ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (10-14, 2-6 Patriot League) will return to action seeking a bounce-back effort Tuesday as it travels to take on UMBC (11-12, 4-2 America East) in a non-conference contest. First pitch from the Retrievers' Alumni Field is slated for 6 p.m. The contest is set to be streamed on the America East Network, along with free, live statistics being provided on NavySports.com.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. UMBC
In a series that dates back to the 1978 season, UMBC holds a narrow 27-24 edge over the Midshipmen in 51 all-time meetings. The two programs met earlier this season for a two-game, season-opening series in Annapolis, in which Navy picked up a pair of walk-off wins.
 
A Hudson Lehnertz (So., Santa Ana, Calif.) ninth-inning single propelled the Mids to a 10-9 victory over the Retrievers on opening day, prior to Joe Simourian (Sr., Andover, Mass.) working a bases-loaded walk in the 12th inning of game two that secured an 11-10 win and a sweep of the two-game set for Navy.
 
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 10-14
Home Record: 5-10
Away Record: 3-3
Neutral Record: 2-1
Patriot League Record: 2-6
Streak: L3
Head Coach: Paul Kostacopoulos I 17th Season at Navy, 33rd Overall (995-666-7)
 
SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, Navy was swept in a doubleheader against Army at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen dropped the first game of the twin bill, 7-0, before falling in the night cap to the Black Knights, 9-0.
 
Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) led the way for the Mids at the plate over the two games, combining to go 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles. Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) rounded out the top-offensive performers for the Mids against Army, going 2-for-4 with two doubles in game two.  
 
HOT STREAKS: Over the last 10 games, Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) leads the way for the Midshipmen offensively, hitting .367 (11-for-30) with a double, a home run and three RBI. Additionally, Stevens is reaching base at a .467 clip and has a .500 slugging percentage over that span. Policelli follows closely behind Stevens, hitting .308 (12-for-39) with a home run, three doubles and four runs scored, along with totaling two RBI.
 
POLICELLI LEADS THE WAY: In addition to his aforementioned hot streak over the last 10 games, Policelli has gone wire-to-wire this season in leading the way for the Navy offense. The senior backstop leads the team in batting average (.356), runs scored (14), hits (32), doubles (8), slugging percentage (.533), on-base percentage (.437) and stolen bases (7).
 
Additionally, Policelli is tied for the team lead in home runs (2) and RBI (13), while being tied for tied for second in triples (1). The senior has already tied his career-best total for hits in a season, along with setting a new career-high mark for a single season in doubles.
 
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: For his efforts over his career at Navy, Policelli was named to the initial 30-candidate list for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award for baseball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior or graduate student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
The senior has compiled a decorated résumé over his three-plus seasons as a member of the Midshipmen baseball program. A 2021 All-Patriot League First-Team selection, Policelli has appeared in 99 games with 90 starts in his career, posting a .314 batting average on 102 career hits. Of those 102 hits, 34 have gone for extra bases, including two triples, 10 home runs and 20 doubles. Additionally, Policelli has totaled 69 RBI, reached base at a .420 clip and recorded a .480 slugging percentage.
 
SETTING THE PACE: Rounding out the leaders at the plate for the Mids this season is the trio of Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.), Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) and Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.). Aguirre's .250 batting average ranks as the third-best mark on the team, in addition to totaling a double, a triple, three RBI and 10 walks. Keller is tied for the team lead in home runs (2) and RBI (13), along with totaling two doubles and nine runs scored. Smith has proven to be a source of power for the Midshipmen lineup this season, hitting .232 with a triple, two home runs, three doubles and 11 RBI.
 
FINDING RELIEF: Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.) enters play Tuesday as the top-performing reliever for Navy this season. Jorgenson, over 12 appearances, has pitched a team-leading 24 innings, in which he has yielded just a .237 batting average against and recorded nine strikeouts. Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) ranks second behind Jorgenson in ERA (2.53), along with having a team-best three saves over eight appearances and 10.2 innings pitched.
 
STARTING STRONG: Reece Early (Jr., Reistertown, Md.) leads the way among Navy starting pitchers with a 3.65 ERA over four starts. Newcomer Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) ranks second among starters with a 3.91 ERA over his five starts, in addition to yielding just a .266 batting average against and striking out 15 batters.
 
Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.) has struck out 14 batters in 22.1 innings over his five starts, while Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.) has made six starts this season, pitching a team-high 27 innings, in which he has struck out a team-leading 21 batters.
 
NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Among the Division-I baseball statistical rankings, Navy ranks in the top-50 of several categories, both as a team and individually. The Mids' eight triples rank as the 24th most in the nation this season, while their .978 fielding percentage is 31st nationally. Individually, Policelli ranks ninth in the toughest to strike out category (22.5), while Shirah is 17th in games started among Division-I pitchers (6). Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) is 39th in sacrifice bunts (4), while Jorgenson is 42nd in pitching appearances (12).  
 
A GRAND OLD TIME: In its 9-5 victory over Holy Cross last week, the Midshipmen hit a pair of grand slams, marking what is believed to be the first multi-grand slam game in program history. Lehnertz recorded an inside-the-park grand slam in the third inning of game one against the Crusaders on Saturday, followed by Keller hitting the first grand slam of his collegiate career to break a scoreless tie in the eighth inning.  
 
UMBC PRIMER
Overall Record: 11-12
Home Record: 8-5
Away Record: 3-7
Neutral Record: 0-0
AEC Record: 4-2
Streak: W3
Head Coach: Liam Bowen I Third Season (31-48)
 
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, UMBC earned a sweep of a three-game, America East road set against Hartford. The Retrievers scored a combined 41 runs over the series, including a series-high 17 runs on 13 hits in game one. UMBC secured the series win in game two, taking a 16-9 decision, before earning the sweep with an 8-3 win in game three.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE: Myles Nicholson enters Tuesday as the leading hitter for the Retrievers this season with a .418 batting average. The graduate student also has a team-best 1.121 OPS on a .626 slugging percentage and .495 on-base percentage. Additionally, Nicholson leads UMBC in hits (38), doubles (7), and stolen bases (17). Tony Krueger ranks second on the team with a .345 batting average, along with totaling a home run, three doubles, 11 runs scored and 16 RBI.
 
ON THE MOUND: Luke Johnson has pitched a team-high 30 innings this season over six starts. The sophomore has a 2-0 record, along with posting a 3.00 ERA and striking out a team-best 29 batters. Keegan Leffler has appeared in nine games, four being starts, in which he has tallied a 4.67 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 27 innings pitched.
 
UP NEXT
Following its contest against UMBC on Tuesday, Navy is slated to hit the road for a four-game weekend slate that features a doubleheader at Lehigh on Saturday, followed by a twin bill against Lafayette on Sunday.