Navy wins in 13th
Baseball team avoids NCAA elimination
RALEIGH, N.C. — Travis Blue doubled home Logan Knowles in the top of a three-run 13th inning and three relievers combined to allow one earned run to lead Navy past St. Mary’s (Calif.), 8-5, in a wild game Saturday at Doak Field.
Sean Trent, who finished with three hits, added a two-run single in the 13th to give the Midshipmen breathing room.
Navy (43-15-1) avoided elimination in the Raleigh Regional and will face the loser of Saturday night’s North Carolina StateCoastal Carolina matchup today at 1 p.m.
St. Mary’s, which dropped both games in its first postseason appearance, ends its season with a 33-25 record.
“It is not the biggest hit of my career actually; I just hit my first home run this year at Bucknell,” Blue said of his go-ahead hit. “I was just looking for something to elevate and be able to get it in the air.”
The victory came hours after the Mids battled host N.C. State on Friday in a game that ended Saturday morning at 1:36.
“It was a phenomenal game,” Navy coach Paul Kostacopoulos said. “It was two teams that just refused to lose out there. I think I calculated that the guys and myself have been here 13 of the last 24 hours out on that field.
“I am real proud of the players as far as being able to persevere. It really is something that Navy can take great pride in.”
The Mids led by two runs heading into the bottom of the seventh and squandered bases-loaded chances in the ninth and 10th innings before pushing across the decisive runs in the 13th. NCAA regional Video:
Andrew Sauer (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season. The Gaels had runners at first and third with one out in their half of the 13th, but Sauer struck out two to seal the win.
Navy senior Sam Sorenson pitched a career-best 61⁄3 innings in relief.
“I just have the same mentality every time I go out there,” Sorenson said. “I used to be a starter in high school, so I am pretty well-conditioned, at least I was, and I can go back-to-back days. I am good to go for tomorrow, too.
“We didn’t come here to roll over and lose, either. We are going to do our best, and I think we are going to win more games.”
St. Mary’s opened the scoring in the first, but the Mids quickly responded. In the second, after Trent opened the inning with a double, Leland Saile followed with a two-run homer to give Navy its first lead. The advantage was short-lived, though.
The Gaels retook the lead in the third when Jackson Thoreson hit a bases-loaded single up the middle off Navy reliever Kyle Condry to bring in two runs.
Once again the Mids answered, and it was Trent and Saile who got things going. The duo opened the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice fly advanced both runners, Adrian Chinnery hit a one-out single to bring Trent home and tie the score at 3.
In the top of the sixth, Navy loaded the bases with one out. The rally started with Saile recording his third hit. Knowles hit a 2-2 pitch up the middle to drive in two runs for a 5-3 lead.
The Mids did not hold the lead as St. Mary’s scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings off Sorenson to tie and set up Blue’s heroics.
It marks the first time Navy has won an NCAA tournament game since dispatching George Washington in 2002 and is the second postseason win for the Mids since 1982.