With the teams having split Friday and Saturday's contests to put the series on the line Sunday, as well as the baseball star up for grabs in the Star Series presented by USAA, the third base side of Doubleday Field cheered in anticipation on every out until the 27th was recorded to seal a 4-3 win over the Mids, and the series victory.
Starting pitcher Trey Ates set a career-high in innings pitched with 7.2 on Sunday. He delivered 129 pitches, working around a first inning run allowed to settle into the game and keep Navy from scoring again until the eighth. Striking out five on the day, the Dallas native faced the minimum in the second and fifth innings, earning the win and moving to 2-0 on the year.
Ates received run support from Army's bats in the first and third innings. The bottom of the first saw each of the first three Black Knights at the plate take walks, enough to plate a run on Addison Ainsworth's ensuing at bat despite grounding into a double play. Thomas Schreck then moved the line with an RBI double to make it 2-1.
In the third, Schreck recorded his second RBI double of the contest, plating Williams Parker from first base with two outs. Carter Hewitt then reached on a fielding error to allow Schreck to score, making it 4-1.
Navy did not go away quietly, and with one out in the eighth, the Mids launched a two-run home run to right field, closing the gap to 4-3. Ates then recorded the second out of the frame before turning the ball to Josiah Overbeek, looking to stake his claim to a save.
He did just that, working around a walk and stolen base in the eighth and a base hit in the ninth, and inducing a routine ground ball to first for the final out of the game and Army's right to sing second Sunday.
Army Captures Baseball Star with Series Victory
The Army West Point Baseball team earned a 4-3 win in the third game of the weekend series with Navy and claimed the Star by winning the best-of-3 series at Doubleday Field in West Point.