Game One Box Score (Army 13, NJIT 4)
Game Two Box Score (Army 16, NJIT 8)
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Clint Moore blasted a two-run home run in the first game, a grand slam in the nightcap and knocked in eight runs on the day, leading Army to a doubleheader sweep of NJIT, in non-league action Saturday afternoon at Doubleday Field.
The Black Knights, Patriot League regular season co-champions, routed the Highlanders 13-4 in the seven-inning opener and 16-8 in the nine-inning second game, extending their winning streak to five games in the process.
Moore raised his seasonal batting average to .408, finishing the day 4-for-8 with five runs scored and eight runs batted in. His two-run homer in the second inning of the opener provided Army starter Matt Fouch with a 6-2 lead. After P.J. Saporito had given NJIT an early lead with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning, the Black Knights answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame. An RBI groundout by Joey Henshaw and a two-run triple by Ben Koenigsfeld highlighted the uprising.
Army added two runs on four hits in the fourth inning, three runs on three hits in the fifth and two runs on two hits in the sixth to account for its final 13-run total.
Andy Ernesto went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two runs batted in, while Kevin McKague, Tony Capozzi and J.T. Watkins finished with two hits apiece. Watkins doubled twice for the Black Knights.
Fouch went six solid innings to earn his fifth victory in eight decisions. He allowed two runs on six hits while striking out five and walking three. NJIT added two runs in the top of the seventh inning off reliever Manny Fernandez.
Moore, who narrowly missed a grand slam home run during Wednesday’s victory over Marist in the WPDH Hudson Valley Baseball Classic at Dutchess Stadium, did not fall shy on Saturday. His towering homer to left with the bases loaded keyed a seven-run fifth inning that helped Army open an 11-2 lead in the second game. David Darnell added an RBI double in the inning while Kyle Fleming doubled and a ripped a run-scoring single to help key the stanza, which saw Army send 12 batters to the plate.
Darnell’s first career homer, a leadoff shot to left-center in the bottom of the sixth, stretched the Black Knights’ lead to 12-2.
NJIT (4-27) closed to within 12-8, pushing across six runs on five hits in the top of the seventh. Two-run singles by Jeff Pizzi and Saporito, and an RBI double by John Berner highlighted the Highlander attack. But Army, which benefitted from 15 bases on balls issued by NJIT pitching in the second game, put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. A two-run single by Watkins and an RBI single by Zach Price led the way for the Black Knights (27-17).
Moore, who went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and four runs batted in during the opener, finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI in the nightcap. Darnell went 3-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Fleming went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, and Watkins finished with two hits, three runs scored and two RBI in three official plate appearances.
The Black Knights registered 12 hits in the second game after recording 14 hits in the opener.
Koenigsfeld (7-3) earned the victory on the mound during the second game. He allowed eight runs on 10 hits over 6.1 innings of work. He struck out six and walked one. Army’s sophomore right-hander had allowed just two runs before tiring in the seventh.
Army, which will host Holy Cross in a best-of-three Patriot League Tournament semifinal series next weekend at Doubleday Field, moved its record 10 games above .500 for the first time in three years with Saturday’s doubleheader sweep. The Black Knights have now won 17 of their last 21 games overall, including 11 of their last 12 decisions.
Army and NJIT will close out their three-game weekend series on Sunday with one nine-inning contest. First pitch at Doubleday Field is slated for 1 p.m. The Black Knights’ six seniors will be honored prior to the contest.
Black Knights Blog: Army raised its team batting average to .340 during Saturday’s doubleheader sweep ... Clint Moore took over the team lead in total bases with 107, moving one ahead of Joey Henshaw ... Moore has been on a tear the last two weeks, batting .586 with three doubles, three triples, five home runs, 19 runs scored and 23 runs batted in during his last eight games ... he has now homered in four of his last five outings and collected seven multiple-hit showings in his last eight games ... Moore has posted a 1.414 slugging percentage and seven multiple-RBI performances during that span ... he has collected multiple RBI in each of his last five games and now owns 17 multi-RBI showings this season, one shy of the single season school record established by classmate Kevin McKague last spring ... Moore also shares the team lead in multiple-hit games with 21 this spring ... both he and Joey Henshaw stand two shy of the single season school record in that category set by Cole White in 2007 ... Moore extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Saturday ... that stands as the longest active streak amongst Black Knights ... McKague tops Army with a .429 batting average ... freshman catcher J.T. Watkins went 4-for-7 with five runs scored and three runs batted in during Saturday’s twinbill, lifting his seasonal batting average to .261 ... seven different Army players with at least 50 official plate appearances sport batting averages of at least .300 ... three – McKague (.429), Moore (.408) and Henshaw (.406) – top the .400 mark ... Henshaw’s bid for a three-run homer in the second game narrowly hooked foul over the top of the right-field foul pole ... the Black Knights added to their single season school record home-run total with three homers on Saturday ... Army is now 13-4 at home this season.
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