ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy (12-8, 7-8 Patriot League) went off for 14 runs and 15 hits in the opening game against Holy Cross (7-11, 6-8 Patriot League) on Saturday to win 14-13, but the Crusaders bounced back to beat the Midshipmen in game two, 9-3, as the two teams split the doubleheader at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Nico Valdez (Jr., Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) led Navy's offense with a 6-for-7 day at the dish with two RBIs. Christian Policelli (Jr., Walkersville, Md.) had a six-RBI game to start the day and finished three hits over the two games.
 
"I thought game one was a great character win," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos said. "We were up 9-3 and then all of a sudden in the bottom of the eighth inning we find ourselves down three. We were able to come back and win that game, the guys were playing hard doing what they needed to do. In game two, their pitcher did a good job and he mixed some pitches, but we were just not competitive on the mound. That got us behind the eight ball and that is something we have to work on. I was happy with guys like Michael Mahala and Zach Powers who had not pitched much this year and they hung in there. We just have to come back and be ready to go tomorrow."
 
Navy 14, Holy Cross 13
 
In the slugfest to start the day, the two teams combined 27 runs and 28 hits in the seven-inning affair. The Midshipmen struck first with Policelli driving in his first run of the game on a sacrifice fly out to right field that brought home Zane Raba (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) who walked to leadoff the game.
 
The Crusaders got their offense going with a three-run second inning on a pair of hits but Navy came back in the third inning with four runs of its own to regain the lead. Policelli drove in two more runs with a single through the right side of the infield to tie the score at three and then Zach Stevens (Jr., Lexington, Mass.) came in to score on a wild pitch. Colin Smith (So., Wilmington, Del.) capped off the Midshipmen's four-run frame with a single out to centerfield to push Navy's advantage to 5-3.
 
Navy stayed hot at the plate with their second-straight four-run inning. Stevens gave the Midshipmen a three-run lead with an infield single, then Policelli belted a three-run home run over the wall left field to put Navy on top 9-3 after four innings.
 
A seesaw battle broke out down the stretch with the Crusaders pulling within a run after scoring five runs on six hits in the fifth inning. The Midshipmen got a run back in the home half of the fifth inning with Raba singling out to right field to bring in Valdez. However, the Midshipmen's lead disappeared after Holy Cross added five more runs in the sixth inning. Three hits and pair of Navy errors gave the Crusaders a 13-10 lead.
 
The Midshipmen did not go away and scored four runs in an inning for the third time in a four-inning span. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Valdez worked a bases-loaded walk to bring Navy within two runs and a wild pitch that allowed Logan Keller (Fr., Longwood, Fla.) to score cut the deficit to one. Dalton Jackson (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) delivered a pinch-hit, two-RBI single to propel Navy ahead, 14-13.
 
After Holy Cross worked a leadoff walk to start the seventh inning, Dalton Baker (Jr., Sebring, Fla.) worked out of the jam and left two runners aboard to secure the 14-13 win for the Midshipmen.
 
Trey Braithwaite (Sr., Winchester, Va.) picked up the win after throwing 1-1/3 innings of relief and Baker earned his first save of the season.
 
Eric Lopes was tagged with the loss after allowing a run on two hits in his inning of work.
 
Holy Cross 9, Navy 3
 
In the second game of the day, Holy Cross and Navy were scoreless through two innings and the Crusaders took the early lead with their third home run of the day in the top of the third inning. However, like in game one, the Midshipmen responded and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the frame. Keller drove in Navy's first run of the contest with a two-out single that brought home Policelli – who started the two-out rally with a double. Following an infield single from Colin Smith, Valdez drove in Keller with a single to centerfield to put Navy ahead, 2-1.
 
The Holy Cross offense kept rolling with three runs on just one hit in the fourth inning and then four runs on five hits in the fifth inning to take an 8-2 lead. Navy's offense was silenced and it was held scoreless for four innings.
 
In the eighth inning, the Crusaders added another run and the Midshipmen were only able to push across one run on pair of hits in the bottom of the inning. Hudson Lehnertz (Fr., Santa Ana, Calif.) drove in Navy's final run of the day as Holy Cross won the second half of the doubleheader, 9-3.
 
Trent Topping (Jr., Temecula, Calif.) suffered the loss after surrendering three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Making his first collegiate start, Michael Mahala (So., Far Hills, N.J.) went three innings and allowed a run on one hit while striking out five.

Garret Keough earned the win for Holy Cross following a six-inning start allowing two runs on six hits. Nate Chudy grabbed the save in his three innings of relief giving up just one run on a pair of hits.
 
Navy and Holy Cross wrap up the four-game series with two more games on Sunday starting at noon from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.