The Brown & White

The baseball team travels to Annapolis, MD to face the Patriot League Navy Midshipmen, for a doubleheader p.m. on Saturday.

Wins this weekend would bring the Mountain Hawks, 13-15 on the season, up to a .500 average.

The Hawks recently lost four games to the Holy Cross College Crusaders in two consecutive doubleheaders.

The Hawks are 0-4 in the Patriot League.

Navy, 17-10 on the season, enters the game coming off a 13-6 loss to the University of Maryland Terrapins.

Junior third baseman Matt Reitz said the Hawks fully understand the importance of the doubleheader and hope to get the team back on a winning streak.

"We've had our ups and downs this year," Reitz said. "We started out hot but are on a losing streak. We have to just go out, play relaxed and execute the way we can and we should fare well this weekend."

Although the plan is to execute, sophomore pitcher Andrew Berger said Navy plays a unique and challenging game.

"As I remember from last year, Navy is a very solid team and they are a very good situational team," Berger said. "They execute very well and know how to play small ball."

Last year, the Hawks went 0-4 against the Midshipmen in two consecutive doubleheaders.

Berger said the Hawks will focus on basic skills on Saturday, making sure to excel in the fundamentals and play an overall solid game.

"We just need to go back to the basics in all aspects of our game," Berger said. "We are a young but talented team, and I'm confident that we can turn it around for this upcoming weekend against Navy."

Specifically, the Hawks hope to bring a strong offense on Saturday, Reitz said. Hitting will be an important aspect, but isn't the only deciding factor.

"From our perspective we need to go out and hit better than we did last weekend," he said. "We need to string some hits together and get some rallies going. However, we'll have to put all three facets of our game together in order to win the series."

Senior center fielder Joe Ercolano will play an integral role in the Hawks' offense. Ercolano leads the team in runs with 22. He led the Hawks' offense in last week's game against Temple, scoring three runs.

Aiding Ercolano on the Hawks' offense will be freshman infielder Brendan McGaheran and freshman outfielder Billy Goldman.

McGaheran is second on the team in runs with 19 and has the team's highest batting average, with .320.

Goldman, named a Patriot League rookie of the week earlier in the season, currently has 12 runs on the season.

He is tied with two teammates, senior shortstop Liam O'Connor and sophomore catcher Billy Swenson, for a team-high three RBIs and one run in the game against Temple last week.

For the Midshipmen, sophomore outfielder Michael Speciale and freshman outfielder Jonathan Wright will be forces to reckon with.

Speciale leads the team in runs with 31 and has the second highest batting average, a .370.

Wright, recently named Patriot League rookie of the week, has the team's highest batting average with a .376 and is tied for second in runs with 21.

Pitching will be a strength for both teams on Saturday. Navy has the best overall pitching ERA in the Patriot League with a 4.94 while Lehigh follows close behind in third place with a 5.01.

Sophomore pitcher Greg Angelo will secure the Hawks' defense on Saturday. Angelo has the third best ERA in the league with a 2.58.

Midshipmen senior pitcher Mark McCoy will present a challenge on the mound in Saturday's game.

McCoy was named Patriot League pitcher of the week earlier this season and is 3-1 on the season.

Saturday's first game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and the second at 3:00 p.m. in Annapolis, MD. Both games will be broadcast live on lehighsports.com.