SUGAR LAND, TX – Army West Point Baseball rode early runs and multiple crooked number innings to a 13-2, run rule win Saturday night over service academy rivals Air Force in seven innings.
The Black Knights (5-4) set the tone with a run in each of the opening innings, before a three-run third and a six-run fourth opened the floodgates at Constellation Field.
Army moves to 1-1 at the Peak Events Battle at the Ballpark showcase, with one more game to play.
Sam Ruta opened the scoring with an RBI groundout, and Ethan Ellis scored on a fielding error an inning later.
After Air Force got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning, Braden Golinski and Ellis each recorded third inning RBIs, and Ruta scored on a throwing error as Army took a 6-1 lead.
Derek Berg scored on Air Force’s third error of the night in the fourth inning, and Golinski followed with a two-run triple two plate appearances later. Coleson Titus brought home Golinski, and Thomas Schreck completed the 10-batter frame with a two-out single to make it 11-1.
Army tacked on another pair in the seventh, on a William Parker two-RBI single.
On the mound, Matthew Ronnebaum pitched a complete game, striking out seven Falcons.
The Kansas native allowed two runs. Ronnebaum’s lengthy outing was his third in a service academy win over the past two seasons, logging 5.0 innings or more in wins last season against both Air Force and Navy.