West Point Romps to 26-3 Win Over Stonehill

MANHATTAN, KS – The Army West Point baseball team registered its most runs since 2019 following a 6-3 (seven innings) rout of Stonehill in the first of a two-game series Saturday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.

The Black Knights (5-3) registered their most runs since a 23-11 home shellacking of Villanova in 2019, and just three shy of the school record 29 recorded against Fordham in 1982.

Army scored multiple runs in each of the first five innings, batting around twice in the second and third frames.

The top five in Army’s starting lineup collected 13 of Army’s 21 hits, crossed the plate 15 times and drove in 18.

Leadoff batter Derek Berg and Ross Friedrick, third in the rotation, each ripped a home run and crossed the plate four times. Friedrick also led the way in multiple RBI with five going 3-for-3 at the plate. Berg (4-for-5) and center fielder Braden Golinski (3-for-4) each knocked in four runs. The Black Knights had six post multiple RBI in the game.

Also tallying multiple RBI were Kevin Dubrule, Bret Copeland and Sam Ruta with the first two knocking in three and the latter two, respectively.

Army jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first on four hits with Friedrick’s home run with a man aboard knocking in the first two and Copeland delivering two more with his single to left field.

The Black Knights put the game away in the second as they batted around in sending eight runs across on four hits. Bert opened that inning with a solo blast followed by RBI singles from Friedrick and Braden Golin, Copeland’s sacrifice fly, a hit by pitch, error and back-to-back RBI walks to pull ahead 12-0.

The team pushed eight more runs across in the third with Golin’s RBI single driving in the final two runs for an insurmountable 20-0 lead. Four more runs in the fourth and two in the fifth closed out the Army scoring.

Stonehill averted the shutout pushing across three runs on two hits in the bottom of the seventh.

On the hill, junior Matthew Ronnebaum (1-0) yielded just one hit, struck out seven and issued one walk in going six innings recording his first win of the season.