The Navy Midshipmen baseball team fell to the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks in a 12-inning marathon on Wednesday evening, despite strong performances from Brock Murtha and Alex Smith. The final score was 9-7, with Navy leaving a staggering 15 runners on base.
Navy got off to a strong start, with runs in the first, third, and fifth innings giving them a 3-0 lead. However, the Hawks fought back, scoring runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to tie the game at 3-3. Navy reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning, but the Hawks tied it up again in the eighth. The teams traded runs in the seventh inning, with the Hawks finally taking the lead in the 12th inning on a two-run single from Alex McCoy.
Despite a home run and double from Murtha and a three-hit night from Smith, the Mids were unable to capitalize on their scoring opportunities, leaving runners stranded in key situations throughout the game. Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos lamented the missed opportunities in his post-game comments, stating that the team had left “15 guys on base and that is just an enormous amount of guys left stranded, with many of them in scoring position. That’s tough to overcome when you’re not scoring guys.”
Murtha, who pitched 2.2 innings out of the bullpen and surrendered the go-ahead run in the 12th inning, also received praise from Kostacopoulos for his strong performance. “He had a really good game and he’s been successful on the mound when he’s been called upon and he had really solid at-bats today to go with it,” said Kostacopoulos.
The loss drops Navy’s record to 20-22 on the season, while Maryland Eastern Shore improves to 13-26. The game marked the end of the non-conference portion of Navy’s schedule, as they now turn their attention to a three-game set against league rival Lehigh to wrap up their Patriot League regular season slate. The doubleheader on Saturday is set for a noon start, with the series finale on Sunday also slated for first pitch at noon.