Bombers Baseball Club

There was never any doubt that Noah Song would take the mound when Navy played archrival Army on a Friday night at Fenway Park.

Song is Navy's clear-cut No. 1 starting pitcher and only an unexpected injury or illness would have prevented head coach Paul Kostacopoulos from handing the ball to the star of his staff on such an historic occasion.

"Noah is going to start on Friday night in Fenway Park," Kostacopoulos confirmed in an interview with The Capital earlier this week. "Noah has earned this opportunity and I'm confident he will step up and perform on such a big stage."

Song will no doubt soak up the atmosphere at one of the oldest, most famous baseball stadiums in the United States. It may well be an experience the hard-throwing right-hander reflects on this June when he will likely have to make a momentous decision.

Major League Baseball scouts are extremely high on Song, whose fastball has consistently been clocked in the 90-96 MPH range. As a junior three years removed from high school, Song is eligible to be selected in this year's MLB First-Year Player Draft and there is speculation he could be a Top 10 pick.

Midshipmen at the Naval Academy must sign what are known as "two-for-seven" papers prior to starting the fall semester of their junior year and Song did so. That contract calls for five years of military service following graduation.

It's a touchy topic and Kostacopoulos had no desire to discuss what might happen if Song is selected during the single-digit rounds of the MLB Draft, being held June 4-6 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

"It's complicated and I stay as far away from that as possible," he said.

Song is the latest in a long line of top pitching prospects produced by Navy during the 12-year tenure of Kostacopoulos. Mitch Harris was drafted by the Atlanta Braves following his junior season in 2007, but did not sign and wound up being taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13^th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.

Harris was not allowed to pursue professional baseball full-time until after his five-year service commitment, but wound up beating the odds by becoming the first Naval Academy graduate since 1921 to reach the major leagues. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound right-hander was called up by the Cardinals on April 21, 2015 and appeared in 26 games that season.

Left-hander Luke Gillingham was a 37^th round pick of the Toronto Blue Jaysafter graduating from the Naval Academy in 2016. Gillingham spent part of one season in the Blue Jays organization, appearing in four games for Bluefield of the Appalachian League. The California native was placed on the military leave list in August, 2016 and is fully focused on his career as a surface warfare officer.

Stephen Moore became the highest draft pick in Naval Academy history when he was taken in the 10th round by the Atlanta Braves in 2015. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander pitched for Danville, the organization's Advanced Rookie affiliate in the Appalachian League, that year and went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in nine games.

Moore then headed to flight school at Pensacola and is currently stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. Lieutenant Junior Grade Moore is currently deployed with the USS Harry S. Truman as part of the strike fighter squadron VFA-11 Red Rippers and is flying the F18 Super Hornet.

Oliver Drake and Preston Gainey were both eligible to be drafted following their sophomore seasons because both had attended the Naval Academy Prep School for a year.

Drake was taken in the 43^rd round by the Baltimore Orioles in 2008 and wound up signing. The right-hander made his major league debut with the O's on May 23, 2015 and has now pitched in 98 games at the big league level. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Massachusetts native made the Opening Day roster of the Milwaukee Brewers this season.

Gainey was an 11^th round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012 and also signed, foregoing his final two years at the academy. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect received a $90,000 signing bonus and an additional $50,000 for future educational costs. The right-hander is now a reliever assigned to Double-A Biloxi and was placed on the 60-day disabled list earlier this month.

All 30 major league teams have scouted Song in-person at some point this season with Kostacopoulos saying the interest is higher than it was with Harris, Drake or Gainey. There were 10 scouts in attendance at Max Bishop Stadium last Saturday when Song started against Lehigh and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning.

"As wildly good as Luke Gillingham was he didn't attract this type of attention," Kostacopoulos said. "Noah has some serious arm strength on certain days and hitting 95-96 is not an oddity for him. Here is a young kid with a great arm who operates in an incredibly difficult environment in terms of all the academic and military responsibilities. It's no surprise the scouts are very interested."

Sophomore right-hander Noah Song was the top freshman pitcher in the Patriot League last season. - Original Credit: (Phil Hoffmann / HANDOUT)

Song spent two weeks pitching in the prestigious Cape Cod League last summer and became accustomed to seeing stern-faced men sitting behind the backstop holding radar guns while throwing for the Harwich Mariners.

"I got exposure to the scouts during the summer so whenever I see them out there this season it's not something I really think about," said Song, who wasn't really sure how to respond when asked about the possibility of being drafted this coming June.

