Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Army racked up 14 hits on the way to a 7-4 victory over Navy to sweep the four-game series with Midshipmen, Monday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.

Army outscored Navy 33-10 over the four games, never trailed in 33 innings of play and vaulted into a tie for first place in the Patriot League standings with an outstanding weekend.

Clint Moore scored twice and had two hits, Cole White doubled twice, Kyle Stramara had three hits and J.P. Polchinski had two singles and three pitchers held Navy to four runs as Army won its seventh straight contest.

With the “Star” already in hand after winning the first three games of the series, Army completed the sweep with its 17th double-digit hit contest of the season. It was the first time since 2005 that Army swept its service academy rivals.

The Black Knights improved to 15-18 overall and 7-5 in league competition. Navy, which entered the weekend leading the conference, fell to 20-17 overall and 6-6 in league games. Army, Bucknell and Holy Cross all stand at 7-5 in the standings.

“We executed very well,” said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. “We had timely hitting, put the ball in play and just executed very well. It was really fun to watch.”

Army scored runs in five Innings to beat Navy for the 18th time in the last 21 meetings.

Freshman Kirk Porter won his first collegiate game with three innings of work. Porter spelled starting pitcher Matt Fouch and struck out one and walked just two. Tyler Anderegg threw the final two innings. Fouch threw four innings, allowed six hits and struck out three.  Anderegg had two strikeouts in his two innings of work.

For the fourth straight game, Army took an early lead. Moore reached on an infield single to open the game and took third on Andy Ernesto’s single to right. Ernesto moved to second on a wild pitch. White hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate Moore and send Ernesto to third. After a line out, Polchinski drilled a single to left for a 2-0 Army lead.

“I’d like to thank our seniors for all of their contributions over the weekend,” Sottolano said. “It was such a gift to be able to send them out this way with something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

Navy got a run back in its first at-bat of the game. Fouch walked the leadoff hitter Michael Speciale and Jonathan Wright singled Army turned a strikeout-throw out double play as Fouch struck out Thomas Hamilton and catcher Chris Simmons threw out Speciale trying to steal third for the first two outs of the inning. Mitch Harris dropped a single into center field to score Hamilton before a ground out ended the inning.

Stramara singled in the second and Mike Greco singled and stole a pair of bases in the third but the Black Knights were unable to push another run across.

Navy tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Kendall Bolt and Mike Guadagnini hit back-to-back singles. Jeff Bland hit a pop into the outfield that fell for a base hit after it was lost in the sun that plated Bolt. Fouch escaped further damage with a pair of flyouts to White in right field.

The Black Knights went back on top in the fifth. Moore tripled off the wall in left field with one out and scored when Ernesto singled to the opposite field for a 3-2 advantage.

Army manufactured another run in the sixth. With one out, Simmons doubled to left field and moved to third when Stramara bunted for a base hit. Stramara stole second and Simmons beat the cut-off throw home for the fourth run of the game. Capozzi then dropped a double inside the right field line to score Stramara and a 5-2 Army lead.

Navy had a runner on in the sixth but Capozzi made a nice play on a line drive and doubled off the runner at first. Porter’s first strikeout ended the inning.

The Black Knights added an insurance run in the eighth inning to extend their lead to 6-2. With one out, Greco walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Steven May. May moved to third on a double by Stramara and trotted home when Capozzi grounded out.

Anderegg replaced Porter in the bottom of the eighth and struck out the first batter he faced. He allowed a single in the eighth before a ground out ended the inning.

Army wasn’t done scoring. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, White blasted a ground-rule double to right-center field. Navy brought in closer JD Melton who hit the first two batters he faced. Simmons grounded out to first to score White with the final Army run.

The Midshipmen strung together four straight hits, including two ground-rule doubles and had the tying run at the plate but a pop out ended the game.

Army will begin a nine-game homestand with a non-conference game against Hudson Valley rival Marist, Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Johnson Stadium.

Black Knights Blog: Major Artie Coughlin served as the team’s Officer Representative ... Army took batting practice first as the Midshipmen attended classes in the morning ... Army returned to its all-gray uniforms with black hats for Monday’s game with Navy in its traditional home whites with blue caps ... Army catcher Chris Simmons, who called his own games all weekend, contributed key hits and threw a runner out, made one of the top defensive plays of the weekend, making a sliding grab of a pop up behind home plate, with the sun in his face. He also extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double in the sixth ... Mike Greco has a seven-game hitting streak ... Without the support of the cadets, Max Bishop Stadium was a much quieter venue on Monday ... The West Point Society of Annapolis treated the players to a post-game spread ... Army head coach Joe Sottolano made a special emphasis in his post-game remarks to thank all the parents, fans and cadets who traveled to Annapolis, Md., for their support.