Lindner Leads Baseball to Split in Game Two

Saturday, April 9

West Point, NY

2:40 PM

Army West Point

Bucknell

Lindner Leads Baseball to Split in Game Two

April 09, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Junior Kris Lindner's three-hit game in the night cap propelled Army West Point baseball past Bucknell, 7-4, to split the doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Doubleday Field.

"I thought we just played a better overall ballgame," said head coach Matt Reid. "We still made a couple mistakes, but we came up with some clutch hits and base running and made some plays defensively that allowed us to come out on top."

Lindner was one of three Black Knights (11-19, 2-4 PL) to record three hits in game two as he was joined by John McCarthy and Trey Martin, who were each 3-for-4. All three Cadets recorded four hits on the day.

"I was just trying to get back to my backside approach, stay hard up the middle and use my hands to hit line drives," Lindner commented. "Even though I did hit that home run, I still need to get back to my approach so I don't try to do too much in my next at bats."

The beginning of the game was shaping up to be a rubber match through the first three innings, with only Martin making his way around to third base. Both sides knocked base hits in each of the first two innings. Brett Smith and Jon Mayer singled for Bucknell (13-19, 4-2 PL), while Army's hits came off the bats of McCarthy and Alex Dickerson.

Army broke through in the fourth inning after getting out of a first-and-third jam in the top of the inning. McCarthy advanced to third following a leadoff walk, a stolen base and a ground out. He would score the first run of the game on a pass ball. Keegan Vega, tasked with being the designated hitter after catching the first game, singled prior to a Jacob Page walk. Martin plated Vega on a two-out single for the Black Knights' second run of the inning.

The score would move to 3-0 the following inning as Lindner's leadoff walk proved crucial. The shortstop scored on a rope to left field on McCarthy's second hit of the game.

Just as Jeremy Mortensen was settling into the game, the Bison started to figure out the sophomore southpaw. Through the first five innings, Mortensen had only allowed three hits while walking two and striking out four. In the sixth inning, however, a walk and a hit batsman set the stage for Jon Mayer to tie the game with a blast over the left center field wall.

Jacob Carte would relieve Mortensen after he would allow one more hit. Carte stopped the bleeding as he stuck out the first two batters he faced to get out of the inning.

The Black Knights would respond in the home half that started with a walks by Page and Ryan Levenhagen. Monge then singled to load the bases. Lindner drove in Page with a single through the left side to retake the lead, but a fly out to center paired with a perfect throw from Brett Smith hosed Levenhagen at home to prevent Army from scoring any insurance runs for the time being.

Page would remain active on the base paths, with a steal of second in the seventh inning that forced an errant throw from Mayer allowing Vega to score from third on the play. Sam Clark provided the answer for Bucknell to lead off the following frame with a solo shot to right center field.

With a one-run game in the eighth, Army added a couple of insurance runs by stringing together three-consecutive hits to open the inning. Martin started things off, followed by Monge and Lindner. Martin scored on a wild pitch, while Lindner plated Monge.

Justin French came in to close the door, going one and one third innings, allowing no runs on one hit. The righty allowed one walk while setting down one.

"This was a huge win for us," added Lindner. "After that first game, we didn't have a whole lot of momentum except for that last inning when we scored a couple. The win this afternoon will be a huge momentum swing for us tomorrow."

Army and Bucknell will wrap up the series with another doubleheader tomorrow, with game one starting at 1 p.m.

For more information on Army West Point baseball, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_Baseball on Twitter.

GAME NOTES
Army has won two of the last three games against Bucknell dating back to last season … Kris Lindner recorded his 13th multi-hit game of the season … leads the team … Lindner's fourth game with multiple hits and RBI … John McCarthy recorded his fourth three-hit game … leads the team … Justin French earned his fourth save of the season.