NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Army West Point baseball team suffered its first shutout loss of the season on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Field, as No. 4 Vanderbilt pulled out a 6-0 result in the series finale.
Throughout the course of the day, the Black Knights (1-5) struggled to string anything together offensively, leaving nine runners on base. Five different players accounted for the team's five base hits, which were all singles.
Starting pitcher Mike Ruggieri (0-2) was hit with the loss, as he allowed Vanderbilt (5-2) to earn its initial lead in the bottom of the second when a two-RBI single and a sac fly put the Commodores up 3-0.
Ruggieri, who forced Vanderbilt to put up a zero in the first, went on to record another scoreless inning before handing the ball over to Matthew Ronnebaum in the bottom of the fourth. The home team added to its lead in that frame, plating two unearned runs with a double that pushed the score up to 5-0.
Army's offense went cold in the middle of the game, recording just one hit between the fourth and seventh innings. The knock came off the bat of Blake Ledoux, who he singled in the top of the seventh to join Bennett Smith on the base paths but both two-out runners were stranded at the end of the frame.
On the mound, Sean Dennehy, Patrick Melampy and Tyler Prichard combined for the last three innings of the day. The trio gave up just one total run, which went against Melampy in the bottom of the eighth, while scattering four hits and fanning three batters.
Coach's Corner
"This was a good weekend of baseball. The guys went out there and gave it their all, so I'm proud of them for that. When you play one of the best teams in the country, you want to see where you're at and what you need to do to improve. I thought we had our chances this weekend, but we have to put the ball in play more ... There were minor differences [that led to the results of the] games. We're excited to move on and see how good we can get. Hopefully by June, we can be a different team that can show up and win a few against a team like this. We're a good team when we bunt, when we run and when there's action, but we didn't get to that this weekend. The pieces are there. We're getting there." - Head Coach Jim Foster
Cadet's Corner
"As far as today, we should've done better situationally. It's something that we've been working on. It was a promising weekend, no doubt. There are a lot of pieces that are starting to come together. We just have to actually put them together. I thought the pitchers did a great job and the hitters need to continue to make the adjustments. That will win us games in the future." - Kevin Dubrule
What's Next
The Black Knights will have a few days off before hitting the road once again for the All-American Classic, which is scheduled to run from Friday, March 4 through Sunday, March 6 in Fayetteville, N.C. Over the course of the weekend, Army will face off against Pitt, Campbell and Ohio State.
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