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                         April 12, 2002

Baseball splits with Lehigh; Kashner pitches well

By Bob Beretta
Asst. Athletic Dir., Athletic Media Relations

Freshman Justin Kashner allowed just three hits and one run to notch his second complete-game Patriot League victory in seven days and senior Kyle Kalkwarf staked Army to an early lead with a two-run double in the first inning as the Black Knights defeated Lehigh 4-1 in the second game of the teams’ doubleheader, Sunday afternoon at Doubleday Field. Lehigh rode the shutout pitching of Jack Muscalus in the first game en route to an 8-0 win.

For the second straight day, Army bounced back to win the nightcap after dropping the opener against Lehigh, and for the second straight day the Black Knights (8-13, 3-5 Patriot) received an outstanding pitching performance by a freshman to key the victory.

While classmate Dan Cappello yielded only four hits and one unearned run in a 5-1 win Saturday, Kashner (3-1) was just as impressive Sunday. The plebe right-hander struck out five and walked one, surrendering only Eric Hoffman’s leadoff home run in the sixth. That was the only mark on Kashner’s ledger as he allowed just two other singles the rest of the day and retired 10 of the last 12 batters he faced.

Kashner, who defeated Navy April 1, is 2-0 with a 2.57 earned run average in two Patriot League starts. He has given up just 10 hits in 14 innings of league work, notching a pair of complete-game efforts in the process. Cappello, meanwhile is 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 13.0 innings of conference action.

Kalkwarf provided Kashner with all the run support he would need in the first inning Sunday, lacing an opposite-field double down the right field line that plated two runs. A run-scoring single by senior Josh Rizzo off Lehigh starter Jeff Pietrak (0-3) in the second stretched Army’s lead to 3-0 before freshman Scott Komaromy’s successful suicide squeeze bunt in the fourth inning delivered freshman Nate Stone with the Black Knights’ fourth run of the contest.

In the first game, Army mounted several late threats against Muscalus, placing two runners on base in each of its final four plate appearances, but the Black Knights never could break through against Lehigh’s freshman starter. Muscalus struck out four, walked three and retired eight of the first nine batters he faced.

Lehigh (14-12-1, 2-2 Patriot) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning, riding RBI singles by Jeff Quiros and Anthony Piccola. A run-scoring double by Jeremy Mack in the third stretched the Mountain Hawks’ lead to 3-0. Lehigh put the game away with three runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh off Army sophomore starter Wes Bumgardner (0-3). A two-run home run by Jesse Novalis in the seventh closed out the scoring.

Mack finished with two hits, two runs scored and two runs batted in to pace Lehigh’s eight-hit attack, while senior Miguel Gastellum collected two of the Black Knights’ five hits in the opener. It marked the first time Army has been shut out this year.