ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In the continuation of Saturday's suspended game, Navy (17-19, 8-10 Patriot League) used a breakout from its offense to cement an 11-4 victory over Lehigh (17-18, 5-9 Patriot League), prior to securing a series win over the Mountain Hawks by taking the series finale in a 10-inning affair, 3-2, Sunday at Max Bishop Stadium. Pitching highlighted the effort of the Mids in the final game of the three-game set, as Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.), Zach Ward (So., Mokena, Ill.) and Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) combined to allow just two runs on seven hits while striking out five batters.
 
"I thought this weekend, and probably for the last couple of weeks, we've played really hard," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "It's tough to lose a 13-12 game and then come back like we did to win the next two. We showed an awful lot and we've been building towards that, I really feel like it was a complete team effort. Everyone chipped in to help us win today."
 
Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) led the way for the Navy offense on Sunday, combining to go 6-for-10 over the two games with a double, three runs scored and four RBI. The standout performance by the junior included driving in the game-winning run in game two on a walk-off single through the left side that scored Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.) in the 10th inning.
 
"He (Alex Smith) was on the ball this week, everything he hit was on a line," said Kostacopoulos of the junior standout. "He didn't put anything in the air or chop balls on the ground, he was on it all weekend. He was a catalyst as far as our offense goes."
 
Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) extended his hitting streak to 11-straight games on Sunday, combining to go 5-for-9 with a double and four runs scored. Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) added a 3-for-7 showing with a triple over the two contests, while Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) totaled three RBIs in a combined 4-for-11 outing at the plate.
 
Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) earned his third win of the season in game one, allowing just three runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings of work on Saturday. The newcomer was relieved by Colin Jones (Sr., Collierville, Tenn.) to begin play on Sunday, who went on to pick up his second save of the season after allowing just one run on three hits in 3.2 innings of work.
 
Despite taking a no-decision in the nightcap, Shirah turned in one of his best starts of the season in game two. The sophomore allowed just two runs on six hits over six innings, his second-longest outing of the season. Ward then turned in a stellar outing of his own in relief of Shirah, allowing just one hit over 2.1 innings to maintain the deadlock between the two offenses. Kruer took over for the final 1.2 innings of the contest, holding the Mountain Hawks hitless to secure his second win of the season.
 
"Everybody did their job today," remarked Kostacopoulos on the effort of the Mids' pitching staff. "Liam Golden did his job by getting to Jonesy (Colin Jones) and our offense. Matt Shirah had a tremendous start today, followed by both Zach Ward and Landon Kruer doing a great job. Just a complete team effort."
 
Game One: Navy 11, Lehigh 4
After resuming Saturday's suspended contest with a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning, the Midshipmen offense got off to a fast start with a six-run, four-hit effort in the bottom of the frame to take a commanding 11-3 advantage. The lead would prove to be a finality in the contest, as the Lehigh offense was limited to just one run on three hits against Jones who earned his third-career save in relief of Golden.
 
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to an early lead against Golden (3-5) on Saturday, tallying three runs on four hits in the top of the first. However, the newcomer settled in following the rough start to his outing, retiring six of the next eight batters he faced.
 
Following the bounce-back effort by Golden, the Navy offense came to life in the bottom of the third with a four-run, five-hit rally. The trio of Policelli, Nick Burch (Jr., Hollywood, Md.) and Alex Smith highlighted the frame with a trio of RBI singles that gave the Mids a one-run lead over Lehigh, prior to expanding their advantage to 5-3 in the fourth as Alex Smith tallied his second RBI in as many innings with a run-scoring single that brought home Colin Smith.
 
After play was suspended to Sunday with one out in the sixth, Jones opened the resumption on the mound by retiring each of the first three batters he faced to maintain the Midshipmen advantage. In the bottom of the frame, Navy struck for an additional six runs on four hits that included an RBI triple by Keller and a pair of run-scoring singles by Policelli and Alex Smith to take an 11-3 lead.
 
With an eight-run advantage in hand, Jones would go on to allow just one run on one hit the rest of the way, en route to locking down an 11-4 victory for the Mids.
 
Alex Smith led the way for the Navy offense in the opener, going 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI. Policelli added a 2-for-6 day at the plate with two RBI, while Colin Smith went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) rounded out the multi-hit efforts for the Midshipmen in the contest, going 2-for-5 with a run scored.
 
Lehigh starting pitcher Matt Stamford (3-4) took the loss on the mound after allowing five runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings of work Saturday. Adam Retzbach led the way for the Mountain Hawks on offense in the second game of the three-game set, going 1-for-4 with a three-run home run.
 
Game Two: Navy 3, Lehigh 2 (10 Innings)
Pitching was a premium in the third and deciding game of the weekend series between the Midshipmen and Mountain Hawks. Lehigh starting pitcher Ben Christian held Navy to just two runs on eight hits over six innings of work, prior to giving way to Jack Hamilton (2-1) in the seventh.
 
Shirah held up his end of the pitcher's dual through his six innings of work, allowing a run in both the first and third inning before pitching three shutout frames to end his afternoon. The sophomore right-hander allowed just two hits over the three-inning stretch, along with working a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
 
Navy would make the first pitching change of the contest, as Shirah gave way to a fellow sophomore in Ward. In the seventh, Ward worked around a one-out walk to force an inning-ending double play, prior to producing a 1-2-3 effort in the top of the eighth. Following a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to second in the ninth, the sophomore was relieved by Kruer with one out in the frame.
 
Christian was relieved by Jack Hamilton (2-1), who squared off against Ward in his three-inning appearance. The freshman allowed just one run on three hits while striking out three batters over his three frames of work, until running into trouble to start the bottom of the 10th.
 
Aguirre opened the home half of the 10th inning with a double down the left-field line that forced Hamilton from the game in favor of Casey Rother, a two-way standout for the Mountain Hawks. Rother immediately added to the rally effort of the Midshipmen by putting Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) on base via a hit by pitch. After Colin Smith popped out for the first out of the inning, Policelli laced a single through the left side to load the bases for the Mids with one out.
 
Victory would be secured for Navy during the next at-bat, as Alex Smith ripped a single into left field that scored Aguirre to secure a 3-2 walk-off win and a series victory for the Mids over Lehigh. Kruer (2-1) set up the rally opportunity for the Midshipmen, as the newcomer retired five of the six batters he faced in relief of Ward.
 
Alex Smith highlighted the effort of the Mids on offense in game two, going 2-for-5 with the aforementioned game-winning single. Aguirre added a 2-for-3 showing with a run scored, while Keller, Policelli and Colin Smith each tallied an RBI.
 
In addition to his brief effort on the mound, Rother paced the Lehigh offense, going 1-for-3 with two RBI. Shortstop Tyler Young added a game-high three hits, while Jake Whitlingter went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Hamilton took his first loss of the season on the mound, despite an admirable performance in relief.
 
UP NEXT
Now firmly in the race for a Patriot League Tournament berth, being fourth in the standings with an 8-10 league record, Navy will return to action 4:30 p.m. Wednesday as it welcomes Bucknell to Max Bishop Stadium to complete the season series between the two programs.