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Navy's Late Rally Falls Just Short in 5-4 Setback at Bucknell

Thomas Hamilton went 4-for-5 with three RBIs on Monday

	Thomas Hamilton drove home three runs in a 4-for-5 effort at the plate

April 21, 2008

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Navy baseball team scored twice in the final inning and loaded the bases with two outs, but a groundout cut the comeback short as the Midshipmen dropped the baseball series finale, 5-4, at Bucknell on Monday afternoon. The Mids fell to 23-20 on the year and 8-8 in Patriot League play, while the Bison improved to 20-18 and 9-7 in league action.

Trailing 5-2 going into the ninth, Navy's bats came alive. Mike Guadagnini (Fr./Virginia Beach, Va.) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a fielding error by the third baseman. Michael Speciale (So./Pearland, Texas) loaded the bases with a single to center before Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) delivered a two-run single to center that pulled the Mids within one at 5-4. Bucknell called upon Trey Frahler, who came in and got a strikeout and a fielder's choice to record two outs with runners on the corners. After a walk loaded the bases, Jonathan Wright (Fr./Arden, N.C.) stepped to the plate and rocketed a one-hopper to the first baseman, who stepped on the bag to end the game.

Navy's offense out-hit Bucknell, 13-6, drew four walks and was hit by a pitch, while striking out only twice on the day. The Bison turned two double plays and came up with the key pitch in forcing the Midshipmen to strand 12 runners on base.

"We had our opportunities and were in a good spot in the ninth, but their reliever (Frahler) did a nice job of getting the first-two outs. Jonathan stepped up hit the ball really hard. We were about two feet away from having the lead," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "We hit the ball hard all day, but did not get a lot of breaks. We had a lot of hard outs and got a little snake-bitten trying to get runners through. In the end, you need your four and five hitters in the lineup to come through and they did not today."

The Mids jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second, as Mitch Harris (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) led off the frame with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Jeff Bland (Fr./Basking Ridge, N.J.) single to center. The Bison knotted the score at one in the bottom half of the inning and had runners on the corners with nobody out, but Navy starter Yale Eckert (So./La Selva Beach, Calif.) settled in and induced three flyouts to avoid further damage.

Navy re-gained the lead in the fifth, as Renaldo Hollins (Sr../Virginia Beach, Va.) led off the stanza with a double down the left-field line and scored on a Hamilton single to center.

Bucknell again answered, this time with a three-run fifth to take the lead for good. With runners on first and second with two outs, Jason Buursma deposited the Eckert offering over the left-field fence for his league-leading 10th round-tripper of the year. One inning later, the Bison tacked on what proved to be the game-winning run with a run-scoring fielder's choice to second base.

The Midshipmen had a chance to cut the deficit in the seventh and eighth innings. After a walk and hit batsmen put two runners on in the seventh, Bucknell turned a double play to end the frame. One stanza later, Navy got a runner on with one out, but was again victimized by an inning-ending double play.

Eckert was tagged for the loss and fell to 1-5 on the year. He allowed five runs on six hits over five-plus innings of work with two walks and two strikeouts. Navy reliever Kevin Heasley (Sr./Cincinnati, Ohio) kept the Midshipmen within striking distance, as he did not yield a hit or a walk in three innings.

"This was probably Yale's best performance in the last month," said Kostacopoulos. "He was able to locate and had three pitches working for the first time in a while. He made one mistake out over the plate against a good hitter and he crushed it.

"Kevin just comes out and takes care of business. He has given us great effort every day."

Hamilton led the offensive attack with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate with three RBIs. Wright and Speciale each had two hits, while Hollins crossed home twice in Monday's loss.

Navy will return to Annapolis to begin a six-game homestand, starting with Maryland-Eastern Shore tomorrow at 4 p.m. Live stats for all of Navy's home games will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)