ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy baseball's (13-10, 8-9 Patriot League) Patriot League schedule is winding down as the Midshipmen have their second-to-last league series this weekend with a three-game set against Lehigh (16-14, 12-8 Patriot League). The two teams start the weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon in Bethlehem, Pa. and the series wraps up in Annapolis on Sunday at 2 p.m. where Navy will host Senior Day during its final home weekend contest of the season.
 
On Saturday, no visiting fans are permitted to attend the contest at Lehigh. Following the guidelines set by state and local government officials, Navy will allow limited attendance at its home baseball games this spring. Spectators will be required to wear a mask throughout the contest and maintain social distancing.
 
The Midshipmen come into the weekend after dropping its last two contests and they dropped a 12-10 contest to Coppin State during the midweek. Navy is currently third in the Patriot League standings with an 8-9 record and Lehigh is just ahead of the Midshipmen in second with a 12-8 record in league games.
 
Navy's offense has paced the team this season with a Patriot League-leading .294 batting average through 23 games. The Midshipmen also lead the way in slugging percentage (.412) and on-base percentage (.409). Logan Keller has paced Navy and the league at the plate with a .355 average and he also leads the league with 26 RBIs in 23 games. The Midshipmen's trio of Zane Raba, Nico Valdez and Christian Policelli lead the Patriot League in on-base percentage with marks of .484, .469 and .468, respectively, while Zach Stevens and Policelli are second and third in the league in slugging percentage. Stevens has notched a .535 slugging percentage and Policelli is just behind at .525.
 
On the mound, the Midshipmen have compiled a 6.86 ERA this season and are allowing opponents to hit .284 at the dish. Senior captain Jared Leins has led Navy on the mound this spring with a 1.93 ERA and in his 14 innings of work he has struck out 14 hitters. Charlie Connolly leads the Midshipmen with 36 strikeouts and he ranks 19th in the nation with 13.50 strikeouts per nine innings.
 
Lehigh comes into the weekend with a 16-14 record and snapped a two-game skid after beating Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, 7-6. However, over their last 10 league contests, the Mountain Hawks have gone 3-7. Lehigh's pitching staff has led the team this year with a 4.38 ERA to lead the league with Mason Black and Matt Svanson leading the staff. Svanson has a 3.15 ERA with Black just behind with a 3.20 ERA and Black leads the Patriot League with 76 punchouts and Svanson is second in the league with 46 strikeouts.
 
On offense, the Mountain Hawks are hitting .246 as a team with Eric Cichocki and Casey Rother guiding the way. Cichocki has a .350 average and leads the Patriot League with 41 hits with Rother posting a team-best .523 slugging percentage, which is top five within the league.
 
Earlier this season, Lehigh took two of three games from the Midshipmen to start the month of April. The two teams split the doubleheader in Annapolis where Navy grabbed a 4-3 win in the second game and the Mountain Hawks edged the Midshipmen in the series finale in Bethlehem, 3-1.
 
Prior to Sunday's game in Annapolis, the Navy baseball program will recognize its nine seniors. Jack Ferguson, Stephen Thompson, Ryan Duffey, Tommy Goodridge, Brandon Yu, Trey Braithwaite, Sante Grossi, Jared Leins and Charlie Connolly will all play their final weekend contest at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
After this weekend, Navy caps off its regular-season home slate against Towson on Wednesday before traveling to Pomona, N.Y. for its four-game series against Army on May 8-9.