<p>A Look Ahead...</p>
<p>Game 43 - April 21 - Navy (29-13, 9-3 PL) at Army (13-17-1, 4-6 PL)
Time: 12 p.m.
Stadium: Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field (880); West Point, N.Y.
Probable Starters: Navy - RHP Mitch Harris (6-3, 2.18 ERA) vs. Army - LHP Nick Hill (4-3, 1.42 ERA)
All-Time Series: Navy leads, 99-80
Television: CSTV (live): Jason Knapp (PxP) and Buck Martinez (color) will call the action for game one of Saturdays doubleheader
Last Year: Navy took one of four games (April 23-24; Baltimore, Md. and Annapolis, Md.)</p>
<p>Game 44 - April 21 - Navy at Army
Time: 30 minutes after game one
Probable Starters: Navy - RHP Mark McCoy (4-4, 5.36 ERA) vs. Army - RHP Ben Mayhew (0-5, 5.58 ERA)</p>
<p>Game 45 - April 22 - Navy at Army
Time: 1 p.m.
Probable Starters: Navy - RHP Oliver Drake (1-1, 3.45 ERA) vs. Army - RHP Cole White (4-2, 4.72 ERA)</p>
<p>Game 46 - April 22 - Navy at Army
Time: 30 minutes after game one
Probable Starters: Navy - LHP Yale Eckert (3-1, 3.42 ERA) vs. Army - LHP Drew Clothier (2-3, 3.30 ERA)</p>
<p>Game 47 - April 25 - Navy (29-13) at Delaware State (17-15-2)
Time: 3 p.m.
Stadium: Soldier Field (500); Dover, Del.
All-Time Series: Navy leads, 7-1
This Year: Navy 7, Delaware State 4 (Feb. 20; Annapolis, Md.)</p>
<p>Scouting Army</p>
<p>Army heads into this weekends action with a 13-17-1 overall mark and a 4-6 record in Patriot League play, tied for fourth in the league standings. The Black Knights swept their doubleheader against Holy Cross last Saturday, but heavy rain forced the postponement of the second doubleheader, which may be made up later in the year if the games have an effect on the league tournament.</p>
<p>The Black Knights key for success in 2007 has been its pitching, as the team has posted a 3.84 ERA in 265.0 innings this year. Headlining the cast of pitchers for Army is All-American southpaw Nick Hill, who owns a 4-3 record with a 1.43 ERA in 57.0 innings with 68 strikeouts. Senior closer Milan Dinga, an All-American last season, has yielded only four hits and no runs in 10.1 innings this season with no walks and 13 strikeouts.</p>
<p>While the pitching has kept Army in most ballgames this year, its offense has produced less than five runs per game and a .258 team batting average. Cole White enters the weekend leading the Patriot League with a .410 batting average and has swiped 10 bases in 14 attempts. Dinga, also a right fielder, leads the Black Knights with three round trippers and 23 RBIs during his senior campaign.</p>
<p>Last Year Against the Black Knights</p>
<p>Navy came away with one victory during the four-game set against Army last season. Behind an outstanding 8.2-inning performance from Mark McCoy (Parkland, Fla.), the Midshipmen blanked the Black Knights, 2-0, in the Sunday doubleheader finale in Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. During the series opener, Navys Mitch Harris and Armys Nick Hill met in a classic pitchers duel. Hill and Army came away on top, blanking the Mids with a two-hit effort. The Black Knights completed the set with a doubleheader sweep on Monday afternoon in Annapolis. Navys pitching staff recorded a 3.09 ERA on the weekend, but the offense was held to four runs in the four games and a .178 team batting average.</p>
<p>How Do They Determine the N-Star?</p>
<p>If Navy were to win the four-game series against Army this weekend in West Point, then the Midshipmen would claim the coveted N-Star. If the two teams were to split the four-game set, the Star would be awarded to the team that won the series opener.</p>
<p>The All-Time Army-Navy Series</p>
<p>Navy owns a 99-80 (.553) all-time advantage in the storied 101-year series history against Army that began in 1901. The Midshipmen are 38-42 in West Point, with their last N-Star coming in 2003 on the banks of the Hudson.</p>
<p>All-American vs. All-American</p>
<p>This Saturdays series-opening matchup between Navy junior right-hander Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) and Army senior southpaw Nick Hill will mark the first time two All-American pitchers will square off against one another in the same game during the 101-year Army-Navy history. Although the two pitchers met on the hill in Oriole Park at Camden Yards last year, Harris was not named an All-American until the postseason.</p>
<p>CSTV to Broadcast First Game on Saturday</p>
<p>Navy's series-opening baseball contest against archrival Army at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field in West Point on Saturday will be televised nationally by CSTV, with first pitch slated for 12:07 p.m. The seven-inning ballgame will be aired live, with seven additional re-broadcasts throughout the course of the week. The re-broadcasts will be on April 21 at 10:30 p.m., April 24 at 4 p.m., April 25 at 1 a.m., April 25 at 12 noon, April 26 at 6:30 a.m., April 26 at 9 a.m. and April 27 at 2:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Jason Knapp will deliver the play-by-play with former major league player and manager Buck Martinez providing color commentary for the 180th all-time contest between the two squads.</p>
