Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BETHLEHEM, Pa. – It took until the second game of the day, but the Navy baseball team (21-23, 13-11 PL) clinched a berth in the 2023 Patriot League Championship, as the Midshipmen bounced back after being shut out by Lehigh (20-24, 7-13 PL) in the opener, 1-0, to end Saturday afternoon with a 5-1 victory over the Mountain Hawks at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park in Bethlehem, Pa.
 
The Mids' win and Lehigh's loss in the nightcap guaranteed Navy a better league finish then both Lehigh and Holy Cross, solidifying Navy within the Patriot league semifinals in two weeks. Navy needs a win tomorrow combined with a Bucknell loss to Holy Cross to secure second place in the league and earn the right to host a semifinal series.
 
Game One Recap
A second-inning solo home run from Joe Gorla was the deciding factor in a seven-inning pitcher's duel between Lehigh's Luke Rettig and Navy captain Nate Mitchell, as Mitchell rebounded from last weekend to hold Lehigh to just four hits in six innings but Rettig matched him by allowing just two hits over seven innings while striking out 11, with both aces going the distance in the 1-0 Lehigh victory.
 
Navy tried to take an early advantage in the first inning by putting runners on second and third, but Rettig used his first strikeout of the day to get out of it, while Gorla's solo shot out to left field in the bottom of the second gave Rettig a 1-0 lead.
 
Mitchell stranded two runners in the home half of the fifth to keep the Mids' within striking distance, but Rettig was masterful in the middle innings, setting Navy down in order for three-straight frames. Navy final broke the run by Rettig in the top of the seventh when Logan Keller led off with a walk, but Rettig then got a diving catch from Jake Whitlinger and struck out the final two batters he faced to pick up the complete-game shutout.
 
Rettig finished his day by holding the Mids to just two singles and two walks while tallying a career high with his 11 strikeouts, notching his sixth win of the campaign. Mitchell suffered his third-straight loss despite limiting Lehigh to just four hits and two walks in his six innings, punching out two Mountain Hawks.
 
Game Two Recap
Registering their sixth multi-homer game of the season, Navy also got a pair of strong pitching performances in Saturday's second game, as Alex Smith and Nick Burch both went deep on the way to the Mids' 5-1 win over the Mountain Hawks to clinch the season series and split the doubleheader.
 
Navy got on the board right away, as Burch led off the contest with a double before Eduardo Diaz walked and a wild pitch moved Burch up to third, where Smith was able to drive him in on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Navy added another run in the top of the second when Kyle Rausch and Brock Murtha got on to start the frame and a sacrifice bunt from Ivan Aguirre moved the pair up one base, setting up Rausch to sprint home on a passed ball.
 
Smith's solo blast out to the left-center power alley put the Mids ahead, 3-0, in the top of the fifth, but Lehigh responded in the home half of the inning courtesy of a leadoff home run from Justin Butler to cut the deficit back down to two.
 
Navy added back some insurance in the seventh, as Zana Raba dropped a bunt single to get on base right before Burch came to the plate and launched a ball 430' out to left field, extending the visitors' lead to 5-1. Entering in the sixth for starter Liam Golden, Reece Early had to work out of trouble with two runners in in both the eighth and ninth innings, but a Dom Patrizi foul-out bounced off Keller's glove into Aguirre's leather for a highlight-reel final out to the game.

Your number 1 #SCTop10 play of the day!#GoNavy pic.twitter.com/q8L7kKsmyk

— Navy Baseball (@NavyBaseball) April 30, 2023

 
Golden lasted 5.2 innings and gave up just the one run on five hits to post his third win of the season, while Early allowed just three hits and struck out a career-high six batters in his 3.1-inning scoreless outing for his second save on the campaign.
 
Alex Bouchard was handed the loss after going 3.1 innings and allowing two runs on five hits, and Ben Christian then gave up three runs in 2.2 innings of relief. Val Taddei and Will Grisack closed out the contest for Lehigh, with Teddei tossing 1.1 scoreless innings and Grisack holding Navy hitless in 1.2 innings.
 
Game Notes
• Navy holds a 97-53 edge in the all-time series with Lehigh.
• Navy's victory earns the team a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the 11th time over the past 12 tournaments.
• Murtha and Diaz both extended their on-base streaks to 13 games.
• All three of Burch's home runs this season have come in Patriot League play.
• Saturday marked the fourth relief appearance of three-plus innings for Early this season.
• Early has not allowed an earned run in the month of April, striking out 13 in 14.1 innings.
• Mitchell has now gone five-or-more innings in 15 of his last 19 starts dating back to last season
• Mitchell has held the opposition to just one run in six of his 11 starts in 2023.
 
Up Next
Navy and Lehigh will wrap up the series on Sunday, April 30 with a single game starting at noon in Bethlehem, Pa.