Spiders open season 3-0 after series sweep of Navy

The University of Richmond baseball team completed a sweep of the United States Naval Academy with a pair of 2-1 wins Feb. 14 and a 9-4 win Feb. 15. 

Neither the Spiders nor the Midshipmen found much traction in the early moments of the first match. Navy managed a single followed by a walk to open the third inning with two on-base, but a pair of flyouts allowed the Spiders to take over with both left on base. UR managed to load the bases off a steal by senior infielder Connor Larson and a pair of walks, but with two outs recorded already, Navy notched a third and escaped the inning with no damage.

The teams traded runs in the fourth to open scoring, as an RBI triple down right field by senior outfielder D. J. Pacheco allowed sophomore catcher Jack Arcamone to knot the match at 1-1.

Navy cooled considerably down the stretch, registering no hits after the fourth inning and allowing UR to take control. The Spiders saw just two hits between the fifth and eighth innings, but struck once more in the ninth to take the first game, 2-1.

“First game, they would not get off to a good start; they wanna hit the ball hard,” UR Head Coach Mik Aoki said after the game. “I think our lineup at the end of the year will be one of the better lineups in the A10… they just gotta get back to relaxing.”

The afternoon game of the doubleheader opened just as slowly for the Spiders, for which the first three innings were consecutive outs. Navy had three on-base over the same interval, but saw nothing come of it until the fourth, when an RBI double brought home a runner on second.

UR’s comeback bid to end the sixth inning recorded a pair of hits, as Larson and graduate outfielder Phil Bernstein loaded second and third. Junior infielder Jordan Jaffe tripled out to right field to bring both runners home and give UR the 2-1 lead. 

With only the seventh inning to try and tie the match, Navy’s effort was to no avail as the Spiders registered two more strikeouts, for eight on the day. Junior pitcher Chayse Gruber was credited with the win for UR.

Up 2-0 in the series, UR’s bid for the sweep began early in the third game, as Jaffe hit a home run with Bernstein on base for a quick 2-0 first inning lead. Navy opened the second with a home run of its own, but graduate infielder Brady O’Brien answered right back for the Spiders.

An error in the top of the fifth narrowed UR’s lead to one run, but it did not take long for the Spiders to separate once more as a five-run sixth inning put the game all but out of reach. Navy would notch just two more runs in the course of the last three innings, leaving UR to cruise to a 9-4 win after picking up one more run from Bernstein.

“Overall, it was good,” Aoki said. “Our pitching staff picked up the hitters, and at some point the hitters will have to pick up the pitching staff… we’re just gonna keep working and getting a little bit better every day.”

The 3-0 start marks the Spiders’ best opening to a season since a similar sweep of Mount St. Mary’s University in 2021. UR will be back in action on the road against William and Mary Feb. 18 at 3 p.m.

Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu