ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (10-12, 2-4 Patriot League) split its home doubleheader against Holy Cross (5-19, 1-1 Patriot League) on Saturday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen won the first game, 9-5, on the back of a pair of grand slams from Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) and Hudson Lehnertz (So., Santa Ana, Calif.), along with 2.1 hitless innings of relief from Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.), prior to the Crusaders earning a 10-3 victory in game two.
 
With the pair of grand slams by Keller and Lehnertz, the Midshipmen have now tallied a pair of home runs in each of the last two games, marking the first time Navy has had back-to-back multi-home run efforts since accomplishing the feat in a doubleheader against Lafayette on March 30, 2019.
 
In addition to Keller and Lehnertz leading the way for the Navy offense over the two games with a combined eight RBI, Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) added a 4-for-6 showing on Saturday that included a double and three runs scored. Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) posted a multi-hit effort in game one, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
 
On the mound, Jorgenson highlighted the Navy pitching effort over the two games with the aforementioned effort of 2.1 hitless innings, in which he retired all seven batters he faced, to earn his second-straight win.
 
Nick Wang led the way at the plate for the Crusaders Saturday, going a combined 3-for-6 with a home run, a triple, four RBI and four runs scored.
 
Game One: Navy 9, Holy Cross 5 (Seven Innings)
In the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, the Midshipmen jumped out to a five-run lead in the third inning, highlighted by an inside-the-park grand slam by Lehnertz, prior to the Crusaders rallying with five runs of their own over the next two innings to tie the game heading into the sixth.
 
Following a clean inning of relief from Jorgenson in the top of the sixth, Keller launched the Mids' second grand slam of the day in the bottom of the frame, giving Navy a 9-5 lead it wouldn't relinquish in the game one win.
 
"Game one was a really good ball game," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "We got out to a big lead, then they come back, but we fired right back. We hung in there and did some good things on defense to keep us right where we needed to be. We got some big hits from Logan (Keller) and another from Hudson (Lehnertz). We played a good, solid baseball game."
 
After trading scoreless frames through the first two innings with the Crusaders, the Midshipmen offense broke out in the third with five runs on three hits to take a 5-0 lead, including the inside-the-park grand slam by Lehnertz, the first home run of his collegiate career.
 
However, Holy Cross reduced the Midshipmen lead to three runs in the fourth, tallying two runs on four hits, prior to scoring an additional three runs on three hits in the top of the fifth to tie the game and force Navy game one starter Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.) from the contest in favor of Jorgenson.
 
The sophomore-right hander would retire each of the first four batters he faced, maintaining the tie ball game heading into the bottom of the sixth.
 
In the sixth, a Colin Smith double to left field was followed by an Aguirre hit by pitch and a walk to Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) that loaded the bases for Keller with two outs.
 
The sophomore third baseman took advantage of his two-out opportunity, launching the second grand slam of the day for the Mids over the left-field wall to give Navy back the lead at 9-5 heading into the seventh. The grand slam by Keller ultimately secured a four-run decision in favor of the Midshipmen, as Jorgenson (2-0) retired the side in order in the seventh.
 
"Nolan (Jorgenson) has been so steady for us," Kostacopoulos remarked of Jorgenson's outing. "It doesn't matter who the batter is, he executes. He has been great for us this year."
 
Holy Cross starting pitcher Jack DiLauro (0-4) took the loss after allowing seven runs, two being earned, on six hits while walking a batter and striking out five. Luke Fox pitched a third of an inning for the Crusaders in relief, allowing two runs on one hit. Wang and Sean Scanlon led the way for Holy Cross at the plate in game one, as each tallied a home run and two RBI.
 
Game Two: Holy Cross 10, Navy 3 (Nine Innings)
With game two of Saturday's twin bill tied at 3-3 heading into the top of the eighth, Holy Cross combined to score seven runs on seven hits over the final two innings to secure a 10-3 victory over the Midshipmen and a split of the doubleheader.
 
"As far as the second games goes, it was a 4-3 game heading into the top of the ninth, it was a good ball game," said Kostacopoulos of game two. "I thought Zach Ward was very good today, he did a really good job of keeping us in the ball game and giving us a chance to settle in. Overall, you'd really like to think that you could take that second game, but I thought we played good baseball. We just have to keep working through our pitching situation with two big games tomorrow."
 
Navy once again opened the scoring in Saturday's night cap, as Stevens led off the bottom of the second with a double, before coming home to score two batters later on a groundout by Colin Smith.
 
Holy Cross quickly responded to the Midshipmen advantage, as Scanlon brought home Wang on an RBI double with two outs in the third to tie the score at 1-1. Following the game-tying rally in the third, the Crusaders took their first lead of the day in the fourth, 3-1, as they tallied two runs on two hits against Navy starter Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.), who was forced from the game in favor of Zach Ward (So., Mokena, Ill.) to start the fifth.
 
An Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) RBI double brought the Mids back to within a run at 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, prior to Navy tying the game in the third, 3-3, on an RBI double by Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) that brought home Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.).
 
After being held to one hit over the first three innings of relief by Ward, the Holy Cross bats came to life in the top of the eighth, taking back the lead at 4-3 with one run on three hits in the frame. After Navy stranded runners on first and second in the home half of the frame, the Crusaders ultimately secured a game two victory over the Midshipmen, 10-3, with six runs on six hits in the top of the ninth.
 
Stevens led the way for the Mids at the plate in game two, going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Ward (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over four innings of relief, while Shirah finished his day with three runs allowed on four hits over four innings.
 
Holy Cross starter Matt Remley pitched the first 5.2 innings, allowing three runs, two being earned, on eight hits before giving way to Jake McOsker (1-3) with two out the fifth. The left hander earned earned his first win of the season after allowing just one hit over the final 3.1 innings of work. Connor Cooney led the way for the Crusaders at the plate in game two with a home run and five RBI. 
 
UP NEXT
Navy will have a quick turnaround as it welcomes rival Army to Max Bishop Stadium on Sunday for a doubleheader. Game one of the twin bill against the Black Knights is set for 2 p.m.