ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The top two squads in the Patriot League are set to battle this weekend, as the second-place Navy baseball team (20-18, 12-7 PL) hosts service academy rival and league-leading Army (25-12, 13-2 PL) for a three-game series on Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23 at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
As part of the 2022-23 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, the winner of the three-game set will earn the baseball Star for this season in addition to having major implications on the league standings. First pitch for Saturday's Senior Day doubleheader is set for noon on ESPN+ with Scott Wykoff handling play-by-play duties, while Sunday's series finale will start at noon with Chris Lewis and Todd Coffey calling the action for CBS Sports Network.
 
Series History
Navy holds a 129-125 edge in the all-time series between the two rivals … Army has claimed seven of the past 10 meetings between the schools, including shutting out Navy in both games last year in Annapolis on March 27, 2022 … Navy is 60-59 against Army when playing in Annapolis, but the last time Navy won or split a home series with Army was the Mids' 2016 four-game sweep over the Black Knights … After winning both games in Annapolis a month prior, the Black Knights claimed the 2022 Star Series in West Point last season, April 23-24, by taking both games on Saturday before Navy fought back on Sunday for a 5-0 win that featured 5.2 shutout innings from Matthew Shirah and three RBI for Eduardo Diaz … The first two games this season between the rivals saw Army win the opener, 2-1, on an Addison Ains walkoff double in the 10th inning despite Shirah limiting the Black Knights to one run in 6.1 innings and recording a career-high eight punchouts, while Sam Ruta's four RBI powered Army to a 5-0 victory in the nightcap.
 
Navy Notables vs. Army
Hitting .280 in nine games against the Black Knights, senior Colin Smith has tallied seven hits in 25 at-bats while scoring twice and driving in two runs … Senior Nick Burch holds a .263 average when facing Army over 19 at-bats, while fellow senior Kyle Rausch has gone 3-for-12 against Army pitching … Despite a .219 average against Army, junior Zane Raba has amassed seven hits and five runs scored in 10 games against the Black Knights, including doubling three times against Army last season … Junior righty Matthew Shirah has been dominant in two starts against Army, allowing just one run and 10 hits in 12 innings while striking out 10 Black Knights … Fellow junior Nolan Jorgenson has found success against Army to the tune of a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings, as he has allowed just three runs (one earned) while recording five strikeouts in three career appearances against the Black Knights.
 
Last Time Out
The Mids fell by a 5-1 score at Bucknell on Wednesday, as a four-run first inning by the Bison put Navy in an early hole it never recovered from … After junior Logan Keller was stranded following a lead-off double an inning before, Navy's lone run came on a solo shot from senior Alex Smith in the fifth inning, his third homer of the season … Despite allowing a pair of two-run singles in the first, sophomore starter Liam Golden settled down to log 4.1 innings before handing the ball over to senior Reece Early and freshman Aidan Chamberlin, as the duo combined for 3.2 shutout innings with three strikeouts … With Bucknell's offense getting three RBI from Tyler Dunn and four hits from Grant Voytovich, Ben Magovern tossed seven innings in the start while holding Navy to just five hits, while Theo Faynick and Ryan Osinski shut the door with a clean inning apiece in relief.
 
Smitty Doing it All
Senior catcher Alex Smith has been a force behind the plate all season and saw his bat come alive since the calendar hit March, as the backstop leads the league with 14 runners caught stealing and has a team-high .311 batting average … Batting just .077 after Navy's first seven games in February, Smith has hit at a .367 clip since March 1, totaling 21 runs scored, 21 RBI, nine doubles and three homers over the months of March and April … In league play alone, Smith is hitting .371 with a team-high 15 RBI and scoring 10 times as well … Smith's .996 fielding percentage also ranks fourth in the conference, with the catcher making just one error on the season … He also threw out a career-high four Air Force runners on Feb. 26, the most by a Navy catcher since Jeff Bland threw out four Towson runners on March 9, 2011.
 
