Army Wins Patriot League Baseball Championship in Sweep Over Lafayette
Black Knights Claim Fifth Crown Overall, First Since 2005
May 16, 2009
(Courtesy Patriot League)
West Point, NY - Army won its fifth Patriot League title and moved to on the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship by knocking off Lafayette, 8-1, in game two on Saturday afternoon at Doubleday Field. The victory followed a 6-2 win earlier in the day to give the Black Knights a sweep of the three-game series and their first Patriot League title since 2005.
Army will find out its NCAA Regional destination on May 25 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2, with the opening games set to begin on May 29.
The Black Knights won game two behind a strong starting pitching effort from Tournament Most Valuable Player Ben Koenigsfeld, who allowed just one run in eight innings on the mound. Army scored three times in the third and twice in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead and go on to the victory and Patriot League Championship.
The starting pitchers kept the game scoreless for the first two innings, with Lafayette's Corey Shea shutting down the first six hitters he faced and Army's Ben Koenigsfeld getting out of a second-inning jam after a 1-2-3 first.
Army broke the scoreless game open with three runs in the top of the third, thanks in part to three errors by Lafayette's defense. The bottom of the order got things started for the Black Knights, as Kyle Fleming led off with an infield single. Runners reached first and second when Lafayette catcher A.J. Miller could not throw Fleming out at second on David Darnell's bunt. Fleming and Darnell moved to second and third on an errant pickoff attempt by Shea. J.T. Watkins followed with an infield single to score Fleming, while Darnell came around to score and Watkins moved to second on a throwing error by Lafayette second baseman A.J. Pisarri. Another Lafayette error got Army's third run in, as Justin Shepherd threw the ball away on Zach Price's sacrifice bunt attempt and Watkins came in to score for the 3-0 lead. A wild pitch moved Price to third with nobody out, but Shea got the next three hitters to keep the damage to three runs.
The bottom of the lineup produced two more runs for the Black Knights in the fourth to make it a 5-0 game. Fleming drew a two-out walk to get the rally started, and Darnell followed with a single to put runners on first and third. Darnell stole second to put two men in scoring position, and Watkins came through with a two-run single through the right side to give Army the five-run lead.
Koenigsfeld got through the first three innings without allowing a run, but Lafayette got on the board in the fourth. Jeff Butler and Shepherd led off the inning with singles, and Matt Fenster laced a one-out single to plate Butler and get the Leopards within 5-1. Koenigsfeld struck out Miller and got Alex Bechta to ground out to get out of the inning.
The Black Knights manufactured a run in the fifth to build the lead back to five runs. Andy Ernesto did most of the work, singling to lead off the inning and moving around to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Kevin McKague drove Ernesto in from there with a groundout to second to give Army a 6-1 advantage.
Koenigsfeld pitched around a leadoff walk in the fifth, and the Black Knights scored for a fourth consecutive inning in the sixth. J.P. Polchinski and Kyle Fleming led off the inning with walks, and each moved up a base on a wild pitch. Darnell came through with a sacrifice fly to bring in Polchinski, and Watkins did the same to score Fleming and give Army an 8-1 lead.
Koenigsfeld shut the door from that point. Lafayette threatened to get closer in the bottom of sixth with runners on first and second and nobody out, but Koenigsfeld induced a double-play ground ball to stall the rally. He then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, and followed by allowing just one runner to reach base in the eighth.
McKague came in to close it out in the ninth, striking out Brian Davila to end the game and earn the Black Knights their fifth Patriot League title.
The Patriot League All-Tournament Team consisted of: Holy Cross' Jake Gorman and Bobby Holmes; Bucknell's Ben Allen and Doug Shribman; Lafayette's Ryan Hanna, Jeff Butler and Rob Froio; and Army's Joey Henshaw, Andy Ernesto, Matt Fouch and Ben Koenigsfeld.
Patriot League Championship Notes
Army won its fifth Patriot League title, tying Navy for the most in League annals
The Black Knights' previous crowns came in 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2005
Army won all but the 2000 crown at Doubleday Field, and has never lost a Championship series on its home field
Army and Lafayette were facing off in the Championship for the third time in six years, with the Black Knights winning at home in 2004 and Leopards winning at home in 2007.
All three of the matchups ended in sweeps.
Army improved to 15-9 in the Patriot League Tournament, and 10-5 in the Championship Series
Lafayette fell to 5-7 in the Tournament, and 2-4 in the Championship
All three of Lafayette's Championship series appearances have come against Army
Koenigsfeld won the Tournament MVP after winning Pitcher of the Year honors after the regular season
He is the first player in Patriot League history to win both awards in the same season
Koenigsfeld also became the first player in League annals to earn two First-Team All-League honors in the same season
Army pitched to a 1.02 earned run average in its five Patriot League Tournament contests
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