ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Despite a three-run first inning, the Navy baseball team fell by a 6-3 score to Patriot League foe Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
By splitting the league-opening four-game series, the Midshipmen ended the weekend at 9-11 overall and 2-2 in league play, while the Bison shifted to 7-11 on the season and 2-2 in the league standings.
 
Led by three hits from Kyle Lyons and two runs batted in by Anthony Sherwin, Bucknell fought back in the middle innings to overcome the early Navy lead while Ben Magovern bounced back to throw six shutout frames after the opening inning, as Navy saw only one player, Alex Smith, tally multiple hits in the series finale.
 
After starter Thomas Russell induced a double play to end the top of the first, Navy jumped in front during the home half of the inning when Hudson Lehnertz smacked a lead-off double and came around one batter later when a Henry Mitchell ground ball was thrown away by Sherwin, while a Logan Keller single pushed Mitchell over to third before a sacrifice fly from Kyle Rausch scored Mitchell. The Mids tacked on one more run in the opening frame three batters later when Brock Murtha drove in Keller on a bases-loaded fielder's choice, giving Russell a three-run cushion that he used to toss back-to-back scoreless innings.
 
Bucknell finally got to Russell in the fourth when Tyler Dunn doubled the other way to plate Grant Voytovich all the way from first base and got two more runs in the inning when Sean Keys singled off the wall to score Dunn and Mason Kelly followed two batters later with an infield single that brought in Keys.
 
The Bison struck again off Russell in the fifth, as a Lyons lead-off single was followed by a Sherwin double and another single from Jacob Corson, handing Bucknell the lead at 5-3. Taking over for Russell, Jackson Beattie prevented the Bison from extending the lead over the next four innings before a Navy error in the ninth allowed Kelly to reach base and eventually come into score on a Sherwin sacrifice fly off Landon Kruer after the Mids' closer relieved Beattie with one down in the final inning.
 
Navy was able to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth when a Bucknell error on Nick Burch grounder and a walk to Lehnertz put two runners on, but Bison reliever Nick Mulvey shut the door with a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play to secure the series split for Bucknell and pick up his second save of the year.
 
Magovern was awarded the win after limiting Navy to three runs (one earned) on just six hits and two walks in seven innings of work, while Mulvery allowed one hit in two innings out of the bullpen and struck out two Mids with the save on the line.
 
For Navy, Russell was handed his second loss this season after lasting 4.1 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) and six hits despite four strikeouts. Beattie finished with one unearned run allowed on three hits in four innings and punched out two Bison batters, while Kruer retired both batters he faced.
 
Paul Kostacopoulos Postgame Comments
"Actually, I saw another good baseball game today. It was kind of one of those things where the game really came down to us not getting any timely hits. We had some at-bats that led us to get some guys on base, but we just didn't get the big hit. I thought one of the things that we took away from today - as this team continues to grow and improve - is that Jackson Beattie did a really good job today. He was sharp and he hung in there, giving us a chance to win. So, that was the takeaway: we just didn't have a lot of timely hits today."
 
"Jackson's done a good job (all season). He competes out there and he attacks some really good hitters. I think Bucknell is a good offensive team and he attacked the zone against them. He showed some maturity out there, so he was definitely a guy that was a positive of today's game."
 
"One thing that has always been a challenge in this league is playing four games, just because it's a challenge to play four games in a weekend. This week was a little different in that we spread it out over three days, but next week we're playing two on Saturday and two on Sunday. That requires some resiliency, and you have to make some decisions because of how many innings you got to cover. So, this series gives us a taste of what is coming up next weekend and the following weekend before we get back to three-game series. I thought, overall, it was a good series right out of the gate and we really competed well for three-and-a-half games. Now it's just time to work on the mental part of the game and some subtle things that we need to improve on as a team, and that will be what we do this week."
 
Game Notes
• Navy now holds a 94-80-1 lead in the all-time series with Bucknell.
• The last time Navy split a four-game weekend series with Bucknell was 2012 in Lewisburg.
• Russell has recorded three-plus strikeouts in every appearance this season.
• Beattie has now recorded five-or-more outs in his last three appearances out of the bullpen.
• Alex Smith ends the weekend on an eight-game hitting streak, while Murtha was reached base safely in 10 consecutive games.
 
Up Next
Navy will host Division II Frostburg State in a non-conference game on Wednesday, March 22.