Baseball Explodes for Win on Sunday Against Holy Cross
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Baseball had every reason to be frustrated, after scoring just three combined runs in a doubleheader Saturday.
But playing with an apparent focused edge, it took the Black Knights less than one inning Sunday to surpass Saturday's total offensive output at Doubleday Field. And for fans hungry for runs, they received plenty more, as Army bludgeoned the Holy Cross Crusaders 21-6 in the weekend series finale.
Sam Ruta homered twice and tied the program record for RBIs in a game, with eight. Each member of the lineup had a hit, Army scored in each inning, and the home team secured the win by run rule for the second time in Patriot League play.
Braden Golinski tripled for two runs to open a busy day for the bats, before Ruta's first homer of the day made it 5-0 after an inning.
Ruta fouled out for a sacrifice fly in the second, before Justin Lehman capped a two-out rally with a two-RBI single to put the Black Knights ahead 8-0.
Army inflicted considerable damage in the third, with nine runs off seven hits and 13 batters. Ruta's grand slam followed a two-run double from Addison Ainsworth, an RBI base knock off the bat of Thomas Schreck and a Derek Berg RBI double. Ainsworth added to his tally with an RBI single in the fourth to make it 18-0.
Berg and Parker each added RBI singles in the fifth, before Jack Morken recorded his first career RBI as a pinch-hitter in the sixth as the Black Knights went ahead 21-0.
Not to be outdone by the lively hitting, Steven Graver delivered six scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just five baserunners. The Yardley, Pa. native moved to 3-0 on the season.
Sean Dennehy and Jakob Vanderhave each logged bullpen outings.
By the Numbers
.542: The Black Knights batted .542 as a team Sunday, with a 1.573 OPS. The club's 19 hits were a season-high.
11: 11 Black Knights got into the hit column Sunday.
4-for-5: Chris Barr was 4-for-5 with a walk and crossed the plate five times.
3-for-3: Coleson Titus was 3-for-3, was hit by a pitch and had a double.
3: Berg and Ainsworth finished with three RBIs; Golinski and Lehman added two each.
2-for-3: Berg and Ruta had 2-for-3 days at the plate, while Ainsworth followed by going 2-for-4.
2: Army sent at least all nine hitters to the plate in twice, going around in both the first and the third innings.
Black Knight Notes
Ruta is the second player this season to tie the single-game RBI program record, after William Parker had an eight-RBI performance in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Bucknell on March 25. Ruta and Parker now share the mark with Anthony Giachin, who drove in eight runs against Air Force Feb. 15, 2019.
Ruta's two-homer game was the fourth of the season for a Black Knight, with himself having one of the other three (Braden Golinski and Derek Berg)
Parker has reached base 29 games in a row.
Amy has scored 20 runs in a game twice this year (Match 25, at Bucknell). Both instances were run rule-shortened contests.
The 33 total bases Army generated was a season-high, and most since at least Feb. 15, 2019, vs. Air Force (30).
All 21 runs Sunday came on RBIs, with that mark representing a season-high for the club.
Next Up
Army is next is action Tuesday at home against Stony Brook. The non-conference affair commences at 3:00 p.m. at Doubleday Field and ESPN+ will provide coverage.
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