ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The final Star of the 2019 Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, is on the line this weekend at Max Bishop Stadium as the Navy baseball team (29-12, 14-4 Patriot League) hosts Army (22-15, 9-5 Patriot League) on Saturday and Sunday. A doubleheader is set for Saturday with game one starting at 3 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. start. The series finale will be on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. with the game being broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
 
Navy has clinched the Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, with a record of 13-10 in the Star Series with just the baseball Star still up for grabs. The baseball Star will go to the winner of the three-game series this weekend.
 
Prior to the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, the Naval Academy Athletic Association and the Navy baseball program will be dedicating the facility upgrades of new lights and video board to Bob Stuart, Class of 1971, his family, friends and classmates for their generous gift.
 
Coming into the weekend, Navy holds a record of 29-12 overall and is leading the Patriot League with a record of 14-4. The Midshipmen went 4-1 last week, which included taking two of three games on the road against Lehigh. In the last three weekend series for Navy, it has gone 7-2. Earlier this week, Navy picked up a league win over Bucknell, 3-1, on the road and also beat Georgetown, 17-3, on Tuesday night at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Navy's offense is hitting .280 overall with six starters hitting over .300 at the plate this season and it has a slugging percentage of .407 as a team. Leading the charge for the Midshipmen has been the senior captain Christian Hodge. He is hitting .303 this year with a Patriot League-leading 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. Navy has also seen freshmen Zach Stevens and Joe Simourian take large roles within the offense as the pair are one and two on the team in batting average. Steven leads the Patriot League with a .360 batting and he has 33 runs scored in 34 games played. Simourian is batting .319 and is third on the team with a .405 on-base mark.
 
On the mound, the Midshipmen have a 3.89 ERA and lead the Patriot League with 14 saves and a .237 opponent batting average. Trey Braithwaite leads the Navy bullpen with nine saves to rank eighth in the country and lead the league. His nine saves are more than any team in the Patriot League and he is one save away from tying the single-season program record. Braithwaite also has a 0.90 ERA and is allowing opponents to hit just .192 at the plate. Noah Song leads the starting rotation with a 1.53 ERA and a record of 7-0 in nine starts. The senior leads the country with 110 strikeouts and 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Already leading the program with 377 strikeouts in his career, Song is just one win away from tying the program record for wins in a career as he enters the weekend with 28 wins.
 
Army comes into the weekend after upending Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon at home, 8-5. The Black Knights are 22-15 and 9-5 in the Patriot League. Wednesday's game against Holy Cross was Army's final league home game of the season as it will travel to Navy this weekend, followed by a four-game series at Holy Cross and then back-to-back doubleheaders at Lehigh and Lafayette to finish out the Patriot League season.
 
As a team, the Black Knights are hitting .274 overall with Trey Martin's .336 averaging leading the way. Martin also has a team-best six home runs and Anthony Giachin has a .315 average while also leading Army with 37 RBIs. The Black Knights hold the best ERA in the Patriot League at 3.69. Leading the Army staff has been Daniel Burggraaf with a 2.14 ERA and 53 strikeouts. Tyler Giovinco has a team-high six wins on the mound to go along with a 3.07 ERA and 41 strikeouts.
 
In the all-time series between Army and Navy, the Midshipmen hold a record of 124-114 over the Black Knights. Earlier this season, the two service academy rivals split a doubleheader in West Point by matching 5-2 scores. In the first game of the doubleheader, Army grabbed a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but Navy rallied and scored five unanswered runs against the Black Knights to grab a 5-2 victory in game one. In the second game of the doubleheader, Army used a four-run second inning to grab the doubleheader split. Navy tried to rally in the second game of the doubleheader with a leadoff home run in the ninth inning and then loaded the bases with no outs, but Navy was only able to cut the deficit from three runs in the 5-2 road loss.
 
A fan shuttle will available during both days of the series for additional parking at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Parking at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is $5 and the shuttle will run every 10 minutes starting one hour prior to first pitch both days. The shuttle will run from 2 p.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium.
 
The series begins on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Game two of the weekend is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday night following the lights and video board dedication. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. with the game being broadcasted on CBS Sports Network.