to 3-0 before Army doubled its advantage with three runs on four hits to chase Olson in the fifth. Moore and Henshaw slapped consecutive singles to open the fifth. McKague’s sacrifice fly delivered Moore with Army’s fourth run. Consecutive RBI singles by Ben Koenigsfeld and Polchinski accounted for the Black Knights’ fifth and sixth runs, respectively.

Navy (12-19-1 overall, 5-5 Patriot) mounted its only serious scoring threat in the seventh, loading the bases with no outs on a leadoff walk by Speciale, a single to left by Jeff Bland and a wind-blown single to center by Jonathan Berkowitz. But Porter struck out Andrew Hahn looking for the first out of the inning before yielding to Anderegg. Army’s senior right-hander came on to strike out pinch-hitter Alex Azor and Matthew Curley, both looking, to halt the threat as Navy failed to break through.

After Anderegg worked a scoreless eighth inning, the game was called due to darkness, assuring Army of its fourth consecutive doubleheader sweep of its arch rival, dating back to 2007.

Porter (3-2) earned the victory, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings. He allowed just three singles, while fanning five and walking three. Anderegg fired 1.2 innings of hitless relief to preserve the win. He struck out three and walked one.

Olson (2-4) was tagged with the loss for Navy, surrendering six runs (five earned) on 10 base hits over 4.1 innings. He struck out four and walked two.

McKague, who went 6-for-7 with four runs scored and three runs batted in at the plate during the doubleheader, registered three hits in three plate appearances to head Army’s 11 hit attack. Henshaw added two hits and scored two runs as eight of the Black Knights’ starters collected at least one base hit in the second game.

“I am very pleased with the way the kids competed all day long right from the first inning of the first game to the last inning of the last game,” said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. “We played with sense of purpose and a strong focus throughout the day. Offensively, we put pressure on Navy all day long. I thought we came up with several big hits in key situations.

“Tyler Anderegg continues to shine and helped secure both ball games for us. We’re very impressed with what he has done with his opportunities. While we’ll enjoy the two wins, we realize they are behind us. We remain focused and look forward to stepping back on the field tomorrow at noon for another challenge.”

Army (15-14 overall, 5-5 Patriot) moved its overall record above the .500 mark for the first time since its season-opening defeat of Ohio University with Sunday’s doubleheader sweep. The Black Knights also moved into a virtual tie for third place in the Patriot League standings with Navy and Holy Cross (4-4) with the pair of wins. By virtue of its doubleheader sweep of Holy Cross on Sunday, Bucknell (6-4) moved into sole possession of first place in the Patriot League standings, followed by Lafayette (6-4), which took two games from Lehigh on Sunday.

Army and Navy will conclude their four-game conference series on Monday with another doubleheader at Doubleday Field. Monday’s contests will serve as the makeup dates for Saturday’s doubleheader that was postponed by rain.

Black Knights Blog: Joey Henshaw extended his hitting streak to a career-long 13 games with hits in both contests ... he finished the twinbill 4-for-7 with three runs scored and two runs batted in ... Henshaw and Kevin McKague combined to go 10-for-14 (.714) at the plate on Sunday, adding a double, two home runs, seven runs scored and five RBI ... McKague is in the midst of the finest stretch of his collegiate career ... returning to the lineup on Tuesday after missing the previous seven games with a shoulder injury, McKague went 13-for-16 in four games last week for a sizzling .813 batting average ... he scored eight runs and registered six runs batted in during the stretch, while posting an .789 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage ... McKague is now batting .418 on the season ... Henshaw remains entrenched in a similarly blazing stretch ... the sophomore designated hitter-first baseman is batting .458 (27-59) with two doubles, one triple, five home runs, 20 runs scored and 22 runs batted in during his last 15 games ... he has posted a slugging percentage of .780 (46 TB) in that time, while raising his seasonal batting average to .429 ... Army has not lost the ‘star” to Navy since 2003 ... freshman catcher J.T. Watkins extended his hitting streak to eight games with hits in both contests ... Army is now 8-3 at Doubleday Field this season ... the Black Knights recorded double digits in base hits during both contests ... Army has accomplished the feat 15 times this season and in each of the last four games ... the Black Knights banged out 61 base hits in four contests last week ... McKague notched his fourth career save in the opener ... the Black Knights recorded their third shutout of the season in the nightcap ... Army will look for its sixth consecutive regular-season series victory over Navy on Monday.