Army posts pair of shutouts in sweep of Lehigh

Courtesy photo-Cole White was one of three Black Knight pitchers who allowed no Lehigh base runners to reach third base in 16 innings of play.

Cole White scattered six hits in the opener, and Matt Fouch and Kirk Porter combined on a three-hitter in the nightcap as Army regained a share of first place in the Patriot League by posting a pair of shutout victories against Lehigh Sunday afternoon.

The Black Knights won the first game 5-0 behind the stellar pitching of White, then rode the dominant performances of Fouch and Porter to a 6-0 victory in the second game. Over the course of 16 innings, White, Fouch and Porter did not allow a single Lehigh base runner to reach third base.

Coupled with Holy Cross' doubleheader split against Lafayette, Army (18-20 overall, 10-6 Patriot) moves back into a tie with Holy Cross (10-6 Patriot) atop the conference standings heading into the final weekend of regular season conference action.

"Any time you get great pitching, outstanding defense and clutch hitting, you expect good things to happen," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "We received all those things. I was pleased with the way we bounced back after losing the first game of the series against a pitcher who threw a very good game against us. We responded with three straight wins. That shows a lot of mental toughness and a strong will and desire to win. We look forward to getting back out on the field for our next competition."

White (2-4) matched zeroes with Lehigh starter Andrew Berger (2-5) through three innings of the first game before Army broke through for four runs in the fourth after the Mountain Hawks had registered a pair of outs. With two outs and a runner on first, Chris Simmons lashed an opposite-field triple into the right-field corner, scoring Kevin McKague with the first run of the game. Sean Rainbird followed with an RBI double to the left-center field gap and Kyle Stramara's double down the right-field line scored Rainbird as Army ripped three straight extra-base hits off Berger. Tony Capozzi's flair into right-center fell for the Black Knights' fourth consecutive base hit, providing Army with a 4-0 lead.

That proved to be more than enough support for White, who turned in his second straight outstanding performance on the mound. Seven days after firing a complete-game one-hitter in outdueling Navy ace Mitch Harris, White was equally impressive against Lehigh. The senior right-hander allowed just one Mountain Hawk base runner to reach scoring position over the first five innings and just three into scoring position for the entire game. In fact, the Mountain Hawks placed two runners on base in the same inning only once.

He yielded just six singles, struck out six and did not walk a batter. In his last 14 innings of mound work, White has permitted seven hits and one run, leading the Black Knights to wins over Navy and Lehigh.

"Cole came out and set the tone today right from the start," stated Sottolano. "We hit a lot of balls hard and came away empty early in the first game. Cole kept us in the ball game and allowed our offense to remain patient until we had opportunities to score. He's given us everything he has, as have all the seniors. I'm very proud of them all."

The Black Knights received a pair of standout pitching performances in the second game as Fouch and Porter paired to limit the Mountain Hawks to three harmless singles and permitted just three runners in scoring position. For the second straight game, Lehigh managed to place two runners on base in the same inning only once as the Black Knights' pitchers completely stifled the Mountain Hawks' offensive attack.

Army wasted little time grabbing the lead in the nightcap, plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning against Lehigh starter Andrew Grim (3-2). Andy Ernesto drew a one-out walk and scored on an opposite-field triple in the right-field corner by White. Kevin McKague's RBI grounder plated White for an early 2-0 Army lead.

The Black Knights tacked on single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to move ahead 4-0 after six innings of play. White and McKague opened the fourth with consecutive infield singles. Both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by J.P. Polchinski. Simmons' RBI single into left-center field delivered White with Army's third run of the game. White ignited Army's mini-uprising in the sixth, smacking a leadoff single into center field. He moved to second on a sacrifice by McKague and scored on a single up the middle by Simmons.

Back-to-back solo home runs by McKague and Polchinski off Lehigh reliever Rob Russell in the eighth inning sealed the verdict for Army. McKague's mammoth blast landed well beyond the fence in left-center field, while Polchinski followed with a healthy shot to straightaway center field. It marked the third home run of the season for both players.

Fouch (3-2) was spectacular in turning in the finest starting effort of his collegiate career. The sophomore southpaw allowed three hits over six solid innings, while striking out six and walking two. Porter ran his scoreless string to 11 innings by tossing three hitless frames. He retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, fanning two and walking one.

White went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and one run batted in, while Simmons went 3-for-4 with two RBI to pace Army's 12-hit showing at the plate. McKague added two hits and two runs batted in as Army recorded double figures in base hits for the 19th time this season.

After notching just two wins in their first seven Patriot League contests this spring, the Black Knights have captured eight of their last nine conference tilts to vault into a tie for first place.
Army will enter the final weekend of regular season Patriot League play needing just one win over Lafayette to clinch its fourth Patriot League Tournament appearance in five years.