<p>This marks the second-consecutive year that CSTV has broadcasted the opening game of the Army-Navy series, as last year's ballgame was played in Oriole Park at Camden yards in Baltimore.</p>
<p>Back-to-Back 30-Win Seasons</p>
<p>With a win, this years Midshipmen baseball squad would be the first team in school history to win 30 games in back-to-back years and the fifth team to reach 30 wins in program history. Entering the weekend, the Mids are only five victories behind the all-time record of 34 wins set by the 1995 ballclub.</p>
<p>Navys History of Success in the Patriot League</p>
<p>Despite joining the Patriot League two years after it began competing in baseball, Navy has won more league postseason and regular season titles than any other team in league history. The Midshipmen, who joined the league in 1993, have won five Patriot League titles and been crowned regular season champions on eight occasions. Navys all-time winning percentage of .602 (177-117) in Patriot League action ranks second among teams currently affiliated with the league.</p>
<p>Navy Could Qualify This Weekend</p>
<p>If Navy were to win three games over Army and Bucknell were to split its four-game set at Holy Cross, then the Midshipmen will be guaranteed a spot for postseason action. If Navy were to sweep the Black Knights and Bucknell were to win 1-3 games at Holy Cross, then the Mids would qualify for the Patriot League Tournament.</p>
<p>12 Wins Have Proved as the Magic Number</p>
<p>Since the Patriot League went to six teams in 1996, no team with 12 or more Patriot League victories has ever failed to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament. Twice over the last-four years, a team with a losing league record (9-11) has had its opportunity to compete in the league tournament.</p>
<p>The Midshipmen own a 9-3 record in the Patriot League heading into this weekend, standing a full four games ahead of third-place Bucknell in the league standings.</p>
<p>Two Patriot League Sweeps</p>
<p>With Navys series sweep of Lehigh this past weekend, the 2007 Mids became just the second team in program history to record two Patriot League, four-game series sweeps in one season. The only other Midshipmen baseball squad to do so came in 1995, as they went on to win the league and advanced to the NCAA regional. </p>
<p>Road Sweet Road?</p>
<p>Heading into their final Patriot League road series of the regular season this season at Army, the Midshipmen have enjoyed a perfect 6-0 mark away from Annapolis this year. Overall, Navy owns a 12-4 away from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in 2007.</p>
<p>Navy in the National Rankings</p>
<p>As a team, the Midshipmen rank among the top-75 programs in the nation in four categories entering play this week. Navys 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings ranks 24th nationally, its .700 winning percentage places the squad 32nd in the country and its 3.98 team ERA is 52nd among all Division I programs. The Midshipmen have turned 0.9 double plays per game this season, the 74th-best mark in the nation.</p>
<p>How Bizarre?</p>
<p>The Midshipmen went through one of the strangest stretches in recent memory between April 7-16, as games were postponed, cancelled, delayed and/or moved for rather uncommon reasons.</p>
<p>Navys scheduled doubleheader with Lafayette on Saturday, April 7, was postponed due to snowfall that fell during the overnight hours. Over the past 30 years, Annapolis has averaged a trace of snow in the month of April. </p>
<p>On Tuesday, April 10, Navys night game at UMBC was cancelled, as the lights failed to turn on. One day later at Joe Cannon Stadium, Navy waited an hour and half past the 6 p.m. start time against Coppin State for emergency umpires to arrive from games called an hour-plus away from the stadium earlier in the day.</p>
<p>This past weekend, the final days doubleheader between Navy and Lehigh was moved to Annapolis after a powerful Noreaster rendered Lehighs home field unplayable. With the storm still swirling just off the coast, the two teams played a twinbill with winds gusting over 50 mph for much of the afternoon, causing several delays as particles kept flying onto the field.</p>
<p>Busting Out the Road Brooms</p>
<p>Navy recorded a four-game sweep of Patriot League foe Holy Cross up in Worcester, Mass., to open the league slate this year. The four-game sweep of a league opponent on the road is Navys first since it took four from the Crusaders in the Bay State on April 28-29, 1995.</p>
<p>Starting Hot in the Patriot League</p>
