Army Defeats Holy Cross for their Second Sweep

WEST POINT – The Army West Point baseball team successfully defended Doubleday Field at Johnson Stadium on Saturday, sweeping Patriot League foe Holy Cross in a doubleheader.

The Black Knights (9-15, 4-2 PL) blanked the Crusaders (7-22, 2-4 PL) 7-0 before out-slugging the visiting team in a 13-7 victory.

Army 7, Holy Cross 0 (7 inn.)
The Black Knights had strong performances on both sides of the ball in their first game of the day, which was highlighted by Connelly Early’s pitching. Through his six-inning start, the southpaw struck out five batters and gave up just one hit, which was tallied in his final frame of work.

At the dish, the Cadets’ offense exploded for a season-best three home runs. Sam Ruta, Ross Friedrick and Braden Golinski all had balls leave the park, combining for six RBI. Both Friedrick and Golinski turned in a pair of hits while recording their first respective long balls of the year.

Ruta’s solo shot and Golinski’s two-RBI bomb gave the Black Knights their first lead of the day in the bottom of the fourth after a quiet first few innings. Friedrick, who singled, was collected on Golinski’s homer, puting the home team out in front at 3-0.

The offense put up another crooked number in the following frame, tagging up four additional runs. Manesis got the scoring started with an infield single that plated Dubrule and then came around to score himself when Friedrick mashed a ball over the fence in right field. Ruta also scored on the play, helping the Cadets pick up their seven-run total.

After allowing just two runners reach scoring position in his start, Early was relieved in the top of the seventh by Mike Ruggieri, who retired all three Crusaders he faced. Early (2-3) was credited with his second win of the year after helping Army post its third-straight shutout.

Army 13, Holy Cross 7
The bats continued their torrid pace in the second game between the two sides, as Army secured its victory behind a season-best 19 hits. All nine batters contributed to the effort for the Cadets, who scored in four different innings.

Army pounced on the Crusaders’ starting arm in the opening frame, tagging up seven runs on eight hits. Friedrick kicked off the spurt with a bases-clearing double before Cerruto put a two-RBI blast out of the park to extend the edge. The home team then got three-consecutive RBI singles from Berg, Macias and Dubrule to cap off the spree.

Following a second inning that saw each side put up a zero, the Cadets plated an additional two runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to Macias’ sac fly and another RBI knock from Dubrule. Both teams went on to trade scores in the fourth, as Holy Cross sent in a runner on a sac fly and Cerruto homered for the second time. The Crusaders’ run ended Army’s 26-inning streak of scoreless baseball and put the score at 10-1.

After digging themselves into a large deficit through four innings, the Crusaders started to chip away in the top of the fifth. Holy Cross led off with four-straight hits and scored three runs to chase starting arm Robbie Buecker out of the game. Tyler Prichard, who let one of the inherited runners score, and Trevor Finan combined for the final two outs.

Holy Cross’ offense continued to click in the sixth and the team used an RBI groundout and a double to trim the lead down to 10-7. The Crusaders did manage to get the tying run to the plate, but Sean Dennehy was called out of the bullpen to relieve Finan and successfully terminated the threat.

Army eventually responded to the push in the bottom of the seventh and used a three-spot to re-distance itself from the visiting team. Manesis, Friedrick and Cerruto were all credited with RBI during the frame, helping lift the Black Knights to the 13-7 advantage.

Matthew Ronnebaum closed things out on the mound for the Cadets, recording three of the final five outs on strikes. For his efforts in relief, Dennehy (3-2) was credited with the win.

“It was a good day for the guys. They really swung the bat well today. We always talk about putting pressure on the defense and trying to create runs, but we’ll gladly take some three-run homers. They hit some nices ones today. On the mound, we threw the ball well for most of the day. We ran into a little bit of trouble in the second game … But we got through there and then Ronnebaum came in and did a great job in the backend. It’s nice to be playing,” said Head Coach Jim Foster.