TOWSON, Md. – Navy baseball (8-3) started its busy week with a 13-4 victory over Towson (10-18) where the Midshipmen notched 12 hits in the game from nine different players in the victory at John B. Schuerholz Park in Towson, Md.
 
Colin Smith (So., Wilmington, Del.) finished with a game-high three hits where he went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and his first career home run. Christian Policelli (Jr., Walkersville, Md.) also notched a multi-hit game for the Midshipmen with a 2-for-3 day at the dish.
 
"We had contributions from everyone today," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos said. "We had good at-bats throughout the lineup. Colin Smith and Nico Valdez had really good games for us today and Nico was on base all day. We were also able to get a number of pitchers out there and they did a good job in having 12 strikeouts and just two walks."
 
After being held scoreless over the first two innings, Navy put up a crooked number in the top of the third inning with five runs on three hits in the inning. The Midshipmen loaded the bases without registering a hit with Nico Valdez (Jr., Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) starting the inning with a four-pitch walk, which was followed by Eduardo Diaz (Fr., Miami, Fla.) being hit by a pitch and Joe Simourian (Jr., Andover, Mass.) working a four-pitch walk of his own.
 
With the bases loaded, Kyle Rausch (So., Middle Island, N.Y.) hit a chopper back to the pitcher that bobbled allowing Valdez to score and Rausch to reach first to keep the bases loaded. Alex Smith (So., Laguna Hills, Calif.) drove in Diaz with a sacrifice fly to centerfield and with two outs in the frame, Navy pushed three more runs across. Logan Keller (Fr., Longwood, Fla.) singled back up the middle to plate Simourian, then Policelli and Colin Smith followed with back-to-back singles out to centerfield with each driving in a run to push Navy's lead to 5-0 after the third inning.
 
Towson answered back with two runs of its own in the bottom of the fourth inning on two hits and an error to cut the Midshipmen's lead to three runs.
 
In the sixth inning, Navy answered the Tigers' two-run inning with a two-run frame of its own to regain a five-run advantage. Colin Smith singled through the right side of the infield and then Valdez was hit by a pitch to place two runners on base with no outs. After Diaz moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, Simourian drove in both runners with a single out to centerfield to give the Midshipmen a 7-2 lead heading into the final third of the game.
 
Navy loaded the bases once again to start the eighth inning and with no outs, Rausch drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly and Alex Smith followed with another sacrifice fly to push Navy's lead to 9-2 through eight innings of play.
 
Colin Smith added two more runs in the ninth inning with his first career home run to push the Midshipmen's lead to nine runs. Dalton Jackson (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) gave Navy a 12-2 lead with a pinch-hit RBI double to bring in Valdez. The Midshipmen's four-run ninth inning came to a close after Zane Raba (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) drove in Hudson Lehnertz (Fr., Santa, Ana, Calif.) to give Navy a 13-2 advantage.
 
Towson added two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Midshipmen earned a 13-4 win on the road over the Tigers.
 
Making his first start of the season, Jared Leins (Sr., Raleigh, N.C.) tossed three no-hit innings where he struck out four and walked one to pick up the win on the mound. In total, the Midshipmen used seven pitchers with the staff allowing four runs – two earned – on six hits and two walks. Navy also racked up 12 strikeouts on the mound.
 
Nolan Bolt (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs – two earned – on three walks and one hit.
 
The Midshipmen are back in action this weekend for a four-game series against Lafayette. Navy travels to Easton, Pa., for a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday before hosting the Leopards on Sunday for two games with the first pitch of game one now slated for 1 p.m.