<p>Navy owns an all-time record of 42-12 (.778) following its Patriot League season-opening weekend, including an 12-3 (.800) mark in its first league game of the year. The Midshipmen have started the league slate with a 4-0 record in back-to-back years for the second time in school history (other time being the 1994 and 95 seasons).</p>
<p>Going 4-0 to Start in the Patriot League</p>
<p>Navys four victories to open its action in the Patriot League were one shy of tying the school record of five wins set during the 1994, 95 and 06 campaigns.</p>
<p>Navy Tabbed Second in Patriot League Preseason Poll</p>
<p>The Navy baseball team has been picked to tie for second place in the 2007 Patriot League Preseason Poll, voted on by each schools head coach and sports information contact. Five of the six teams in the Patriot League received a first-place vote in the poll. </p>
<p>For the third-consecutive year, Army (30-20-1, 10-10 PL/fourth) has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the league with seven first-place ballots and 46 points. Lafayette (27-24, 11-9 PL/third) and Navy (32-21-1, 8-12 PL/fifth) each accumulated 34 points to tie for second, as the Leopards received two first-place votes and the Midshipmen collected one. Bucknell (24-24, 13-7 PL/tied-first) tallied 30 points and a first-place vote, while defending Patriot League champion Lehigh (28-28, 13-7 PL/tied-first) came in fifth with 24 points and one first-place ballot and Holy Cross (16-26-1, 5-15 PL/sixth) rounds out the league with 12 points.</p>
<p>Second-Youngest Team in Patriot League</p>
<p>The 2007 Navy baseball team ranks as the second-youngest team in the Patriot League this season, highlighted by its 16 freshmen and only five seniors. Only Lehigh, last years league champion, welcomes more new faces this year, as nearly half (17-of-35) of its team is comprised of freshmen.</p>
<p>Freshmen Making Immediate Impact</p>
<p>Navy has relied heavily upon its freshman class during its successful start to the 2007 season. The Midshipmen have started no fewer than two freshmen in all-36 games this season. On six occasions, the Mids have slotted six freshmen in the starting lineup, going 5-1 in those contests.</p>
<p>Seven Patriot League Rookie of the Week Awards</p>
<p>Navy claimed Patriot League Rookie-of-the-Week honors for the seventh time this year on April 17, establishing a Patriot League record for the most league awards won by one team in any of the three weekly honors (player of the week, pitcher of the week, rookie of the week).</p>
<p>Steven Soares (Parkland, Fla.) is the first Navy player to earn rookie-of-the-week honors twice, while Jonathan Berkowitz (Parkland, Fla.), Oliver Drake (Gardner, Mass.), Michael Speciale (Pearland, Texas), Drew Lydon (White Plains, Md.) and Yale Eckert (La Selva Beach, Calif.) have each won the award once.</p>
<p>Patriot League Rookie of the Week: Five-for-Five</p>
<p>Navy won the Patriot League Rookie of the Week Award for five-consecutive weeks to open the year. The 2007 Midshipmen became the first team in Patriot League history to win one award for five-straight weeks, topping Navys four-consecutive pitcher-of-the-week accolades during the 1999 season.</p>
<p>20 Non-League Wins</p>
<p>Navys 20 non-league wins this season ranks as the second-highest total in school history, only five behind last years 24-win output during out-of-league games. Navys 18 wins prior to the start of Patriot League play also ranks second in program history, only one win shy of the record set by the 2006 squad.</p>
<p>Navy Reaches 1,600 All-Time Wins</p>
<p>Navy registered its 1,600th victory during its 112-year program history with a 2-1 win over Monmouth on March 11 in Annapolis. The Midshipmen entered the 2007 campaign as the 48th-winningest team in the nation, having won 60-percent of their all-time contests.</p>
<p>Kosty Second-Quickest to 50 Wins with Navy</p>
<p>With Navys 16-3 win over Mount St. Marys on March 27, second-year Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos became the second-fastest Navy skipper to get to 50 wins during his tenure with the Mids. Kostacopoulos 50th-career win with Navy came in his 81st game at the helm for the Mids (50-30-1), only four games behind legendary head coach Joe Duff, who won his 50th game in his 77th contest on May 1, 1965 (50-25-2).</p>
<p>Kosty Gets Career Win No. 550</p>
<p>Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos picked up his 550th career victory with a 9-7 victory over Buffalo on March 15 in Annapolis. The 18-year veteran head coach reached the 550-win mark after spending his first-seven years at Providence in 1990-96, and nine seasons at Maine from 1997-05, before taking over the reigns of the Midshipmen baseball program in 2006.</p>
<p>Kosty Likes Them Close</p>
