ANNAPOLIS, Md. – One of the most storied rivalries in college athletics is set to be renewed over the weekend as the Navy baseball team (17-20, 8-11 Patriot League) travels to West Point to take on Army (18-17, 11-4 Patriot League) in a three-game set for the coveted Star. The series will feature a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a single, nine-inning game on Sunday. First pitch on both days of competition is slated for 1 p.m. The three games are part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series, which is presented by USAA.
 
Each of the three games will be streamed on ESPN+, along with having free, live statistics available via NavySports.com. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires users to sign-up for a monthly or yearly plan prior to viewing its content.
 
2022 ARMY-NAVY STAR SERIES BREAKDOWN
The 2022 Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, has seen the Midshipmen turn in a dominant effort over the Black Knights. Navy has a 22-5 overall record against Army this season, along with a record-setting 18-2 mark in Star competitions.
 
The Mids have won the Star in men's golf, sprint football, men's soccer, women's cross country, men's cross country, women's soccer, women's swimming & diving, men's swimming & diving, football, rifle, men's indoor track & field, gymnastics, women's indoor track & field, men's basketball, wrestling, women's tennis, men's outdoor track & field and women's outdoor track & field. Four Stars are set to be decided this weekend, including baseball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and men's tennis.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. ARMY
The first game of the three-game set in West Point will mark the 250th all-time meeting between the two service academies. Over the previous 249 contests, Navy has a 128-121 advantage over the Black Knights which includes winning the Star in four of the last five and six of the last 10 series.
 
POSTSEASON PICTURE
With just six games remaining on its Patriot League schedule, Navy currently sits in the fourth and final Patriot League Tournament spot with an 8-11 record. The Midshipmen are seeking to earn a spot in the league tournament for the 11th-straight season. Army (11-4) enters the weekend leading the way in the standings, followed by Bucknell (12-7) and Lafayette (7-8), respectively. Lehigh (6-9) and Holy Cross (5-10) sit below the Midshipmen in fifth and sixth place.
 
A LOOK BACK
The Midshipmen will enter play this weekend looking to bounce back from their last meeting with Army, which saw the Black Knights earn the sweep of a doubleheader played in Annapolis on March 27. In the 13 games since dropping the two-game set, Navy has played to a 7-6 record that includes a 6-4 mark over its last 10 games. The Mids are scoring an average of 7.9 runs per contest over the 13-game stretch, in addition to averaging 11 hits per game over that span.
 
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 17-20
Home Record: 7-12
Away Record: 8-7
Neutral Record: 2-1
Patriot League Record / Standings: 8-11 / Fourth
Streak: L1
Head Coach: Paul Kostacopoulos I 17th Season at Navy, 33rd Overall (1,002-672-7)
 
SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN
LAST TIME OUT: Navy will be seeking a bounce-back effort when it takes the field against Army on Saturday, following an 11-1 loss to Bucknell Wednesday at Max Bishop Stadium. The Midshipmen were limited to just one run on four hits against the Bison in the midweek contest, after hitting .331 as a team and scoring an average of 9.3 runs per game over the previous 10 contests.
 
DIAZ FINDS HIS STRIDE: Over his last 15 games, shortstop Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) has proven to be one of the top bats in the Navy lineup. The sophomore is hitting .351 (20-for-57) over that span with two home runs, five doubles, 11 RBIs and 16 runs scored. Diaz has also stolen a base, reached base at a .403 clip and posted a .544 slugging percentage over the 15-game stretch.
 
POWERFUL POLICELLI: Senior team captain Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) has gone wire-to-wire this season as one of the top-offensive performers in the Patriot League. Policelli leads the Midshipmen with a .340 batting average (49-for-144), in addition to posting team-best marks in hits (49), OPS (.898), slugging (.479), on-base percentage (.419) and stolen bases (10). The senior has also recorded two triples, two home runs, 10 doubles, 24 runs scored and 26 RBIs this season while striking out just nine times.
 
MEET THE SMITH'S: The pairing of Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) and Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) has paced the Navy offense over the last two weeks. Alex Smith, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, hit .500 (10-for-20) over four games last week, along with recording a double, a triple, seven runs scored and seven RBI. On the season, the junior has the second-best batting average on the team behind Policelli (.315), along with posting two triples, two home runs and 26 RBIs. Colin Smith turned in an equally impressive performance the week prior to garnering the first Patriot League Player of the Week honor of his career, hitting .526 (10-for-19) with a home run, two doubles, seven runs scored and 10 RBIs. On the season, Colin Smith is third on the team in batting average (.311), along with being first home runs (3) and RBIs (28).
 
BATS COME TO LIFE: Despite being limited to just four hits last time out, the Navy offense has been clicking on all cylinders over its last 10 games. The Midshipmen have posted a .306 team batting average (108-for-353) that includes tallying two triples, five home runs, 19 doubles and 78 RBIs. The Mids are also averaging 8.5 runs on 10.8 hits per game over that span.
 
STARTING STRONG: Leading the way in the Navy starting rotation this season is newcomer Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) who has a 3-5 record and a 4.12 ERA over eight starts this season. The freshman has walked just seven batters and struck out 22 over 39.1 innings pitched, along with limiting opposing hitters to just a .266 batting average against. Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.) has come on strong over his last three starts for the Midshipmen, yielding a solid 3.86 ERA over 14 innings of work. The sophomore has struck out nine batters over that span, including recording four strikeouts in each of his last two starts.
 
