ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (19-24, 10-14 Patriot League) rolled to a 5-3 victory over Lafayette (14-31, 9-11 Patriot League) in game one of Saturday's twin bill at Max Bishop Stadium on the back of a 6.1-inning, three-run outing by starting pitcher Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.). However, the Leopards bounced back in a big way in the nightcap, parlaying a 13-run, 11-hit effort on offense with a five-inning, one-run outing by Jake Bloss to secure a split of the series-opening twin bill.
 
Just over two weeks after clinching the 1,000th victory of his career as a head coach, Paul Kostacopoulos cemented yet another milestone on Saturday with his 500th career win at Navy.  Kostacopoulos becomes just the second coach in program history to reach 500 victories in Annapolis, joining Joe Duff who won 595 games over his 32 seasons at the helm of the Midshipmen baseball program.
 
"I'm just very grateful," said Kostacopoulos on earning his 500th win at Navy. "I've been fortunate to spend a few years and coach a few games here. To have a chance to be at an institution like this, I am just very thankful."
 
Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) led the way for the Navy offense over the two games, going a combined 3-for-8 with two RBIs. Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) added a 2-for-6 showing that included his fourth home run of the season, along with recording an RBI and three runs scored. The duo of Nick Burch (Jr., Hollywood, Md.) and Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) rounded out the top performers on offense for the Mids with two hits apiece.
 
The aforementioned effort of Mitchell highlighted the Midshipmen effort on the mound, as the junior totaled his second-longest outing of the season at 6.1 innings. Mitchell tied a career-best total in strikeouts with six, while walking just one batter and allowing three unearned runs.
 
Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) finished off the outing by recording the final two outs of the game, en route to recording his seventh save of the season. The newcomer is now tied for the fifth-best saves total for a single season in team history, while moving into a tie for the eighth-most career saves by a Navy pitcher.
 
"Nate (Mitchell) was great in game one," said Kostacopoulos of the junior right-hander. "That was probably one of his best outings of the season. We really needed that. Just over six innings, scattered five hits, he didn't pitch his way into any big innings. He really did a great job for us."
 
In game two of the doubleheader, Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) yielded just two hits over two innings of work, but was forced from the contest after allowing each of the first four batters of the third to reach base. The Leopards' Seif Ingram immediately followed Golden's exit with a grand slam against reliever Colin Jones (Sr., Collierville, Tenn.) that ultimately secured the seventh loss of the season for the freshman.
 
Game One: Navy 5, Lafayette 3 (Seven Innings)
After trailing Lafayette by three runs through the first four and a half innings of play, the Midshipmen offense came to life with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, followed by another three in the sixth, to take a 5-3 lead it wouldn't relinquish in a series-opening victory over the Leopards.
 
"I thought it was a really competitive game," said Kostacopoulos on the comeback win by the Mids in game one of the twin bill. "We were down by three runs against a really good pitcher for them (Luke Benneche), but were able to claw back to stay in it. We ultimately came away with a win, which was a huge one for us. This was a full, competitive game for us, to get the first one was big."
 
Lafayette opened its scoring effort in the top of the second, as Patrick Vandenbergh brought home Michael Zarrillo, with the assistance of a Navy error. However, following the run-scoring hit, Mitchell (2-3) settled in by retiring each of the next Lafayette batters to maintain the one-run deficit for the Mids.
 
After being silenced through three innings, the Leopards' offense came back to life in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs on two hits in the frame. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Justin Grech, who brought home a pair of unearned runs on a single to center following the second Navy error of the afternoon.
 
In need of a rally of its own, the Navy offense posted a two-run, three-hit response in the bottom of the fifth that cut the Lafayette advantage to just one run at 3-2. After Keller led off the frame with a single and Raba extended the frame with a two-out single, Colin Smith brought home the pairing on a chopping single through the left side.
 
With the renewed vigor of his offense, Mitchell retired the side in order in the sixth, prior to the Midshipmen totaling three runs on two hits in the bottom of the frame to take their first lead of the day at 5-3. After Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) reached via a throwing error to begin the inning, Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) brought home the junior on a rocketed single to left that tied the contest. Burch singled one batter later to give Navy a one-run advantage, prior to Stevens scoring on a passed ball to bring the Mids' run total to five.
 
