ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Looking to make an early statement in the Patriot League standings, the Navy baseball team (14-11, 5-3 PL) pulled off a pair of thrilling wins over Holy Cross (8-15, 1-3 PL) on Monday afternoon, as the Midshipmen took the lead early for a 4-3 victory in the first game before using a seventh-inning rally to defeat the Crusaders, 9-5, in the nightcap at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Backed by another excellent start from freshman Brady Bendik and a three-hit contest by senior Logan Keller in the opener, Navy then got a stabilizing 4.2-inning relief outing from senior Nolan Jorgenson in the second game of the day to provide time for the offense to reset, with the Mids having four different players knock in multiple RBI in the back-half of the doubleheader to complete the Monday sweep.
 
Game One Recap
Navy jumped on Holy Cross' Jaden Wywoda right away, as senior Zane Raba led off the bottom of the first with a single and used an error and double steal to reach third, easily trotting home on freshman Andrew Manning's infield single to give Navy the lead.
 
The Mids continued to put runners on in the third, as three-straight singles to start the frame found junior Ivan Aguirre up with one out, who worked a walk to drive in Keller while a grounder from rookie Tyler Bouchard right after brought home sophomore Brock Murtha. With Bendik continuing to keep the Crusaders in check, Navy tacked on its fourth run in the fourth inning when Keller's two-out single was followed by Murtha launching a double down the left-field line.
 
Holy Cross finally got to Bendik in the sixth when Gianni Royer punched in Chris Baillargeon on a single and Colin Brown doubled home Jack Toomey and Royer one pitch later, but junior Landon Kruer relieved Bendik and got the final two outs of the inning and then retired the Crusaders in order to close up the win in the seventh.
 
Bendik got his fourth-straight winning decision with a 5.1-inning start, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out two, and Kruer finished with one strikeout in 1.2 innings for his second save in as many days.
 
Working the complete-game loss, Wywoda allowed four runs (three earned) on 11 hits while punching out five batters.
 
Game Two Recap
The Crusaders were the ones to strike first in the nightcap, as a pair of one-out walks in the first inning preceded singles from Braden Connors and Royer, with Royer's hit bringing around Baillargeon and Toomey to give Holy Cross a 2-0 edge. Two free passes and a pair of flyouts in the third frame then allowed Connors to induce a rundown off first base, giving Toomey time to race home for a 3-0 lead.
 
Navy answered back in the bottom of the third when a three-base error found Bouchard 90 feet from home and a sacrifice fly from senior Eduardo Diaz two batters later let Bouchard scoot home for Navy's first run. With Jorgenson retiring seven of his final 10 batters faced, the Mids finally broke through again in the sixth inning, as a Murtha two-out single was followed by a Manning triple that nearly cleared the right-field fence, while sophomore Victor Izquierdo then plated Manning two pitches later on a single up the middle, tying the game.
 
The Mids continued to roll offensively in the seventh, as a walk and two hit-by-pitches brought Keller up with the bases loaded, with the senior delivering a two-run single to hand Navy the lead before Murtha matched Keller with his own two-run single two pitches after. Pouring it on, Manning then scored Murtha on a double and Izquierdo's single knocked in Manning to make it 9-3 Navy.
 
Toomey tried to start Holy Cross' own rally in the eighth when he singled in Jimmy King, but rookie left-hander Evan Foster then came in and struck out Royer after Connors' walk to stomp out the bases-loaded threat. The Crusaders did cut into the lead again in the ninth when John LaFleur tripled home Alex Sandell, but Foster responded by getting Brown to pop out to end the game and seal the doubleheader sweep.
 
With freshman starter Ryan Bibb giving up two runs in one frame, Jorgenson settled the pitching staff by holding Holy Cross to just one run on five hits over a career-high 4.2 innings, and rookie lefty Timmy Virtudes worked two innings of one-run ball to earn the win before turning it over to Foster, who got the final four outs while allowing one run on one hit and a walk.
 
Danny Macchiarola lasted 5.2 innings for the Crusaders, surrendering three runs (three earned) despite six strikeouts, while Dan Mateffy suffered the loss after giving up three runs in 0.2 innings and Nick Fletcher also gave up three runs over 0.2 frames before Nick Harnisch pitched a clean eighth inning for Holy Cross.
 
Coach Chuck Ristano Comments
"These Patriot League weekends are tough. Games are very competitive and it's just a lot of innings in a short period of time. I'm really proud of our grit, especially having to come back in the second game."
 
"We have a few guys who are dinged up right now and I felt like we got some great contributions from a lot of different position players today. Bendik and Kruer in the opener were outstanding and, in the nightcap, Jorgy's effort to stabilize the game was exactly what we needed to claw back into it."
 
Game Notes
• Navy improved to 90-52 in the all-time series against Holy Cross, extending its winning streak over the Crusaders to nine games.
• With winning decisions on Monday, Bendik and Virtudes both have league-leading four victories.
• Manning extended his hitting streak to seven-straight games with his third-consecutive multi-hit performance.
• Keller, Manning and Murtha all recorded multi-hit performances in both ends of Monday's twin-bill.
• Kruer closing out the first game gave him 19 career saves, bringing him four saves shy of fourth in league history (Lehigh's Cory Kent at 23).
 
Up Next
Navy continues the homestand on Wednesday afternoon, hosting Maryland Eastern Shore at 3 p.m.