Navy coach Chuck Ristano said last week that Tyler Grenn had earned the right to start the opener of Sunday’s doubleheader against archrival Army. That’s because the sophomore right-hander had surprisingly emerged as the Midshipmen’s ace.
Grenn proved that Ristano’s faith was not misplaced by delivering a superb outing and leading Navy to a 5-2 victory over Army before a raucous crowd of 1,245 at Max Bishop Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Mids, senior Matthew Shirah could not provide a second strong start in the second game of the doubleheader as the Black Knights’ bats came alive in an 8-1 win.
“I think both games were a tale of teams executing. In the first game, we took to them the totality of our game,” Ristano said. “We ran a little bit, we used the short game a little bit, our two-strike hitting was outstanding and, of course, we got a really good effort on the mound. I think you could probably say that’s what they did to us in Game 2.”
Grenn scattered seven hits and allowed just two earned runs through six innings in Game 1. He benefited from timely hitting with sophomore first baseman Victor Izquierdo delivering a two-run single in the second inning to stake the Mids to an early lead.
Center fielder Hudson Lehnertz went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored while catcher Mac McCommons went 2-for-3 with a double and scored on a passed ball in the fourth. Left fielder Anthony Fiallo capped the scoring by driving in designated hitter Andrew Manning with a triple in the fifth.
Fiallo went 2-for-2 as Navy roughed up Army ace Mike Ruggieri for nine hits. Second baseman Brock Murtha singled and scored Navy’s first run on a Lehnertz single, while Manning singled, walked and scored two runs.
Grenn (3-1) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth by inducing center fielder Braden Golinski into a grounder that turned into a force out at second base. The right-hander from Sherman Oaks, California, has a stellar 2.20 ERA so far this season.
“Tyler just kind of grinds through. There was some traffic in this game and he had to pitch himself out of jams,” Ristano said. “It was nice to see him gut through some stuff and deliver that kind of performance. That’s what he’s been doing for us this season.”
Grenn made his first Patriot League start against Bucknell on March 15 and allowed just two hits and no runs in 7 2/3 innings. He was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week for that performance.
“I just wanted to take what I did in my previous start and roll it right into Army,” Grenn said. “It’s a great feeling. It’s something that’s been embedded in you ever since you came to the academy: Beat Army.”
Grenn only pitched 13 innings over 10 relief outings as a plebe and Ristano said the youngster’s improvement since fall practice is significant. He’s been the team’s most consistent starter and the reward was a first career appearance against Army.
“I felt like my fastball command was working today. I was getting weak contact overall. They weren’t getting great barrels on the ball and that was good to see,” said Grenn, who acknowledged being nervous going into the game.
Reliever Landon Kruer worked the seventh inning and earned his second save of the season. The junior righty issued a one-out walk to leadoff hitter Derek Berg but responded by striking out Chris Barr and getting Sam Ruta to fly out.
It was the 18th career save for Kruer, who is Navy’s career leader in that category. He broke the mark previously shared by Trey Braithwaite (2018-21) and JD Melton (2007-09).
“Landon is just a tough kid. He’s one of those guys that just wants the baseball and he delivers,” Ristano said of the former walk-on and converted catcher. “There are some pretty big names that have pitched here, so it’s nice to be on that side of history.”
Shirah struggled in the second game, giving up five earned runs on five hits and five walks through five innings. Sophomore Jackson Beattie took over in the sixth and allowed three runs on five hits over four innings.
A three-run third inning was jump-started by a defensive mistake. Carter Hewitt led off with a routine fly ball that Manning lost in the sun, allowing the ball to drop in for a double.
“We didn’t give [Shirah] a lot of help,” Ristano said.
Berg and Barr, who bat one-two in the order, combined for five hits, five runs and three RBIs to lead the Army attack. Berg went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored while Barr went 3-for-5 with a triple, two runs and two RBIs.
Justin Lehman, who played first base in the opener, was Army’s starting pitcher in the nightcap and provided a strong outing. The right-hander scattered five hits and allowed just one run through 6 1/3 innings.
Right-hander Matthew Ronnebaum replaced Lehman with one out and a runner on second. He struck out McCommons and got right fielder Zane Raba to ground out to end the threat. Designated hitter Brian Furey, who delivered a leadoff double, was stranded.
Navy got its lone run in the second inning as Manning led off with a double, moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch.
Navy went 1-9 against Army over the previous two seasons, so the win in Game 1 was a confidence boost. It also made Ristano a winner in his Army-Navy debut.
“It was nice to experience [the rivalry] for the first time. You could tell, particularly in Game 1, there was a lot of energy,” Ristano said. “Admittedly, I didn’t know what the feeling in the dugout was going to be. You can’t act like this is just another game. I’ve tried to do that, but in reality there are some juices flowing.”
Ristano said he was already looking forward to the Star Series, which Army will host April 26-28 at Doubleday Field.