KINSTON, N.C. – The Navy baseball team was unable to overcome a bad start on Friday night at Grainger Stadium, dropping game one of the 2024 Freedom Classic to rival Air Force by a 7-1 score.
 
Despite two-hit performances from senior Logan Keller and sophomore Brock Murtha and a great relief outing from freshman Ryan Bibb, Navy could not find their offensive rhythm against Seungmin Shim, who held the Midshipmen to one run over seven quality innings while his Falcons teammate jay Thomason notched a three-hit contest.
 
After Navy stranded two runners in the top of the first inning, Air Force took advantage in the bottom of the frame by drawing five walks, as back-to-back bases-loaded walks put the Falcons ahead, 2-0. Air Force then tacked on three more runs in the second when two leadoff walks were followed by a Sam Kulasingam double and a Thomason single, while Chris Stallings' groundout plated Kulasingam to make it 5-0, but Bibb took over on the mound for Navy and struck out the next two batters to end the threat before going on to pitch the next four frames.
 
Bibb eventually surrendered one run to the Falcons in the fourth on a Chase Spencer groundout with Thomason on third, but the rookie kept Air Force off the board over his final two innings, while a double from senior Logan Keller in the top of the sixth set up Navy for its only run of the game, as singles by sophomores Brock Murtha and Victor Izquierdo brought Keller around to score.
 
With sophomore Aidan Chamberlin making his season debut in the seventh, the righty worked out of a two-on, one-out jam before handing the ball off to freshman Aidan Healy in the eighth, who got two outs before Stallings hit a solo home run over the left field fence but worked out of more danger later in the inning.
 
Navy attempted to start a ninth-inning rally with a walk to pinch-hitting junior Ivan Aguirre, but Kyle Moats shut the door to lock up Air Force's win with two strikeouts in the final frame.
 
Junior right-hander Liam Golden got the loss for Navy, striking out three but walking five in one inning, while senior Zach Ward gave up three runs in 0.1 innings before Bibb took over and allowed just three hits and struck out six in his 4.2 frames.
 
Shim earned the win for the Falcons by racking up 10 strikeouts in his seven innings, allowing one run on seven hits, while Cooper Loveridge and Moats both held Navy hitless in their one inning of work apiece.
 
Coach Chuck Ristano Comments
"A draining game right from the start and it was hard to overcome the feeling of chasing strikes throughout the game. Despite how poorly it began for us, there were moments that we could've grabbed a little momentum and we weren't able to capitalize on those moments."
 
Game Notes
• Air Force cut into Navy's all-time series lead, making it 32-31 in favor of the Mids.
• The Falcons now hold an 18-17 edge over the Mids in games played in Kinston.
• Senior Zane Raba has recorded a hit in each of Navy's five games this season.
• Healy and Leo Mangiamele both made their collegiate debuts on Friday night.
 
Up Next
Navy and Air Force continue the series on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. in Kinston, N.C.