ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (12-17, 4-8 Patriot League) will return to action Saturday with an opportunity to make up ground in the Patriot League standings as it travels to take on Holy Cross (7-25, 2-6 Patriot League) in a three-game road series. Due to expected inclement weather in Worcester on Saturday, the series has been shifted to a single game on Saturday (6 p.m.), followed by a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
 
All three games will have free, live statistics available via NavySports.com. The first game of Sunday's doubleheader will be streamed on ESPN+, a subscription-based streaming service that requires users to sign-up for a monthly or yearly plan prior to viewing its content. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
In a series that dates back to the 1914 season, Navy has played to an 81-51 advantage over the Crusaders. The two programs met for a doubleheader earlier this season in Annapolis, splitting the two games. The Midshipmen earned a 9-5 win in game one of the twin bill, highlighted by a pair of grand slams by Hudson Lehnertz (So., Santa Ana, Calif.) and Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.), followed by Holy Cross earning a 10-3 decision in the night cap.
 
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 12-17
Home Record: 5-10
Away Record: 5-6
Neutral Record: 2-1
Patriot League Record / Standings: 4-8 / Fifth
Streak:
Head Coach: Paul Kostacopoulos I 17th Season at Navy, 33rd Overall (997-669-7)
 
SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, Navy split a pair of doubleheaders against Lehigh and Lafayette. The Midshipmen opened play on Saturday with a split of two games against the Mountain Hawks, dropping a 10-4 decision in game one, prior to bouncing back with a 5-2 victory in game two on the back of a season-high 17 hits.
 
After seeing their doubleheader against Lafayette be postponed to Monday, the Mids fell to the Leopards, 3-2, before picking up a 5-2 victory in the night cap on the back of a masterful pitching performance by Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.), along with the trio of Zach Ward (So., Mokena, Ill.), Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.) and Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) in relief.
 
HOT STREAKS: Over the last five games, Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) has caught fire at the plate, hitting .462 (6-for-13) with two runs scored, two RBI, four walks, a .462 slugging percentage and a .588 on-base percentage. Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.) is hitting .444 (4-for-9) over that same span, including a run scored, a stolen base, two walks and three RBI. Rounding out the top-three hitters over the last five games for the Midshipmen is Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.), who has totaled a .353 batting average (6-for-17) and a .529 slugging percentage with a walk, two RBI, three doubles and four runs scored.
 
TURNING A CORNER: On the cusp of reaching the 30-game mark of the 2022 season, a pair of Navy hitters have made significant turnarounds at the plate over the last 15 games. After hitting just .186 (8-for-43) over the first 14 games of the 2022 season, Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) has posted a team-best .354 (17-for-48) batting average with a double, a home run, four walks and five RBI, along with recording a .431 on-base percentage and slugging at a .438 clip. Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) has also turned a corner at the plate over the last 15 games, hitting .271 (13-for-48) with a home run, three doubles and three RBI after posting a .122 batting average (5-for-41) in his first 12 games played.  
 
LIGHTS OUT: Jorgenson has proven to be one of the top relievers in the Patriot League this season, posting a 1.95 ERA and allowing just a .212 batting average against over a team-high 14 appearances. The sophomore has pitched the fourth-most innings on the team this season (27.2), in which he has allowed just six earned runs and struck out 10 batters.
 
KRUER ENTERS RECORD BOOK: Last time out, Kruer recorded his fourth save of the season for the Midshipmen, in addition to lowering his season ERA to 2.31. The freshman has struck out 10 batters and allowed just a .175 batting average against over his nine appearances. With the aforementioned save, Kruer moved into a tie for the seventh-most saves for a single season in program history. The newcomer also sits just one save away from moving into a tie for the eighth-most career saves in team history.
 
POWERFUL POLICELLI: After tallying his team-leading 15th multi-hit game of the season in the night cap of Monday's doubleheader against Lafayette, Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) raised his season batting average to a .351 (39-for-111). The senior also leads the team in slugging (.523), on-base percentage (.424), hits (39), runs scored (18), RBI (16), doubles (9), and stolen bases (8). Policelli is also tied for the team lead in in both triples (2) and home runs (2).
 
NATIONAL VIEW: Entering play on Saturday, Policelli ranks fourth nationally in the toughest to strike out category, striking out just four times in 111 at-bats this season. Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.) is tied for first in strikeout to walk ratio and walks allowed per nine, as one of two pitchers in Division I to have not walked a batter this season. Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) is tied for 20th in complete games (1), while Jorgenson is 43rd nationally in appearances (14).
 
CHASING 1,000: Following Monday's victory over Lafayette, Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos sits just three wins away from 1,000 for his career. Now in his 17th season at the helm of the Midshipmen baseball program, and 33rd season overall as a head coach, Kostacopoulos would become just the 18th active coach across all divisions to reach the 1,000-win landmark. Additionally, Kostacopoulos would become the 91st all-time member of the 1,000-win club with three more victories.
 
