Army Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader at G.A.

DECATUR, GA. – Army West Point Baseball was looking to recover from a pair of close losses at Georgia State Friday and Saturday, and did just that Sunday with a doubleheader sweep at GSU Baseball Complex.

The Black Knights (7-7) will go home with an overall series split, heading into this week’s home opener.

Game 1
A high-scoring Game 1 finished 13-8 in favor of the Black Knights. Sam Ruta was 4-for-5 with two home runs, Derek Berg was 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two home runs, and Ethan Ellis added three RBIs.

Army pounced to an early 4-0 lead in the seven-inning contest, with Ellis and Coleson Titus RBIs in the opening frame.

Sam Ruta had a solo home run in the second and Derek Berg followed in the fourth, for Army to go ahead 6-5.

Trailing entering the fifth, Paul Andrzejewski gave the Black Knights the lead back with a squeeze bunt RBI, and Berg followed with a three-run homer. Braden Golinski bow-tied the inning with an RBI single to make it 12-7.

Ruta’s second home run gave Army permanent separation in the seventh inning. On the mound, Steven Graver went three innings and struck out five in his first start of the season. Bryce Brownlee tossed the remaining four frames and earned the win.

Game 2
A seven-run fourth inning highlighted the Black Knights’ showing in Game 2, as Army cruised to an 11-3 win in eight innings.

Ellis scored the game’s first run in the second on a passed ball, and had the contest’s first RBIs in the fourth, on a double to score Justin Lehman and William Parker.

Later in the fourth, Berg singled through the left side for two RBIs, Golinski walked with the bases loaded and Parker came to bat for the second time in the frame to make it 8-0 Army by driving in a pair.

Lehman started on the mound and pitched four innings, with an unearned run allowed and three strikeouts. Dom Trippi, Joe Valchar, Mark Abell and Andrew Berg each pitched in relief.

After three unanswered runs from Georgia State in the forth and fifth, Andrzejewski brought home two Black Knights in the seventh, and Thomas Schreck added an RBI in the eighth to put the game out of reach for the Panthers.