Return to the "POINTER VIEW"April 27, 2001
Return to the "POINTER VIEW"
April 27, 2001
|
| Junior Kyle Kalkwarf heads to first base. The Army outfielder was 6-for-6 on the day against Lafayette pounding out two doubles, a home run and four RBIs to help Army earn a double-header split. |
Junior Kyle Kalkwarf went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and classmate Mike Erwin fired four innings of relief as Army defeated Lafayette 13-9 to earn a split of the teams’ Patriot League doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Metzger Fields in Easton, Pa. The Leopards battled back from an early 7-0 deficit en route to a 12-7 victory in the opener.
With the twinbill split, Army (14-22-1, 8-8 Patriot) retained sole possession of third place in the Patriot League standings, one game in front of fourth-place Holy Cross and two games ahead of fifth-place Lehigh. The top three teams in the Patriot League’s final regular-season standings qualify for the league tourney at season’s end. Army captured the Patriot League title a year ago after finishing third in the regular-season standings and concludes its conference slate with a four-game series at league-leading Bucknell Saturday and Sunday.
Kalkwarf, who enjoyed a perfect day at the plate, finished the doubleheader 6-for-6 with two doubles, one home run and four runs batted in. His leadoff-double in the second inning of the nightcap ignited a four-run outburst for the Black Knights that provided Army with an early 4-1 lead. Sophomore Josh Holden’s two-out, three-run homer to right field keyed the attack after Lafayette had taken a quick 1-0 lead on Jason Boyd’s wind-blown, opposite-field home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
Army stretched its lead to 7-1 with three runs in the third, before the Black Knights parlayed three walks, three base hits and a hit batsman into five more runs and a 12-3 cushion in the fourth inning. Junior Josh Minney delivered the big blow during the frame, ripping a two-run single down the third-base line.
Lafayette responded in turn, chasing Army freshmen starter Indy Wilkinson and reliever Justin Swanson in the fourth by plating five runs on three base hits, three walks and a hit batsman of its own.
In the first game, Army raced out to an early 7-0 lead, scoring three runs in the first inning and four in the second. Kalkwarf’s two-run double highlighted the Black Knight first, while senior Buddy Gengler’s two-run home run keyed the Army second.
But Lafayette’s bats came alive against junior starter Brian Elliott during the middle innings, scoring two runs in the third and five in the fourth to knot the score at 7-7. The Leopards took control in the fifth, loading the bases before Adam Rosenberg blasted a grand-slam home run to center field, providing Lafayette with an 11-7 advantage.
