The baseball team (6-21 overall, 2-5 Patriot League) lost all three games of its away series against the United States Naval Academy (17-11 overall, 8-3 Patriot League).
The series kicked off with a doubleheader on Saturday. Navy won the first contest 6-5, while the second finished 16-4 in favor of the Midshipmen. The series closed out on Sunday with a 6-3 Navy victory.
The Leopards had an ideal start to the first game, taking a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Senior catcher Michael Mallas hit an RBI double off the left-field wall for the first run, and senior OF Justin Grech followed. A throwing error from the home side and a sacrifice fly from freshman utility Luke Caucci capped off the scoring spree.
However, Navy responded, storming back to take a 6-4 lead by the fifth inning, and freshman infielder Matt Colella’s RBI single to left-center field in the seventh was not enough for the comeback.
Junior right-handed pitcher Joe Skapinetz recorded the loss for the Leopards after pitching 5.0 innings, striking out four batters and conceding 10 hits and six runs.
Navy continued its momentum in the second game, taking an impressive 13-0 lead by the third inning. The game ended 16-4 to the Midshipmen, and sophomore left-handed pitcher Trace Florio took the loss.
Finally, the series closed out with a 6-3 Navy victory. After the home team recorded the first run in the opening inning, the two sides failed to score again until the bottom of the seventh, when Navy brought the score to 4-0.
Then, Lafayette scored three runs in the top of the eighth, after sophomore outfielder Charlie Chropuvka, Caucci and senior infielder Blaze Fadio came across the plate.
Navy wasted no time with its response, however, adding two runs in the bottom of the same inning. Freshman right-handed pitcher Tristan Helmick took the loss for the Maroon and White.
Lafayette was slated to host the University of Delaware (13-13 overall, 3-3 conference) this past Tuesday for the Liberty Bell Classic Semifinal, but the contest was postponed to next week due to inclement weather. The Leopards are scheduled to host a doubleheader against Bucknell University (10-17 overall, 3-8 Patriot League) Saturday at noon.
Two members of the baseball team did not respond to requests for comment.