"I'm just going to take it and roll with it. I don't have any high expectations or anything. Nothing is stressing me out. Whatever happens is what happens," he said.

Song was a late bloomer who received minimal recruiting interest prior to his senior season at Claremont High. Navy pitching coach Bobby Applegate was previously an assistant at the University of California-Riverside and spotted Song while he was playing summer travel ball for the So Cal Bombers.

When Applegate was hired at Navy in August, 2014, he remembered that Song was still not committed and reached out. Song had the proper academic credentials and showed enough interest in the service academy to take an official visit to Annapolis during the fall semester.

"I was a little unsure about the military commitment, but I came here and everything I saw was awesome. I just loved the whole environment," said Song, adding that UC-Riverside was the only other school actively recruiting him.

Applegate recalled that Song was still developing as a pitcher and somewhat inconsistent in terms of hitting the strike zone. However, the veteran pitching coach thought the youngster had the frame to fill out and the talent to blossom at the collegiate level.

"I was pretty light and not real strong at the time. My stuff wasn't very electric or overpowering so I guess that's why I didn't have any offers. It all worked out for the best because I wound up here," Song said.

Song blossomed into a much better prospect than anyone would have predicted, earning the Patriot League Rookie of the Year award after going 9-3 with a 2.75 earned run average as a plebe. He was named to the Louisville Slugger and National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Freshman All-American teams.

After pitching in the seven-inning game on Sunday afternoons, Song moved into the No. 1 starter role as a sophomore and posted a 6-4 record with a 3.67 ERA. He was a second team All-Patriot League selection after notching 89 strikeouts and allowing just 26 walks while holding opponents to a .240 batting average.

Kostacopoulos and Applegate agree that Song is much more comfortable serving as the staff ace this season and the statistics bear that out. He boasts a 5-2 record with a miniscule 1.85 ERA while posting a superb strikeout-to-walk ratio of three-to-one (75 K, 25 BB). He has hurled three complete game shutouts while limiting opponents to a paltry .178 batting average.

"This season, Noah's had to help us win a lot of close games. He is pitching a lot of innings and holding teams down, which is the true mark of a No. 1," Kostacopoulos said. "We have a very young staff and Noah has a ton of responsibility. He has really shouldered that burden of getting us late into games."

Applegate has seen Song take his mental approach to another level this season.

"You need to be mentally strong in that No. 1 spot and Noah is really starting to evolve on that front. He's maturing and learning how to pitch himself out of jams," Applegate said. "Last season, whenever Noah got in trouble, he tried to overthrow. Now he's learning to trust his mechanics, trust his delivery, trust his pitches and trust his defense."

Song credits Applegate with transforming him from a marginal Division I recruit into a major league prospect. Applegate has refined Song's pitching motion and helped him develop a more consistent delivery.

"Coach Applegate installed a whole new throwing program that I had never done before. He also introduced an arm care system that allowed me to pitch all those innings as a plebe," Song said. "I definitely had a lot of flaws and inconsistencies in high school. Coach Applegate got me to start using my legs a lot more to take pressure off my arm."

Song threw the fastball in the low 80s as a senior at Claremont High and did not dream of being able to reach 90-96 less than three years later.

"I definitely would not have believed it if you told me I would be throwing that hard. I was hoping to add a couple miles per hour, but I never imagined I could get into the nineties," he said.

Song has a four-pitch repertoire, relying heavily on a slider while also throwing an overhand curveball and changeup.

"I feel the structure has helped Noah, being in a collegiate routine has really helped him. What we have done in the weight room and with our throwing program has helped him," Applegate said. "Noah is really starting to turn into the complete package. He's gaining enough confidence to throw all four pitches in just about every count and is therefore more effective."

Now Song will get a chance to show the scouts what he can do in a major league environment on Friday night.

"Not many college pitchers get a chance to take the mound in Fenway Park so I'm sure Noah will be excited," Applegate said. "He'll have to focus on the normal pregame routine. He may need to take a step off the mound, take it all in then get refocused. I think Noah will be fine. I think he'll enjoy the moment and rise to the occasion."

Song will almost certainly be opposed by Army ace Tyler Giovinco, a talented left-hander and also a returning All-Patriot League pick.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. I've never gotten to pitch in a big league park so I'm really looking forward to it. I think everyone is going to have a lot of energy going against our rival at Fenway Park," said Song, who hopes to relieve the nerves while working in the bullpen before the game.

"I'll go through my usual stretching routine and warmup, just use that time to soak in the environment. Once I hit the game mound it's time to go," he said.