WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy baseball team (14-18, 6-9 Patriot League) combined to score 33 runs on 34 hits in two games on Sunday against Holy Cross (8-27, 3-8 Patriot League), earning a sweep of the doubleheader, 13-4 and 20-5, at the Crusaders' Fitton Field.
 
Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) highlighted the Midshipmen effort on offense over the two games, going a combined 5-for-9 with a grand slam, two doubles, six runs scored and nine RBI. The junior also provided a stellar effort on the mound in game two of the twin bill, earning the win after pitching three innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters. The seven-RBI effort in the night cap by the junior tied the third-most RBI for a single game by an individual in program history.
 
Along with the efforts of Colin Smith in Sunday's doubleheader, the trio of Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.), Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) and Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) each tallied multi-hit performances in both games of the twin bill.  
 
Keller combined to go 4-for-9 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Policelli added a 4-for-10 outing with a double and five RBI. Alex Smith recorded a 4-for-8 showing with a double and four RBI, while Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) tallied four RBI, scored five runs and walked five times.
 
The 33 runs scored by the Midshipmen over the two games marked their highest run total for a doubleheader since scoring 34 runs in a twin bill against Lafayette on March 30, 2019, in addition to the 24-hit effort in game two being just two hits shy of the fourth-highest total for a single game in team history. The 24 hits were also the most for the Mids in a single game since totaling 27 on March 22, 2017 against Delaware State.
 
"Most importantly, this was a doubleheader that we needed to sweep," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "This is something we needed to keep us moving in the right direction, we got it done from the standpoint of our offense being very good today. We got it from almost everybody, up and down the lineup we got contributions, that's the only way you can have this kind of day. Colin Smith had an incredible day at the plate and gave us a solid middle-relief effort on the mound. He got us out of a jam in the fifth where they (Holy Cross) were making a run at us, then tops it off by hitting the grand slam that put the game away."
 
Game One: Navy 13, Holy Cross 4 (Seven Innings)
The Midshipmen opened play on Sunday with a seven-run, five-hit first inning that ultimately catapulted Navy to taking the opening game of the twin bill, 13-4, over the Crusaders.
 
Policelli opened the Mids' scoring effort in the top of the first, bringing home Colin Smith on a double that found the left-center field gap, followed by a two-RBI single off the bat of Alex Smith that brought home Keller and Policelli to give Navy an early three-run advantage.
 
Following a walk to Kiel Brenczewski (Jr., Fishers, Ind.) and a Holy Cross pitching change from starter Nate Chudy (2-3), the Midshipmen continued their offensive onslaught with an additional four runs on two hits, including back-to-back RBI singles by Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) and Nick Burch (Jr., Hollywood, Md.) that brought the Navy lead to 7-0 in the first.
 
Following the seven-run effort in the first from his offense, Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) went to work in protecting the Midshipmen advantage. The freshman yielded just two runs on four hits over five innings of work, including retiring 14 of the first 16 batters he faced. The freshman received additional support from his offense in the top of the third, as Alex Smith and Colin Smith provided a pair of RBI doubles to extend the Navy advantage to 9-0.
 
The Holy Cross offense broke through against Golden (2-5) for the first time in the home half of the fifth, scoring two runs on two hits to cut its deficit to seven runs. The newcomer would ultimately give way to Thomas Russell (Jr., Fairfax, Va.) to begin the sixth, who posted a scoreless frame that included working around walk and a single to start the inning.
 
The Midshipmen would ultimately cement a game one victory in top of the seventh, scoring four runs on three hits, including Keller and Policelli bringing the Navy lead to 11 runs with back-to-back RBI singles. The Crusaders tallied two runs on three hits against Russell in the bottom of the inning, but the junior was able to close out a 13-4 victory for the Mids to open play Sunday.
 
Sean Scanlon paced the Holy Cross offense in game one, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Patriot Casserly went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run scored.
 
Game Two: Navy 20, Holy Cross 5
After seeing its lead cut to three runs, 8-5, in the fourth, the Navy offense responded with 12 runs on 10 hits over the next three innings to secure a 15-run victory, 20-5, over Holy Cross and a sweep of Sunday's doubleheader.
 
The Midshipmen jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a Colin Smith RBI double, followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of Policelli. After the Crusaders posted a run against the Mids' game two starter Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.) in the second, the fast start continued for Navy in the third with an additional five runs on six hits, including a trio of RBI hits by Burch, Diaz and Colin Smith, that extended its advantage to six runs at 7-1.
 
However, Holy Cross responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-run, four-hit effort against Shirah that reduced the Midshipmen lead to four runs. After a Diaz RBI double in the top of the fourth stole back a run for the Mids, Holy Cross posted two runs on one hit in the bottom of the inning against Zach Ward (So., Mokena, Ill.) to cut the Navy lead to just three runs at 8-5.
 
The rally try by the Crusaders continued in the bottom of the fifth, with a leadoff single and a walk forcing Ward from the game in favor of Colin Smith without an out in the inning. Having already made an impression at the plate in the game, the junior made his impact felt immediately on the mound, working out of the inning unscathed to preserve the three-run lead for the Mids.
 
The hold by Colin Smith (1-0) proved to be fruitful for the Navy effort, as its offense came back to life over the next three innings with the aforementioned 10-hit, 12-run effort over the next three innings. The junior helped his own cause in a big way in the seventh, sending a grand slam over the right-field wall to punctuate a 4-for-6 showing at the plate that included seven RBI.
 
An RBI double by Raba in the top of the eighth would cap off the offensive outburst for the Mids, bringing their advantage to 20-5. The 15-run win and a sweep of the twin bill would be secured as Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.) and Owen Beisty (Fr., Wayne, Pa.) combined to record the final six out in place of Colin Smith, who finished his outing with three scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit.
 
Holy Cross starting pitcher Matt Remley (0-4) took the loss in game two after allowing six runs on eight hits over two innings of work. Nate Wolf led the way for the Crusaders at the plate in the night cap, going 2-for-5 with three RBI.
 
UP NEXT
Following its doubleheader sweep and series win over Holy Cross on Sunday, Navy is scheduled to return to action Wednesday for a non-conference road contest against Mount St. Mary's. First pitch of the contest is slated for 3:30 p.m. from Emmitsburg.