ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After a midweek cancelation, Navy (6-1) continues its 10-game homestand this weekend with a three-game series against Massachusetts (1-2) on Saturday and Sunday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Following a schedule adjustment, the series now features a single game on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at noon.
The Midshipmen carry a six-game winning streak into the weekend series against former Navy assistant coach Matt Reynolds -- who is in his third season as head coach of the Massachusetts program.
Navy is coming off the program's first three-game sweep against service academy rival Air Force in a series that was moved from North Carolina up to Annapolis. Navy swept at Saturday doubleheader, 5-4 and 3-1, and completed the series sweep on Sunday after
Zach Biggers' walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning secured the Midshipmen's 4-3 victory.
The Navy pair of Biggers and
Zach Stevens have led the way for the offense as the two Zach's are the only two individuals with double-digit hits in the Patriot League with 10 and 11, respectively. Along with leading the league in hits, Stevens as a league-best 1.080 slugging percentage, which was highlighted by a 1.357 mark last week where seven of his nine hits went for extra bases. Biggers is hitting .333 at the plate this season with a .433 slugging mark and he has driven in five runs for Navy in the early portion of the season. As a team, Navy has posted a .268 batting average and is reaching base at a .392 clip.
On the mound, Navy has found its groove and has posted a 1.67 ERA during the team's six-game winning streak. Overall, Navy has a 3.71 team ERA with
Colin Jones posting a 0.00 ERA in 7-1/3 innings in five appearances out of the bullpen.
Charlie Connolly has guided the Midshipmen's starters with a 1.46 ERA in 12-1/3 innings and has a team-leading 18 strikeouts. Navy is averaging over 10 strikeouts per game with 71 punch outs through the first seven games.
Massachusetts started its 2020 season last weekend and went 1-2 in a road series at Delaware State. The Minutemen won the first game of the weekend, 6-3, but lost 1-0 and 6-3 in the final two matchups. Anthony Videtto hit .556 over the three games to help Massachusetts record a team .261 batting average. Of the eight runs that the Minutemen drove in against the Hornets last week, four came from Videtto. In two starts for Massachusetts, Steve Luttazi went 3-for-6 for the club.
The pitching staff for the Minutemen limited Delaware State to just eight earned runs in 21-1/3 innings of baseball where they struck out 17 batters and walked just eight. Massachusetts got two, five-scoreless inning starts from Ben Shields and Jack Steele in the two losses while Sean Harney picked up the team's lone win after pitching four innings and allowing three runs -- two earned -- against the Hornets.
Navy and Massachusetts split the season series last spring as the two programs met in Annapolis last season. The Minutemen won the first game against the Midshipmen after scoring three runs in the top of the eighth inning to outlast Navy, 3-0. In the final meeting against Massachusetts, Navy rolled to a 12-4 victory in a six-inning contest after the game was called in the bottom of the sixth inning due to snow.