Shirah Striking Out the Competition
Junior right-hander Matthew Shirah has been racking up the strikeouts as of late, registering seven-or-more strikeouts in four of his last five starts, with all five of those starts being in league play … Shirah has logged 25.1 innings in his five Patriot League starts, allowing 11 runs while amassing 34 punchouts … After setting a career high with seven strikeouts against Bucknell on March 18, Shirah built upon that with back-to-back eight-strikeout games against Lafayette (March 26) and at Army (April 3) … Registering four strikeouts against Holy Cross on April 9, Shirah responded with another seven strikeouts at Lafayette on April 16 as part of a two-hit, one-run outing over six innings … On the season, Shirah paces Navy with 45 strikeouts and is second on the team with 38 innings pitched and eight starts while having the third-best earned run average at 3.79.
 
Electric Eddie
Junior shortstop Eduardo Diaz has been a defensive stalwart all season for Navy with a .987 fielding percentage and just two errors on the campaign, and he has matched that prowess with a hot streak at the plate over the past 10 games … Diaz is batting .375 with six runs scored and four RBI while starting each of Navy's last 10 contests, going 12-for-32 with three doubles and reaching base at a .512 clip with eight walks … On the season, the shortstop ranks third on the team with a .303 batting average and paces Navy with a .432 on-base percentage and 20 walks.
 
Kruer Closing in on the Record Books
Sophomore closer Landon Kruer picked up right where he left off in 2022, as his eight saves lead the Patriot League and brings him to 15 career saves … Kruer's eight saves this season surpassed his freshman-year total, moving him into fourth in single-season program history … With 15 career saves, Kruer is now in sole possession of fourth in the program's career record books … With two more saves, Kruer would match the single-season program record of 10 (Trey Braithwaite in 2019; Ryan Hefner in 2006) as well as the career program record of 17 set by Braithwaite (2018-21) and JD Melton (2007-09) … Kruer has a 3.86 ERA this season in 13 appearances, notching 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched … His eight saves are also tied for the fourth-most in the country, three behind the national leader in Jacksonville's Chris Lotito.
 
Blue and Gold Pacing the League
Along with Kruer's eight saves, the Mids also have Nick Burch sharing the league lead with four triples this season, with all four three-baggers coming in league play … On the mound, senior captain Nate Mitchell's six wins and three complete games pace the league leaders, as does his 1.58 walks allowed per nine innings … Matthew Shirah's 10.66 strikeouts per innings also lead the PL alongside Alex Smith's 14 runners caught stealing and Eduardo Diaz's 108 assists, while junior Zane Raba's 1.000 fielding percentage is tied for the best in the league with two others.
 
Scouting Army
The Black Knights enter Saturday with the longest winning streak in Division I at 12 games, and have the best team earned run average (4.07) and fielding percentage (.977) in the Patriot League … Holding a 25-12 overall record and 13-2 league mark, Army's 4.07 team ERA also ranks 23rd in the nation and its 1.31 team WHIP sits 25th nationally, while the Black Knights' six shutouts as a staff are the third-most in the country … After sweeping a three-game set at Bucknell last weekend, Army smashed its way to a 22-12 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday, as Kevin Debrule notched four hits, including a double and home run, against the Crusaders … Debrule's .423 batting average ranks first in the league and 18th in the nation, while his PL-leading 16 doubles put him 12th nationally and his 63 hits are the eighth-most in the country … Ross Friedrick is second on the team with a .349 average and a team-best 23 walks, while Derek Berg has Army's third-highest batting clip at .323 and has scored a league-high 48 times (16th nationally) … On the mound, Tanner Gresham paces the league with 53 innings pitched and a 1.00 WHIP, while his 52 strikeouts are tied for the league lead with teammate Matthew Ronnebaum … Ronnebaum is also the league leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.20, while Mike Ruggieri has the league's lowest ERA at 2.41.
 
Up Next
Navy welcomes Maryland Eastern Shore for a 5 p.m. contest on Wednesday, April 26 in Annapolis.