MITCHELL & SHIRAH SHINE: Over the pair of doubleheaders against Lehigh and Lafayette, Mitchell and Shirah shined in each of their respective starts. Mitchell earned the second start of the weekend for the Mids, pitching a career-high 7.1 innings against the Mountain Hawks, in which he allowed three runs while striking out six batters to pick up the win. The outing marked the longest by a Navy starting pitcher since Jared Leins pitched eight innings in a start against Army on May 18, 2019.
 
Following the outing by Mitchell against Lehigh, Shirah took the mound for game two of the Midshipmen's twin bill against Lafayette. The sophomore limited the Leopards to two runs over five innings of work, striking out a batter and walking just one to earn his second win of the season.
 
HIT PARADE: In its game two win over Lehigh on Saturday, the Navy lineup came to life with nine runs on 17 hits, that included every player in the lineup recording at least one hit. Raba and Stevens highlighted by Midshipmen effort at the plate, tallying three hits apiece and combining to go 6-for-11 with an RBI and three runs scored. The 17-hit effort marked the most hits in a game for Navy since posting 17 hits against Bucknell on March 28, 2021.
 
TOP OF THE HEAP: Among the individual offensive leaders in the Patriot League this season, Policelli ranks second in hits (39), tied for fourth in triples (2), fifth in doubles (9) and slugging percentage (.523), sixth in batting average (.351), seventh in on-base percentage (.424) and stolen bases (8), while being eighth in OPS (.947). Stevens is tied for fourth in triples (2) with Policelli, while Aguirre ranks sixth in on-base percentage (.425). Rounding out the Navy presence in the Patriot League's offensive rankings is Keller who has seen the third-most at-bats among league hitters this season (113). On the pitching side, Kruer leads the Patriot League in saves (4), while Shirah has pitched the seventh-most innings among league pitchers this season (32.0).
 
NAVY HITTERS vs. HOLY CROSS: Over six games played against Holy Cross, Diaz is the leading hitter for the Midshipmen against the Crusaders. The sophomore shortstop is hitting .368 (7-for-19) in his career against Holy Cross pitching, including tallying a double, an RBI, four runs scored, a .368 on-base percentage and slugging at a .421 clip. Raba has also appeared in six games against Holy Cross, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with a stolen base, two RBI, five walks and seven runs scored. Stevens has tallied 10 hits in 34 career at-bats (.294) against the Crusaders, including a triple, three doubles and six RBI, while Policelli is hitting .276 (8-for-29) with a home run, two doubles and eight RBI.  
 
NAVY PITCHERS vs. HOLY CROSS: In the lone appearance of his career against the Crusaders, Zach Powers (So., Centreville, Md.) tossed three innings, allowing one run on one hit, while striking out two batters and walking four. Jorgenson found success against Holy Cross earlier this season, posting 2.1 innings of hitless work, while Shirah has made two appearances against the Crusaders, in which he has allowed three earned runs on seven hits over seven innings of work.
 
HOLY CROSS PRIMER
Overall Record: 7-25
Home Record: 1-1
Away Record: 6-24
Neutral Record: 0-0
Patriot League Record / Standings: 2-6 / Sixth
Streak: L5
Head Coach: Ed Kahovec I Seventh Season (54-152-1)
 
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, the Crusaders dropped a non-league road contest to Brown, 3-0. Prior to its matchup against the Bears, Holy Cross was swept in a four-game road series against Army. The Black Knights took game one, 7-0, prior to earning a 13-7 decision over the Crusaders in game two of the twin bill. On Sunday, Army defeated Holy Cross, 13-0, in the first game of the doubleheader, prior to earning the four-game sweep with a 6-3 win in game two.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE: Nick Wang has gone wire-to-wire in leading the way for the Holy Cross lineup this season, hitting .372 (42-for-113) with a triple, two home runs, 16 RBI and 17 doubles. The freshman is also slugging at an outstanding .593 clip, in addition to having a .475 on-base percentage that includes walking 22 times. Sean Scanlon follows Wang with a .368 batting average, including two home runs, four doubles and 12 RBI. Rounding out the top hitters for the Crusaders this season is Sam Kirkpatrick, who is hitting .270 with a triple, seven doubles and five RBI.
 
ON THE MOUND: Jack DiLauro has pitched a rotation-high 37.1 innings for Holy Cross this season, recording a 5.30 ERA over his seven starts. The junior has also struck out 38 batters and yielded a .229 batting average against over that span. Matt Remley has pitched the second-highest inning total on the team this season (28.1), allowing an 8.26 ERA over his seven appearances, six being starts.
 
UP NEXT
Following its three-game series at Holy Cross, Navy will conclude its 10-game road trip with a non-conference contest against Mount St. Mary's. The Midshipmen will then open a four-game homestand on April 16 that features three games against Lehigh and a single game versus Bucknell.