ELON, N.C. – Using four home runs on Saturday afternoon, the Navy baseball team (1-1) got Chuck Ristano his first win as head coach with a 21-13 triumph over Elon (1-1) at Latham Park.
 
Highlighted by four-spots in the first two innings and a 12-run seventh frame, the Midshipmen scored their most runs in a game since 2019 and tallied 12 runs in an inning for the second-straight year. Homers from seniors Logan Keller and Zane Raba and freshman Andrew Manning capped off multi-hit performances for the trio, while fellow senior Eduardo Diaz's grand slam gave the shortstop back-to-back games with a deep fly.
 
A steal from Raba in the first inning set Keller up to get the Mids on the board, as Keller's first of four hits on the day drove home Raba, while an RBI groundout from sophomore Brock Murtha plated his classmate Victor Izquierdo immediately after. Manning then cleared the bases with a two-run, opposite-field shot on the first pitch faced in his collegiate career, extending the lead to 4-0.
 
Elon quickly evened the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run single from Shane Paradine and Connor Offshack's two-run homer, but Navy answered back with four more runs in the second. A walk, two wild pitches and an error scored senior Anthony Fiallo, while an RBI double from Raba, an Izquierdo sacrifice fly and another RBI single from Keller made it 8-4 Navy.
 
Junior starter Liam Golden then held the Phoenix scoreless over the next two innings, but Elon broke out for six runs in the fourth to take a 10-8 edge, kicked off by a Tanner Holliman leadoff blast and finished off with back-to-back RBI doubles from Trey Tiffan and Vince Fattore.
 
Despite Elon adding another run off a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, Navy battled and broke through again in the seventh when the first three Mids reached base and rookie Evan Brown laced a two-run single to the left side to bring Navy within one. Loading the bases again, Diaz stepped up to the plate and crushed a full-count pitch over the left-field fence for his second homer of the season, while Raba followed with a solo shot right after. After an Izquierdo single, Keller then left the yard as well, while a wild pitch later on allowed Murtha to come home and a sacrifice fly from freshman pinch-hitter Jack Killelea drove in Manning and Raba drew a bases-loaded walk to cap off the 12-run frame.
 
A Tiffin homer in the home half of the seventh cut it to 20-12 in Navy's favor, and the two sides traded runs in the eighth with a Manning sacrifice fly for the Mids and a Ryan Sprock RBI single up the middle for the Phoenix.
 
After 2.1 innings of relief from rookie right-hander Owen Geiger, Murtha then closed the door on Ristano's first win by recording the last two outs.
 
Golden finished the day with four strikeouts in his three innings, while fellow junior Landon Kruer notched the win with three frames out of the bullpen and Geiger held Elon to four hits in his debut appearance.
 
Elon used eight pitchers in the contest and walked 12 Mids to just six strikeouts, as starter Nolan Straniero surrendered six earned runs in one-plus innings while Hudson Narke followed with three innings of relief. Sam Nomura was handed the loss after allowing four runs without recording an out.
 
Head Coach Chuck Ristano Comments
"I'm very pleased with the bounce back we showed today. The final score looks a little lopsided but the entire day was a back-and-forth, grinding game that showcased a lot of our position players stepping up in crucial spots. The offense clearly carried the day, and it was good to be able to score runs via the home run and to see us run the bases with that type of aggression."
 
Game Notes
• Navy and Elon are now tied 2-2 in the all-time series
• Navy's 21 runs are the most by the Mids since a 24-13 win at Lafayette on March 30, 2024.
• The last time Navy scored 12 runs in an inning was on April 12, 2023, as the Mids put up a 12-spot in the seventh inning of an 18-11 win at Maryland Eastern Shore.
• Navy's last inning with three-or-more homers was in the fourth inning of a 10-1 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Lafayette on March 30, 2019, as Christian Hodge (twice), Liam Lowery and Jacob Williamson all went deep in the frame.
• The last time Navy homered four-or-more times in a game was in the second game of that March 30, 2019 doubleheader, as Hodge (twice), Lowery (twice), Christian Policelli and Joe Simourian all homered.
• Keller collected a career-high four hits for the sixth time in his four seasons at Navy.
• Diaz's four RBI set a career best, while Raba's three RBI matched his career high.
 
Up Next
Navy and Elon will wrap up the series with the rubber match on Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. at Latham Park.