ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy baseball's (0-0) season opener against Coppin State (0-0) has been shifted from Saturday to Sunday as the Midshipmen host the Eagles at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Sunday afternoon.
Following the guidelines set by state and local government officials, Navy will allow spectators at its home baseball games this spring. The current protocol allows for 25 percent of capacity at outdoor venues. Spectators will be required to wear a mask throughout the contest and maintain social distancing.
Navy comes into the season after posting a record of 14-1 during the shortened 2020 season. The Midshipmen capped off the year with 14-straight wins before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Midshipmen's 14-game winning streak ranked second in the nation at the conclusion of the season only behind Ole Miss – who won 16-straight contests. Navy also ranked in the top-five nationally with a .933 winning percentage trailing only Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss. Within the program's history, the Midshipmen's 14-1 start to 2020 was their best since 1961 and the 14-straight wins were the program's second-longest single-season winning streak.
The Midshipmen bring back an experienced crew on the mound as its entire pitching staff from 2020 returns and seven of the nine seniors on this year's roster are pitchers.
Charlie Connolly anchors the starting rotation after posting a record of 1-0 in four starts last season. Connolly notched a 1.04 ERA and struck out 32 batters in 26 innings of work where he only walked three hitters.
Trey Braithwaite leads the bullpen as a senior as he enters the year with 14 career saves and is just three saves away from tying the program record. In 2020, Braithwaite had a 0.71 ERA and locked down four saves in eight appearances while also picking up a win for the Midshipmen.
Navy is tasked with replacing four multi-year starters from last year's squad, but it does return the middle of its lineup in
Christian Policelli,
Alex Smith and
Zach Stevens. As a freshman, Smith led the Midshipmen's offense with a .368 batting average while slugging .526 and reaching base at .457 clip. Policelli led the team in 2020 with 15 RBIs while slugging .407 and finished tied for the team lead with three home runs. Stevens appeared in just nine games last year but was off to a strong start where he hit .419 with nine of his 13 hits going for extra bases to spearhead a .935 slugging percentage. Stevens finished tied with Policelli with three long balls while also having a .526 on-base percentage.
The quintet of Braithwaite, Connolly, Policelli, Smith and Stevens represented the Midshipmen on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Navy's five preseason honorees led all league teams and the Midshipmen were also picked to finish first in the league poll after collecting nine of 12 first-place votes and 49 total points.
Coppin State comes into 2021 after finishing 3-10 a year ago where the Eagles earned wins over Richmond (11-1), Georgetown (6-5) and Lehigh (5-4). Coppin State returns its leading hitter in Marcos Castillo after he hit .378 for the season with a .711 slugging percentage. The junior paced the team with 17 hits, eight extra-base hits, three home runs, 11 runs scored and nine RBIs. As a team, the Eagles hit .204 overall with a .310 slugging percentage and a .304 on-base percentage.
On the mound, the Coppin State pitching staff compiled a 5.35 ERA in 106 innings. The Eagles struck out 94 hitters and allowed 65 free passes. Tim Ruffino led the starting staff a year ago with a 4.15 ERA and posted a team-best two wins. Out of the bullpen, Rashad Ruff had a strong start to the year as a freshman after posting a 0.96 ERA in 9-1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He allowed just one run on six hits while striking out 10 hitters.
Navy has controlled the all-time series against Coppin State and holds a record of 22-6-1 all-time. The Midshipmen have won the last nine contests against the Eagles with the last meeting featuring Navy earning a 6-1 victory last season as the Midshipmen opened their 2020 home slate against Coppin State.
Following this weekend's season opener for both clubs, Navy and Coppin State square off once again on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
