WEST POINT, N.Y. – Behind a career performance from sophomore right-handed pitcher
Jake Lenahan, the No. 4 Holy Cross baseball team swept regular-season co-champion No. 1 Army West Point beating them 6-2 Sunday afternoon on Doubleday Field in the Patriot League Semifinal Series.
The win moves the Crusaders to 23-27 overall and the win was their seventh over their last 10 games. Holy Cross advances to its second straight Patriot League Championship Series to face the winner of No. 2 Bucknell/No. 3 Navy on Monday, May 18-Wednesday, May 20 in a best of three series at the highest remaining seed. The Black Knights fall to 28-20 and have lost two straight games when facing elimination.
Making his third career start, Lenahan tossed 7.1 innings striking out a career-high 10 batters scattering four hits, a walk and allowing two runs on 115 pitches. He reached the 100 career strikeout milestone in the game. Freshman right-handed pitcher
Henry Harding notched 1.1 innings of relief giving way to sophomore right-handed pitcher
Pedro Leon who induced a game ending groundout of Patriot League Rookie of the Year Josiah Overbeek.
Juniors
Gianni Royer and
Braden Connors posted three hits apiece with Connors lifting an important RBI single in the eighth and
Royer demolishing a no-doubt home run in the top of the ninth. Junior
Ryan Grundy also had a multi-hit effort going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBI, two walks and a run scored as well as a
web gem in the field. As a team, six of Holy Cross' 10 hits went for extra bases.
The Crusaders finished 2026 with a 7-1 (.875) record the Black Knights outscoring them 65-to-28 in those eight contests. Dating back to 2025, Holy Cross is 12-3 (.800) over their last 15 meetings versus Army and have outscored its counterparts 106-to-59 over those 15 games.
STARTING ON THE MOUND:
- Sophomore Jake Lenahan (W, 3-5), 7.1 innings pitched, four hits allowed, two runs, one walk, 10 strikeouts, 115 pitches
- Kevin Reavey: (L, 3-6), 4.2 innings pitched, seven hits allowed, four runs, four walks, three strikeouts, 104 pitches
OUT OF THE BULLPEN:
- Henry Harding: 1.1 innings pitched, two hits allowed, zero runs, zero walks, zero strikeouts, 18 pitches
- Pedro Leon: 0.1 innings pitched, zero hits allowed, zero runs, zero walks, zero strikeouts, three pitches
STEPPING TO THE PLATE:
- Royer: 3-for-5, double, home run, three RBI, two runs scored
- Connors: 3-for-5, RBI
- Grundy: 2-for-3, two doubles, two RBI, run scored, two walks
- Egrie: 1-for-5, double, run scored, walk
- Overbeek: 1-for-5, home run, two RBI, run scored
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Egrie doubled on the 10th pitch of his at bat in the top of the first. With two down, Royer doubled down the left field line to plate Egrie for the 1-0 edge.
- Lenahan struck out the 100th batter of his career in the bottom of the third inning.
- Royer flared an RBI single with one out in the top of the fifth to score junior Alex Sandell who reached via double making it 2-0 Crusaders. Grundy pulled a 2-2 two out double down the right field line doubling the margin to 4-0.
- Army hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to come within two, 4-2. Army put two more on, but Lenahan got another strikeout and a ground out to third to end the frame.
- In the eighth the Crusaders added insurance with a Connors RBI single to center field.
- Royer homered in the top of the ninth to extend the lead.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
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