LIGHTS OUT: Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.) has proven to be one of the top relief pitchers in the Patriot League throughout the 2022 season. The tall right-hander enters the weekend with a staff-best 1.83 ERA over 34.1 innings pitched and 17 appearances out of the Navy bullpen. Additionally, the sophomore has allowed just a .223 batting average to opposing hitters and has tallied 13 strikeouts.
 
KRUER CLOSES THE DOOR: Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) has quickly become a lethal option to close games for the Midshipmen this season. The newcomer leads the Patriot League with five saves, along with having a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings of work, striking out 15 batters and allowing just nine hits for a team-best .173 batting average against. Over two appearances last week, the freshman picked up a save over Mount St. Mary's, followed by totaling 1.2 innings of hitless work against Lehigh to earn a win in Sunday's series finale.
 
WEEKLY RECOGNITIONS: For the aforementioned efforts of Kruer and Alex Smith, the pairing was recognized as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week and Player of the Week, respectively. Tuesday's weekly honor marked the third of Smith's career, while Kruer received his first weekly recognition. The awards also marked the second-straight week that the Midshipmen had earned weekly accolades, as Colin Smith was named the league's Player of the Week on April 12.
 
MILESTONE ON TAP FOR KOSTY: Fresh off earning the 1,000th win of his career as a head coach, Paul Kostacopoulos stands on the doorstep of yet another milestone. Now in his 17th season in Annapolis, Kostacopoulos is just two wins shy of 500 for his career at Navy, which would make him just the second coach in program history to accomplish the feat. Joe Duff (1962-93) totaled the most wins by a head coach in program history over his 32 seasons at the helm of the Midshipmen baseball program, finishing his career with 595 victories.
 
TOP OF THE HEAP:  Among the individual offensive leaders in the Patriot League this season, Policelli is top-five in batting average (.340), hits (49) and triples (2) while being top 10 in slugging (.479), on-base percentage (.419), OPS (.898), RBIs (26), doubles (10), at-bats (144) and stolen bases (10). Diaz has scored the sixth-most runs (28) in the league while being amongst the top 10 in doubles (10). Second baseman Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.) rounds out the Navy presence among the offensive leaders in the Patriot League by ranking sixth in on-base percentage (.438).
 
On the pitching side, Kruer leads the way in saves (5) while Jorgenson has the lowest ERA in the league at 1.83. Golden and Jorgenson are tied for the fourth-most wins (3) in the league this season, in addition to Shirah being eighth in strikeouts looking (8). Fellow starting pitcher Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.) leads the way in walks allowed, having issued only one free pass all season.
 
NATIONAL VIEW: In the national rankings, Navy stands as the 31st-best fielding team in the nation (.977) in addition to being 45th in triples (11). Individually, Mitchell is second in walks allowed per nine innings (0.24) and strikeout to walk ratio (24.00). Policelli ranks 13th in the toughest to strikeout category (16.0), followed by Shirah who is 26th in games started (9). Rounding out the Midshipmen presence in the national rankings is Golden, who is 28th in complete games (1).
 
NAVY HITTERS vs. ARMY: Over 10 career games against the Black Knights, Policelli has totaled a .333 batting average (8-for-24) that includes three doubles, four RBIs and five runs scored as Navy's leading career hitter against Army on the current roster. The senior has also posted a .458 slugging percentage against Black Knights' pitching and has reached base at a .467 clip. Colin Smith has also found success in limited action against Army, going 4-for-12 (.333) with a run scored, two RBIs and two walks. Rounding out the top hitters for the Midshipmen against the Black Knights is Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) who has a .283 career batting average (13-for-46) against Army. The senior has tallied three doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs and nine runs scored over 13 games, along with recording an outstanding .609 slugging percentage over that span.
 
NAVY PITCHERS vs. ARMY: In a start earlier this season against Army, Golden was solid over 5.2 innings of work. The newcomer allowed just one earned run on seven hits over the five-plus frames, striking out three batters and walking just one. Trent Topping (Sr., Temecula, Calif.) has seen the most action against the Black Knights amongst the Navy pitching staff, appearing in four games in which he allowed three runs and struck out six batters over 3.2 innings pitched.
 
ARMY PRIMER
Overall Record: 18-17
Home Record: 5-0
Away Record: 11-13
Neutral Record: 2-4
Patriot League Record / Standings: 11-4 / First
Streak: W2
Head Coach: Jim Foster I Sixth Season at Army, 15th Overall (417-362-3)
 
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, the Black Knights secured their fourth win the last five games with a 15-3 rout of Holy Cross. Army scored in all but three innings, finishing the day with 16 hits that included five going for extra bases. Sam Ruta led the way in the offensive outburst, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs. Despite not earning the win, starting pitcher Mike Ruggieri turned in a solid effort, allowing two runs on six hits in four innings of work.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE: Ruta stands as the top bat for Army this season, hitting .355 (38-for-107) with four triples, four home runs, five doubles and 21 RBIs, while also scoring 24 runs and posting a team-best 1.070 OPS. Kevin Dubrule is second on the team in batting average (.349), in addition to ranking first in doubles (13) and RBIs (30).
 
ON THE MOUND: Connelly Early has pitched a team-high 47 innings over 10 appearances, eight starts, this season for Army. The sophomore has pitched to a 3.26 ERA over that span, walking 21 batters and striking out 42. Robbie Buecker has pitched the second-most innings for the Black Knights this season, yielding a 6.35 ERA over 39.2 innings. Brian Dawson owns the lowest ERA on the Army pitching staff (1.29), having allowed just six earned runs over 29 innings.
 
UP NEXT
Following the three-game Star Series, Navy is slated to return to action on April 26 as it travels to College Park for a matchup against No. 24 Maryland. First pitch of the contest from Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium is slated for 6:30 p.m.