ELON, N.C. – Another late-striking offensive display helped the Navy baseball team (2-1) clinch the series victory over Elon (1-2), as the Midshipmen defeated the Phoenix, 9-7, on Sunday afternoon at Latham Park.
 
Paced by a two-hit, three-RBI day from Brock Murtha and multi-hit contests for senior Zane Raba and freshman Evan Brown, the Mids crushed 10 hits and stole four bases to provide run support for sophomore starter Jackson Beattie and the Navy bullpen, while Elon's top three hitters in its order countered with nine of the Phoenix's 14 hits.
 
With both teams threatening early on, Elon was the team to strike first, as a Charlie Granatell double in the bottom of the third plated Kenny Mallory Jr. to open the scoring while back-to-back groundouts brought Granatell across home to make it 2-0. The Phoenix extended the lead to 3-0 in the next inning with an RBI single from Malloy Jr., but Beattie was able to limit the damage as he worked five innings.
 
Navy finally got the offense going in the sixth, as a leadoff single from Raba ignited a five-run inning. After sophomore Victor Izquierdo reached base as well, Murtha laced a triple down the right-field line to score Raba and Izquierdo, while pinch-hitting freshman Jack Killelea eventually plated Murtha on a groundout to bring the game even. Sophomore backstop Mac McCommons then handed Navy a 5-3 lead when he sent a single up the middle to score Killelea and fellow rookie Andrew Manning.
 
With freshman lefty Timmy Virtudes retiring the first three batters of his college career in the bottom of the sixth, the Mids quickly added to their edge in the seventh and made it 8-3, as Murtha singled home Raba, Manning drove in Izquierdo on a fielder's choice and Brown used an infield single to score senior Logan Keller. Elon responded in the home half of the frame with back-to-back doubles from Mallory Jr. and Granatell, while Connor Offshack's sacrifice fly plated Granatell to cut the lead to 8-5.
 
The ninth saw both teams score again, as freshman Tyler Bouchard drove in Murtha on a single in the top half of the inning, while a Ryan Sprock double and Shane Paradine single brought home a run each in the bottom of the frame, but Murtha slammed the door shut after that with back-to-back strikeouts and a fly out to seal the Navy victory.
 
Beattie finished his second career start by holding Elon to three runs on six hits, striking out one and earning the winning decision. Striking out his first two batters, Virtudes ended up with two runs allowed in one-plus innings and senior Nolan Jorgenson followed by allowing one hit in one frame of work, while Murtha gave up two runs in innings of relief and struck out two.
 
Henry Cone got the start for Elon, pitching 2.1 shutout innings before exiting with an injury, while Tate Ostrowski suffered the loss after allowing five runs in three innings after relieving Cone. Liam Dabagian followed by going 0.2 innings, allowing three runs (two earned), and Sam Nomura finished the game for the Pheonix by giving up one run in three frames and punching out three Mids.
 
Coach Chuck Ristano Comments
"That was a great series win against a very good Elon team. After going down early, seeing us stay the course and have a couple of big innings to take control says a lot about this group's grit. We certainly have some things to clean up, but I'm so proud of our guys' effort and continued level of focus."
 
Game Notes
• Navy is now 3-2 in the all-time series with Elon.
• Murtha's three RBI matched his career high, previously achieved on March 18, 2023 against Bucknell.
• Beattie's five innings pitched set a career high for the righty.
• Navy has won three of its last four season-opening series.
• The last time Navy had four steals in a game was Feb. 25, 2023 against Air Force.
 
Up Next
Navy will return to Annapolis for its 2024 home opener on Wednesday, Feb. 21 against Georgetown. The Mids and Hoyas are slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Terwilliger Brothers Field and Max Bishop Stadium.