On paper, the odds may have been against Army West Point Baseball going into the game on May 11. But the Black Knights are no stranger to postseason heroics. And once again, the Black Knights prevailed when it mattered most.
Going into the day down 1-0 in the Patriot League Semifinal Series—and standing at 1-5 overall on the season against its arch-rival—Army won two games at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis to secure the playoff series and clinch a spot in next week’s Patriot League Championship series.
While Army tied the series with relative ease early in the afternoon of May 11, the evening rubber matchup evolved into a heartstopper, reviving memories of the timeless duals in last season’s matchups in the Star Series presented by USAA.
A high-scoring afternoon morphed into a pitchers’ showdown between Army’s CDT Trey Ates ’25 and Navy’s star closer Landon Kruer. The two relievers exchanged zeros on the scoreboard, but the firstie from Dallas would ultimately be the pitcher who earned the win for his team, with six scoreless innings including the nightcap’s ultimate 10th stanza.
CDT Thomas Schreck ’26 walked with the bases loaded in the top of the extra inning, allowing CDT Michael Delph ’28 to cross the plate as the winning run. Navy got the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the inning, but a flyout to CDT Addison Ainsworth ’26 proved to be the final page in a storybook ending.
Army’s two wins on May 11 were its 11th and 12th consecutive wins when facing elimination in the Patriot League Tournament, dating back to 2018.
Next, Army will travel to Holy Cross for the Patriot League Championship series. Stay tuned for definite dates and times.
The excerpt and image were taken from https://goarmywestpoint.com.