Holy Cross Ends Army Black Knights’ Patriot League Baseball Title Streak

The Army West Point Black Knights baseball team saw its Patriot League title streak end as they were swept by the Holy Cross Crusaders on Tuesday.

Army (25-25) lost the first game of the series on Sunday, 12-1, and then fell in Game 2, 8-7. Both games were at Holy Cross, as the Crusaders were the higher seed.

Army was the six-time defending Patriot League champion and was seeking its fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth. A win would have given the Black Knights their 14th Patriot League title.

Instead, Holy Cross won the Patriot League title for the first time since 2017, the season before the Black Knights started their streak. The Crusaders will play in the NCAA Tournament and get their seeding on Sunday.

How Army Lost to Holy Cross

Desperate to extend the series to a decisive third game, the Black Knights fought to extend the contest to extra innings before losing in the 10th inning. The Crusaders claimed the victory on an RBI double by Gianni Royer, which scored John LaFleur.

Army was down 7-5 in the eighth inning before Addison Ainsworth and Justin Lehman brought home the tying runs to even the contest. Both singled.

Before that, Holy Cross put together a four-run seventh inning to take the lead away from Army, which at one point led, 4-3.

Lehman was the starting pitcher and the designated hitter. On the mound, he threw 6.2 innings and gave up just one earned run. At the plate, he went 3-for-4 with an RBI. The game wrapped up the senior’s Black Knights career.

Trey Ates (5-5) took the loss in relief. Holy Cross reliever Jake Lenahan (4-2) claimed the victory.

Ainsworth also had three hits in six trips to the plate, driving four runs. That included a double and a home run. Zac Farrell and Coleson Titus each had two hits.

Holy Cross dominated Game 1, as the Crusaders took a 9-0 lead after four innings and cruised to the victory. Army starter Andrew Berg (5-3) took the loss while Holy Cross starter Danny Macchiarola (9-4) claimed the victory.

Berg only lasted three innings, giving up eight runs (seven earned) and eight hits. Reliever Kaden Youmans gave up four runs in five innings.

Lehman had three hits for the Black Knights, but Michael Delph drove in the only run on a groundout.