April 22, 2012

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- The Army Black Knights finished off their fourth straight four-game sweep on Saturday, clinching the No. 1 seed in the 2012 Patriot League Baseball Tournament.

The Black Knights, who swept Bucknell, have now won 16 straight League games in 2012 -- 17 overall dating back to 2011 -- setting a single-season record. They will have a chance to finish off the perfect League season next weekend when they travel to Holy Cross, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the tournament by winning three of four at Lehigh this weekend.

The four remaining teams are all still in contention for the other two bids to the Patriot League Tournament, which will begin with the semifinals on May 12-13. The championship series is slated for May 19-20.

No baseball team has finished the League season without a loss, and the most wins posted in a League season was 19, as Navy went 19-5 in 1995 when the League had seven teams. Army has a chance to tie that mark at or beat it with a 20-0 season.

On Friday, Army won its 13th League game behind the fourth consecutive complete-game shutout by Chris Rowley, and on Saturday, Logan Lee, who had a one-hit shutout last week, hurled a no-hitter. He carried a perfect game into the seventh inning for the second straight week, but gave up a walk in the 8-0 win.

In the nightcap, the Black Knights battled 15 innings to keep their undefeated League season going, with Kevin McKague scoring the game-winning run on Cody Murtle line drive single.

Navy and Lafayette still have a pair of games left in their four-game series. They were scheduled for Sunday, but due to rain, they have been postponed to Monday.