ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Coming off a big Patriot League sweep of Holy Cross, the Navy baseball team (17-16) heads back into non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon, April 12 when the Midshipmen travel to face Maryland Eastern Shore (9-21) in Salisbury, Md.
 
The Mids and Hawks are set for a 3 p.m. first pitch from the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex in the first game of a home-and-home series, with Eastern Shore making the return trip to Annapolis on April 26.
 
Series History
Navy leads the all-time series with Maryland Eastern Shore by a 34-5 margin dating back to 1995, as the Mids have won the last 11 meetings between the schools … The last three editions in the all-time series have all taken place at Eastern Shore's home field, with the Mids outscoring the Hawks by a combined 26-16 score in those three Navy wins … Last year's contest ended in a 7-5 Navy victory at Perdue Stadium, as Zane Raba blasted a leadoff home run to start the game as part of a two-hit performance and Logan Keller also logged two hits en route to a four-RBI outburst at the plate, while Nolan Jorgenson notched the win after 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.
 
Navy Notables vs. the Hawks
Hitting a career .300 average against the Hawks in 10 at-bats with two runs scored and two RBI, senior Alex Smith has tallied a double in each of his two contests against UMES … Fellow senior Kiel Brenczewski has reached base at a .333 clip in two career appearances against the Hawks while driving in one run, tallying a single and a walk against Eastern Shore in 2020.
 
Last Time Out
The Mids finished off the season sweep of Holy Cross by claiming both ends of a Saturday doubleheader before winning the series finale on Sunday in Annapolis, as senior Nick Burch tallied four hits, including his league-leading fifth double and his first homer of the season, while swiping two bases … After taking both games at Holy Cross on April 2, the Mids once again used a quality start from Nate Mitchell to take the April 8 opener, as the senior captain tossed his third complete game of the season and notched his fifth win in his last five starts by allowing just one run on six hits over seven innings, while two-hit performances from junior Hudson Lehnertz and freshman Henry Mitchell aided the offense in a 3-1 win … The second game of the weekend saw senior Reece Early's three shutout innings of relief keep Holy Cross in check during the nightcap as the Mids used 10 hits to pick up the 6-4 victory … In Sunday's series finale, Burch's first-inning homer kickstarted the Navy lineup to a 5-3 win, as Jorgenson and freshman Jackson Beattie combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen to earn junior Matthew Shirah the winning decision.
 
Smitty on a Heater
Senior catcher Alex Smith continues a hot streak that began at the start of March, as the Navy backstop has hit .393 in 26 starts since March 1 while knocking in 16 RBI and scoring 16 times … Smith is currently riding a 21-game on-base streak into Wednesday and has tallied multi-hit performances in five of his last eight games played … He has also been stout behind the plate since March 1, starting 21 of those 26 games at catcher and committing just one error while throwing out seven runners.
 
Scouting Maryland Eastern Shore
The Hawks are 9-21 on the season but are riding a three-game winning streak into the midweek contest, as Eastern Shore pulled off the weekend series sweep over Coppin State on April 6-8 … Brantley Cutler totaled five hits and five RBI over the three games against CSU, while Anders Brown and Jason Brown both tallied three-hit games in the series opener … Cutler paces the team with a .333 batting average in 30 starts, also racking up team highs in home runs (5) and RBI (30) … Alex McCoy ranks second on the Hawks with a .253 hitting clip while stealing a team-best 11 bases, while Jason Brown has swiped eight bags and hit .302 in just 43 at-bats … Caden Parker has been a shutdown closer for the Hawks, tallying a 2.41 ERA in a team-high 15 outings and registering six saves while striking out 17 in 18.2 innings … Noah Covington has been the UMES workhorse by logging team highs with 55 inning pitched and 42 strikeouts while allowing just two walks and recording a 5.40 ERA … Covington's 1.68 walks per nine innings and 21-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio both lead the nation … UMES is eighth in the country with 29 sacrifice bunts on the campaign.
 
Up Next
Navy heads to Easton, Pa., for a three-game Patriot League series against Lafayette. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's series finale are both set for noon starts at Hilton Rahn '51 Field at Kamine Stadium.