With a 5-3 lead heading into the top of the seventh, Mitchell returned to the mound in an attempt to finish the contest for Navy. However, a one-out double by Blaze Fadio forced the junior from the contest in favor of Kruer, who came on to record the final two outs of the contest en route to his seventh save of the season.
 
In what proved to be a true pitchers duel against Mitchell, Luke Benneche (1-9) took the loss for Lafayette after allowing five runs, three being earned, on seven hits over six innings of work.
 
Game Two: Lafayette 13, Navy 2
After trailing by just a run through the first two innings of play, the aforementioned grand slam by Ingram highlighted a five-run third inning that ultimately propelled the Leopards to a 13-2 victory over the Midshipmen in game two of Saturday's twin bill.
 
After taking over for Golden (3-7) in the third inning and allowing the grand slam on the first pitch of his outing, Jones settled in to pitch the next 4.1 innings for the Mids. The senior allowed three runs on three hits while walking one batter and striking out two.
 
"I thought Colin Jones did a really good job to keep us in the game," said Kostacopoulos on the effort of the left-hander. "We were one hit away with the bases loaded from making it a 6-4 game, he kept us in there. At the same time, we hit six and walked six, you just can't do that. We didn't get a start from Liam (Golden) today that kept us in it. Pitching really was the deciding factor in game two."
 
The outing by Jones allowed for the Navy offense to cut into the Lafayette advantage, as a solo-home run by Keller with one out in the sixth cut the Midshipmen deficit to just four runs as 6-2. However, the Leopards' offense would quickly steal back those two runs and more in the seventh, plating five runs on three hits against the combination of Jones and Zach Ward (So., Mokena, Ill.).
 
The rally would ultimately put the game out of reach for Navy, as Lafayette added an additional two runs on three hits in the eighth to cap off an 11-run, 13-2 victory over the Midshipmen to close out play on Saturday.
 
Bloss (6-2) earned his sixth win of the year in the nightcap, pitching five innings and allowing just one run on three hits while striking out seven batters.
 
Ingram led the way for the Lafayette offense on Saturday, combining to go 3-for-6 with a double, a home run, four RBIs and four runs scored over the two games. Vandenbergh followed the effort of Ingram on Saturday by going a combined 5-for-8 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
 
Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, the Navy baseball program honored its eight-member senior class, which includes Jones, Stevens, Dalton Baker (Sebring, Fla.), Dalton Jackson (Chesapeake, Va.), Christian Policelli (Walkersville, Md.), Joe Simourian (Andover, Mass.), Trent Topping (Temecula, Calif.) and team manager Jackie Booker.
 
UP NEXT
The Midshipmen and Leopards are set to conclude their three-game series on Sunday with a single, nine-inning contest. First pitch from Max Bishop Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
"Really boils down to winning tomorrow, we've just got to get the job done," said Kostacopoulos on the pivotal third game of the weekend series against Lafayette. "There isn't much more to it, I don't mean to sound short, but it's simple. We have to win a ball game tomorrow."
 
POSTSEASON PICTURE
At the completion of play on Saturday, there was little to no movement in the Patriot League standings. Every other series in the league – Bucknell at Army and Holy Cross at Lehigh – ended in a split, leaving the standings intact heading into Sunday. With its loss to Lafayette in game two, the opportunity for the Midshipmen to clinch a postseason berth on Sunday was erased, however, the Mids still sit in a prime position to move up the standings with a victory on Sunday.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS ENTERING SUNDAY (League Records Denoted Only)
1 – Army: 14-6 (5 games remaining)
2 – Bucknell: 14-10 (1 game remaining)
3 – Lafayette: 9-11 (5 games remaining)
4 – Lehigh: 9-11 (5 games remaining)
5 – Navy: 10-14 (1 game remaining)
6 – Holy Cross: 8-12 (5 games remaining)