ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Just a week after sweeping a doubleheader from the very same team in Worcester, Mass., the Navy baseball team (14-16, 7-5 PL) is set to host Patriot League foe Holy Cross (10-20, 3-5 PL) in a three-game set this weekend, April 8-9, at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
The three-game series is being presented by Annapolis Area Jimmy John's, as the Midshipmen and Crusaders are set to play a "Bark at the Park' doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m., while Sunday's single-game series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch as well.
 
Broadcast Information
All three games are being streamed on ESPN+ … Scott Wykoff, a finalist in the 2023 Chesapeake Broadcasters Association Awards' Best Reporter category, will be on the call for Saturday's twin-bill, while veteran Navy Athletics announcer Joe Miller will handle play-by-play duties on Sunday.
 
Weekend Promotions
The Mids are hosting their first 'Bark at the Park', as spectators are invited to bring their dogs to Saturday's doubleheader … The first 100 fans on Saturday will also receive a free collapsible dog bowl … … Anne Arundel SPCA will be in attendance with a mobile pet adoption unit … Additionally, the Marine Corps mascot, Chesty XV, will be the ceremonial first pitch before Saturday's first game … In addition to being the series' presenting sponsor, Annapolis Area Jimmy John's will have promotions throughout the weekend with chances to win prizes.
 
Series History
With the two wins over Holy Cross last Sunday, Navy now holds an 85-52 edge in the all-time series … The Mids are on a four-game winning streak over the Crusaders and have won five of the last seven meetings … Navy is 9-6 in their last 15 home games against Holy Cross … Last year's season series between the teams saw the Mids take three of five meetings, with the teams splitting a March 26, 2022 doubleheader, as a 9-5 Navy win in game one saw four-RBI performances from Logan Keller and Hudson Lehnertz, while the Crusaders took the nightcap, 10-3, on the back of Connor Cooney's five RBI … The 2023 doubleheader in Worcester ended with two Navy wins, as senior Nate Mitchell tossed a career-high eight innings for the 7-5 extra-inning win in the opener, while junior Eduardo Diaz's three-hit contest helped the Mids take the nightcap, 5-2.
 
Last Time Out
The Mids suffered a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Coppin State on Wednesday evening despite a four-hit performance from senior Alex Smith … After the Eagles opened up an early lead, Navy fought back with four runs in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run single from senior Nick Burch … The teams battled back-and-forth into the top of the ninth, where CSU's Brett Curran singled home Angel Colon for the go-ahead run … Seven different Navy pitchers appeared in the contest, including a career-high 2.1 innings from freshman righty Aidan Chamberlin and two-way freshman Brock Murtha making his third relief outing of the season.
 
Navy Notables vs. Holy Cross
In seven career appearances against the Crusaders, Burch is 7-for-14 with seven runs scored and three RBI … Diaz holds a .439 lifetime average in 11 starts against Holy Cross, tallying four doubles and a home run while scoring 10 times and notching eight RBI … Lehnertz is hitting .389 in his career against the Crusaders, also drawing five walks and driving in seven runs across seven games … While batting .368 versus Holy Cross in 10 starts, Alex Smith has totaled 11 runs scored and 12 RBI to go with five doubles and a homer ... Junior Zane Raba has batted .313 against the Crusaders in addition to drawing 10 walks through 11 appearances … Sophomore Liam Golden is 2-0 with a 2.70 lifetime ERA when pitching against Holy Cross, limiting the Crusaders to three runs on 10 hits in 10 innings while striking out five.
 
Smitty Continues to Rake
Alex Smith has been on a heater since February ended, hitting .397 over 23 games in the months of March and April, accounting for 14 runs scored and 14 RBI while raking eight doubles and two homers … This has all come while being the starting catcher in 18 of his 23 games started since March 1 … After batting .351 in March, the Mids' catcher has reached an even higher level through five games in April, tallying four multi-hit games in the current month … Consistency has been key, as Smith has tallied a hit in 22 of his last 25 games played and enters Saturday on an 18-game on-base streak … His four hits on Wednesday made him the third Mid this season with a four-hit contest in 2023, joining Murtha and Keller.
 
Kruer Closing in on the Record Books
Sophomore closer Landon Kruer picked up right where he left off in 2022, as his six saves this season lead the Patriot League and brings him to 13 career saves … He needs just one more save to pass his freshman-season total (7) and tie Jett Meenach (2014-17) and Sam Sorenson (2013-16) for the fifth-most career save in program history (14) … With four 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 3.77 ERA this season in 11 appearances, notching 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched.
 
The Ironmen of Florida
After Keller made his 100th consecutive start in the first game of the March 26 doubleheader against Lafayette, Diaz reached the same milestone on Wednesday with his start against Coppin State … The junior infielders and Florida natives have been models of consistency for Navy since their arrival … Keller has started all 107 games for the Mids since debuting on Feb. 21, 2021, with 80 of those starts coming at third base … Diaz's streak began on April 3, 2021 against Lehigh, as he has started 97 straight games at shortstop for the Mids.
 
Nate Among the League's Best
Senior captain Nate Mitchell has been the unquestioned ace for Navy this season, as his 41.1 innings pitched, five wins, two complete games all lead the Patriot League … The righty also ranks No. 1 in the league with a 4.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.74 walks allowed per nine innings … Additionally, he ranks second in the PL with a 2.61 ERA and fifth league-wide with 35 strikeouts … The senior has also been establishing career highs as of late, as he registered a career-best 10 strikeouts against Lehigh on March 25 in a seven-inning complete game, while he followed that by tossing a career-high eight innings at Holy Cross in his last start to earn his league-leading fifth win of the year.
 
Strikeout Splurge for Shirah
Junior Matthew Shirah has been racking up the strikeouts in his last three starts, tallying 23 strikeouts in just 14.1 innings … The right-hander racked up a career-high seven strikeouts and walked just one batter in a four-inning start against Bucknell (March 18) after returning from injury, following that up by setting a new career high in strikeouts with eight punchouts in another four-inning start against Lafayette on March 26 … Shirah then matched his eight-strikeout performance by recording eight more punchouts at Army on April 3, allowing just one run on five hits and one walk over 6.1 innings against the Black Knights … The righty has 34 total strikeouts and a 4.00 ERA on the season, registering 27 innings across six starts and holding opponents to a .225 batting average.
 
Scouting Holy Cross
The Crusaders have won their last three contests since dropping both ends of the April 2 doubleheader to Navy, sweeping Bucknell the next day, 7-4 and 12-8, and then throttling Merrimack in a 13-1 home win on Wednesday … The victory over Merrimack featured three-hit contests from Jack Toomey and Sean Scanlon, as Toomey drove in three runs and scored twice himself, while Nate Chudy got the win after allowing just one run on three hits and striking out 14 over 6.2 innings … Jake McElroy paces the Crusaders with a .309 batting average and has Toomey (.305) and Scanlon (.303) trailing right behind, while Toomey and Scanlon both lead the team with 21 RBI apiece … Scanlon sits second in the league in both on-base percentage (.457) and doubles (11), while Lucas Manning has the third-highest on-base clip in the PL at .455 and is tied for third in the league with eight stolen bases … CJ Egrie has the second-most steals in the Patriot League at nine, while Connor Cooney's 22 walks rank second in the PL as well … Scanlon's nine starts on the mound are tied for second-most in the nation, posting a 5.66 ERA across 20.2 innings … Danny Macchiarola has logged a team-high 26 innings over seven appearances, making five starts and notching the second-most strikeouts on the team at 22.
 
Up Next
Navy heads to Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday, April 12, playing the Hawks at 3 p.m. in Salisbury, Md.