Annapolis, Md. (Mar. 2, 2016) --- Navy scored 11 runs in the second inning and added six more in the third en route to a 20-4 victory over Delaware State at Bishop Stadium today. The Midshipmen won for the sixth time in seven games this season, while the Hornets are winless in nine contests.
Navy scored all of its runs and pounded out 16 hits off the first three Hornet pitchers. Three DSU relievers kept the Midshipmen off the scoreboard and allowed just two hits in six innings of work.
The Hornets had seven hits in the contest, one for extra bases.
The game started well for Delaware State, which opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning.
Darnell Maisonet walked to lead of the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Evan Regez. Two batters later, Jaylen Zielecki singled to right, scoring Maisonet to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
Navy answered with three runs on three hits off DSU starter Cole Davis in the bottom of the first.
After DSU failed to score in the top of the second, the Midshipmen blew the game open with 11 runs in the bottom of the inning to open up a 14-1 lead. Navy sent 15 men to the plate, pounding out nine hits from eight different players in the inning. Sean Trent led the way with a single and later on a double. Six Midshipmen had RBIs in the frame with Stephen Born knocking in a pair of runs. Both Born and Trent squared up Hornet pitching for doubles, while Travis Blue hit the first of his two straight triples.
Navy extended its lead from 14-1 to 20-1 with six more runs in the third inning. Travis Blue, Christian Hodge, Logan Knowles and Andre Lowry each collected base hits with Blue second's triple leading the way. Blue, Hodge, Knowles and Born each had run-scoring singles, while the final two runs for the Mids in the third were scored off DSU wild pitches.
Trent and Born drove in three runs, while Blue, Knowles and Leland Saile knocked in two each for Navy.
The Hornets broke the Midshipmen scoring run with three runs in the top of the fourth. The rally started with two outs and the bases empty. Chris Panzarella and Austin Bentley had back-to-back singles, with Panzarella moving to third on the Bentley hit. Sam Barber followed with a double down the right line, scoring Panzarella and sending Bentley to third base. Kwestin Smith then reached on a throwing error, with Bentley and Barber scoring in the play to cut Navy's lead to 20-4.
Panzarella had two of the Hornets' seven hits.
Delaware State relievers Gabe Rivera, Garrett Coverdale and Zielecki shut out Navy over the Mids' last 18 outs.
Rivera threw two hitless and scoreless innings, striking out three. Coverdale shut out Navy over three innings, allowing just two hits and striking out one. Zielecki struck out two of the four batters he faced in a scoreless eighth inning of relief.
The Hornets return to action with games against UMass-Lowell and the University of Delaware on Saturday (Mar. 5) at UD's Bob Hannah Stadium in Newark. The DSU/UMass-Lowell contest is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. The Hornets will face the Blue Hens at 2:30 p.m.
Delaware State is also scheduled to face Delaware on Sunday (Mar. 6) at 2:30 p.m. in Newark.
