ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (24-11, 11-3 Patriot League) dropped the final game of the weekend series against Holy Cross (9-24, 5-5 Patriot League), 4-1, on Sunday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Despite the loss, the Midshipmen won the regular-season series against Crusaders, 3-2.
 
Zach Biggers (Jr., Walhalla, S.C.) wrapped up his strong series with a 3-for-4 day at the plate and he scored Navy's only run of the game. Liam Lowery (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) drove in the Midshipmen's lone run and he went 1-for-4 to close out the weekend.
 
"Holy Cross made a better adjustment and went to some three-pitch mixes," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos said about his offense. "Liam Dvorak commanded the zone well with his three pitches and we did not adjust back to it very well. We were in the middle of the field and then we got pull happy to accumulate some strikeouts. Holy Cross did a good job of pitching and it was a good baseball game today, it was well played on both sides and they won the game with solid pitching.
 
"We limited the bunch runs this weekend, which was a combination of some good pitching and good defense. Overall, today was a good ballgame, but it just did not go our way."
 
Like the first game on Saturday, the Midshipmen took the early lead over the Crusaders and notched a first-inning run. The two-out magic continued for Navy after its first two batters of the game were retired in order, but three-straight two-out singles gave the Midshipmen a 1-0 lead. Biggers singles through the right side of the infield and Christian Hodge (Sr., Winder, Ga.) singled out to centerfield to place runners at the corners with two outs. Lowery delivered the big hit in the frame and singled back up the middle to score Biggers and push Navy ahead, 1-0.
 
The lead did not last long for the Midshipmen after Holy Cross countered in the next half inning with a bases-loaded walk that tied the game at one. Charlie Connolly (So., Wayne, Pa.) go out of the jam only allowing the one run and leaving the bases loaded.
 
With the game tied at one in the third inning, Biggers started the stanza with his second single of the day and Hodge looked to give Navy the lead after he hammered a ball over the fence down the left-field line, but the would-be home run was called foul and kept the game knotted at one. Navy was unable to take advantage of the leadoff hit and stranded a runner on first base.
 
The Navy offense was held in check for the remainder of the game as it registered five hits over the first two innings and Biggers' single to start the third inning was the Midshipmen's sixth of the game. Navy did not get back in the hit column until the eighth inning, where Biggers singled with one out, but was stranded and Navy finished the day with seven hits. 
 
Liam Dvorak found his groove on the mound and retired 11-straight batters after the Biggers single in the third inning, before giving up a walk in the bottom of the sixth inning. 
 
Holy Cross took the lead with a run in the fourth inning and it never looked back. With the 2-1 lead, the Crusaders picked up an insurance run in the fifth inning and grabbed a three-run advantage with another run in the ninth inning to avoid the sweep and upend Navy, 4-1.
 
Connolly (3-2) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings of work where he walked five and struck out five. Jackson Zoch (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) allowed a run on three hits in 3-1/3 innings, while Tommy Goodridge (So., San Diego, Calif.) recorded two outs in his only two batters faced.
 
Dvorak (5-2) beat the Midshipmen for the second time this season after pitching 7-1/3 innings giving up one run on seven hits and striking out eight.
 
Navy is back on the road this week as it travels to Emmitsburg, Md., to take on Mount St. Mary's at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.