Well that’s a wrap! Army finished the regular season Sunday by sweeping a doubleheader at Lafayette, bringing their league record to 21-4 (.840). That’s good for the most wins and the 7th highest winning percentage in Patriot League history. Not a bad way to end it!
With today's wins, the Black Knights have set a new @PatriotLeague record for Conference wins in a single season! 👏 👏#GoArmy #ABF pic.twitter.com/ytdNO426PP
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) May 8, 2023
Accordingly, the bracket is set, and with the Patriot League destined for only one bid, Army will have to win it all to get into the NCAA tournament.
Lafayette will play at Army starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 13th. Following that, game 2 will be the next day at noon. If necessary, game 3 would be a doubleheader starting at 4:00 PM.
And the PL Tourney is of course finalized: pic.twitter.com/C4eajPBh7D
— 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 (@BrigadeReview) May 7, 2023
Assuming Army gets past Lafayette, they’ll host the winner of the Navy-Bucknell series the following weekend. Army could get helped out by Bucknell’s graduation on Sunday. Navy and Bucknell have a doubleheader on Saturday. If they split, game 3 takes place on Monday. It’s early, but there is rain in the forecast for Monday, so a rainout could even push the game to Tuesday. If so, the winner of game 3 would have to make a fast turnaround while the winner of the New York series will get an extra 1-2 days of rest.
The Matchup
Army and Lafayette have met six times in the Patriot League tournament, all in best-of-three series. Army has a combined record of 10-3 in those games, 5-1 in the series. Like this year, the last three postseason matchups (2011, 2012, 2021) were in the semifinals.
We're set to take on the #4 seed Lafayette Leopards in the @PatriotLeague Tournament Semifinals this weekend!#GoArmy #ABF pic.twitter.com/Y1fPv0ZziI
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) May 9, 2023
This year, Army went 4-1 against the Leopards, with their lone loss coming as a 1-run defeat in a 7-inning game. The combined score for the 5 games was 45-20 in favor of the Black Knights, but still, anything can happen in a 3-game set.
Lafayette
The Leopards sit near the bottom of the Patriot League in most offensive statistics. As a team, they slash .244/.346/.404 in Patriot League play. In contrast, Army’s slash line is .312/.395/.490 in league games. Lafayette’s one saving grace is that they do hit a good amount of homeruns, which can be a little scary in a short series.
Raising the bar‼️ #RDP pic.twitter.com/Ph1rdjH5oZ
— Lafayette Baseball (@LafayetteBsbl) May 9, 2023
In league play, Lafayette sits at the bottom with a 7.02 ERA. Their team WHIP is 1.79, and if you include HBPs in the WHIP statistic (which I’ll never understand why we don’t), it rises to 2.00. The Leopards ace, Alex Walsh, boasts a 3.61 ERA and was responsible for Lafayette’s lone win against Army this year. Dylan Siesky, Lafayette’s top reliever, has a 3.24 ERA, and earned a save in Walsh’s win.
Army
Instead of diving into the weeds on Army’s stats, we’ll just give you a list of stats that Army leads the Patriot League in (league games only):
Batting: Batting Average, Runs, Homeruns, Slugging percentage, On base percentage plus slugging percentage
With Derek Berg's home run against Lafayette, the Black Knights have set a program record for home runs in a single season! #GoArmy #ABF pic.twitter.com/JrlKRdbTQ4
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) May 7, 2023
Pitching: Earned runs average, Hits, Runs, Earned runs, Strikeouts, Extra base hits, Batting average against, Hit by pitch, Walks and hits per innings pitched
Defense: Errors (Tied), Fielding percentage
Additionally, Army has the individual Patriot League leaders in batting average, hits, homeruns, total bases, slugging percentage, ERA, wins, saves, hits allowed, runs allows, earned runs, strikeouts, and batting average against.
Note: explanations for all of these statistics can be found here.
The Team
Army’s rotation is down a man after an apparent injury to Tanner Gresham during the final Navy series. Presuming that he won’t be available for the rest of the year, Mike Ruggieri and Matthew Ronnebaum will be easy choices for two-thirds of the rotation. The final spot is up for grabs, though. Until last weekend, the consensus pick was Robbie Buecker. But Sean Dennehy (normally a reliever) started a game against Lafayette on Sunday where he pitched 3 scoreless innings with just 1 hit and 2 walks.
Mike Ruggieri! 🔥 🔥
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) May 7, 2023
📺 https://t.co/wXmE5jeUhh#GoArmy @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/Pdh7L8eMcL
In relief, Army will have either Buecker or Dennehy (whichever doesn’t make a start). Additionally, the postseason staff likely consists of Steven Graver, Joe Valchar, Tyler Pritchard, and Patrick Melampy.
Offensively, Army has 5 batters with an average over .300 and OPS over .940. These guys combine for almost three-quarters of the Black Knights’ total bases. They are: Ross Friedrick, Kevin Dubrule, Sam Ruta, Braden Golinski, and Derek Berg. And talk about everyday players. Army has played in 49 games so far, allowing for 245 potential starts between the quintuplet. These 5 guys have made 244/245 starts.
🚨 ICYMI 🚨
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) May 7, 2023
Check out Braden Golinski's 🌕 shot in the top of the 6th!
📺 https://t.co/0MAtcxSkdF#GoArmy @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/hBUi3E5vaB
The Series
There’s some strategy involved in these short series when it comes to deploying your ace. But if the order is ace, 2, 3, expect to see Ruggieri, Ronnebaum, and Buecker or Dennehy. But likely, it will shift from that order.
The forecast for the weekend is around 80° and cloudy with a marginal chance of rain. First pitch should be on time if you can attend. If not, follow all of the usual suspects on Twitter as you watch along with us on ESPN+.
Go Army! Beat Lafayette!!!
*Cover image via @ArmyWP_Baseball
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