<p>Since taking over the reigns of the Navy baseball program last season, head coach Paul Kostacopoulos has been quite successful in one-run affairs, posting a record of 20-7 (.741). The Midshipmen are off to a 9-3 start in one-run games in 2007 after going 11-4 last season.</p>
<p>Mids Use the Long Ball</p>
<p>After hitting four home runs during its first-26 games of the season, Navy pounded eight home runs over a five-game stretch from March 27 to April 1. Six different Midshipmen had a hand in on the act during this run, highlighted by Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) home runs in back-to-back-to-back games at Holy Cross. Thomas Hamilton (Houston, Texas), Drew Lydon (White Plains, Md.), Kendall Bolt (Stockton, Calif.), Jonathan Berkowitz (Parkland, Fla.) and Jack Ferrick (Stafford, Va.) each went deep in Navys 16-3 win at Mount St. Marys on March 27.</p>
<p>Harris Homered in Back-to-Back-to-Back Games</p>
<p>Navy junior Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) became just the second player in school history to belt a home run in three-consecutive games when he performed the feat at Holy Cross on March 31-April 1. The only other player to hit a round-tripper in back-to-back-to-back games was Mark Zematis at East Carolina on March 4-5, 2000.</p>
<p>Harris is the first player in program history to hit a four-bagger in three-straight Patriot League games.</p>
<p>Harris Ranking in Several Strikeout Categories</p>
<p>Junior right-handed pitcher Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) ranks among Navys top-five pitchers in career strikeouts, career strikeouts per nine innings and career strikeouts before his senior year, as well as fifth in Patriot League career strikeouts. Harris ranks fifth on the career strikeouts list with 222, which is also the second-highest total in school history before his senior campaign. His 12.28 career strikeouts per nine innings ranks first all-time, more than two strikeouts per game better than the second-best mark.</p>
<p>Already this year, Harris has struck out 87 batters in only 64.2 innings, placing him second on the programs and leagues single-season strikeouts per nine innings list with 12.11. His 87 strikeouts in 2007 ranks sixth in school history and tied for fifth in Patriot League history.</p>
<p>Hollins Moving Up Stolen Base List</p>
<p>Junior center fielder Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) ranks fourth on the career stolen bases list with 48 during his first two-plus seasons. Hollins is just the second player in school history to steal 10 or more bases in a year for three-consecutive seasons. Craig Candeto is the only other player to achieve this feat, swiping 10-plus bases during each of his four seasons from 2001-04.</p>
<p>Melton: Saving the Game</p>
<p>Navy freshman reliever JD Melton (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) owns the Navy freshman saves record with nine saves this season, five more than the previous record held by Todd Bizba in 1985. Meltons nine saves also places him second on the all-time single-season saves list, only behind Ryan Hefners 10 saves last year. The Navy freshmans nine saves also places him for third on the career saves list and matches the seventh-highest single-season mark in Patriot League history.</p>
<p>Field Dedication Set for April 28 vs. Bucknell</p>
<p>Prior to the start of Navys April 28 doubleheader against Bucknell at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, the field will officially be dedicated to the Terwilliger Brothers for their generous contributions to the Navy baseball program.</p>
<p>Ron Terwilliger was a three-year starter at second base from 1961-63 and hit .383 during his junior year in Annapolis. After graduating with honors, he served in the Navy before getting his MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In 1986, he became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trammell Crow Residential, a national real estate company that is the largest developer of multi-family housing in the United States. </p>
<p>Bruce Terwilliger was a star pitcher on the mound for the Midshipmen during his three years with the varsity baseball team from 1962-64. As a sophomore in 1962, he went 8-0 with a miniscule 2.29 ERA in 59.0 innings. He currently is only one of five pitchers in school history to post an undefeated record with five-plus decisions in a year. After he was commissioned into the Navy in 1964, he served and achieved the rank of Commander (O-5) prior to his retirement after 20 years of service.</p>
<p>With the generous support of the Terwilliger brothers, Navys home field went under massive renovations in the fall of 2005, highlighted by the installation of FieldTurf, 1,000 chair-back seats and a state-of-the-art hitting facility with several other amenities. As a result, Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium has become of the premier facilities in the East to play and watch a baseball game.</p>