ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It is set to be a busy weekend at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium, as the Navy baseball team (21-16, 11-8 PL) hosts Patriot League foe Lehigh (19-16-1, 6-9 PL) for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday.
 
Serving as the penultimate league series of the regular season for the Midshipmen, the three-game set with the Mountain Hawks will be the program's annual Alumni Weekend while Saturday is also slated to be Senior Day for Navy's nine fourth-year players.
 
First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. while the series finale on Sunday is also set for a 1 p.m. start, with Scott Wykoff calling all three games on ESPN+.
 
Senior Day On Deck
Saturday will see the Mids honor its nine-member senior class prior to game one … Pitchers Nolan Jorgenson, Matthew Shirah and Zach Ward will be alongside catcher Brian Furey, infielders Eduardo Diaz and Logan Keller and outfielders Anthony Fiallo, Hudson Lehnertz and Zane Raba … Over 50 Navy Baseball alumni will be on site for Alumni Weekend festivities as well.
 
Manning and McCommons Settling into April
Starting all nine of Navy's games in the month of April, freshman Andrew Manning has paced the team with a .364 average since the calendar flipped, going 12-for-33 with four doubles and a home run, slugging a .576 clip … Sophomore backstop Mac McCommons has batted .438 in April, tallying two doubles while knocking in three RBI and going 7-for-16.
 
Home Cooking
The Mids have leaned into home-field advantage this season, posting an 12-6 home record entering Saturday and batting an impressive .302 as a team in Annapolis … Sophomore two-way talent Brock Murtha has hit at a .406 clip in home games, tallying eight doubles and 10 steals while scoring 19 times and driving in 16 runners … Sporting a .307 average at home, senior Logan Keller has also collected 19 runs scored and 16 RBI while smashing three home runs and swiping nine bases at Max Bishop Stadium … On the mound, junior Landon Kruer paces the team with eight home appearances, collecting four saves over 14.1 innings and registering a 3.77 ERA.
 
"We Got Ice"
The Mids have been one of the nation's best teams at getting on base via hit-by-pitch, as Navy's 78 times being hit by a pitch lead the Patriot League and rank 13th in the NCAA entering the weekend … The Mids have three players who are in the top-70 nationally in getting beaned … Sitting 27th in the nation with 14 hit-by-pitches is senior Zane Raba, while Murtha is 43rd at 13 hit-by-pitches and McCommons ranks 68th with 12 plunkings … Raba is tied for the Patriot League lead, while Murtha and McCommons rank third and fourth in the conference.
 
Naval Aggression
Tallying just 0.62 stolen bases per game last season (31 steals in 50 games to rank 254th nationally), Navy has been exponentially more aggressive under new head coach Chuck Ristano, as the team has stolen 72 bases in 37 games this year to rank 29th in the NCAA at 1.95 steals per game … Currently leading the Patriot League, the Mids' 72 stolen bases are seventh in program history for a single season … Pacing the league and sitting fourth in the nation with his 25 steals, Raba has the most by a Navy player since Robert Currie's 26 stolen bases in 2014 … Murtha's 17 stolen bases rank third in the league and 46th in the country.
 
Turning in on in the Patriot League
Several Mids have turned it up in league play this season, led by Manning hitting a team-high .354 in Patriot League games … Manning has posted 15 runs scored and 13 RBI while tallying three doubles, two triples and two homers … Sophomore Victor Izquierdo has almost matched Manning's in-league performance with a .328 average, adding on 13 RBI along with seven doubles and a homer … Seniors Anthony Fiallo and Brian Furey have also hit well in limited action, as Fiallo is batting .364 (4-for-11) in league play with two extra-base hits while Furey has gone 6-for-14 in Patriot League action … In the bullpen, Kruer has been lights out during league play, posting a 2.35 ERA over eight appearances, racking up six saves and striking out 12 in 15.1 innings … Senior Nolan Jorgenson has also been a stopper for the Mids' pitching staff in PL action, posting a 1.96 ERA over 18.1 innings, making one start and recording five relief appearances.
 
Navy Notables vs. Lehigh
Eduardo Diaz has batted .275 against the Mountain Hawks in his four seasons, going 19-for-69 in 21 games while doubling five times and scoring 14 runs with three steals as well … Junior Ivan Aguirre holds a .300 average against Lehigh, going 6-for-20 with four runs scored and five RBI … Jorgenson has a career ERA of 1.35 against Lehigh, making three appearances over 6.2 innings … Senior captain Matthew Shirah has been impressive against Lehigh in his career as well, tallying a 2.92 ERA over four outings (three starts) while striking out 10 over 12.1 innings.
 
Scouting Lehigh
Lehigh enters the weekend with a 19-16-1 record that includes a win over then-No. 20 Iowa on the opening weekend of the season, but the team has gone 6-9 in league play so far … The Mountain Hawks have dropped four of their last five contests, including losing two of three to Bucknell last weekend and falling to rival Lafayette, 13-3, on Wednesday night … Rafe Perich leads Lehigh with a .382 batting average that ranks fourth in the Patriot League, while his 30 walks also pace the team and his 38 RBI stand second on the Mountain Hawks … Holding a .273 average, Justin Butler leads the team with nine homers and 40 RBI … Jake Whitlinger is also batting above .300 with a .333 clip, while his 19 steals rank second in the league and 27th nationally … Marcus Danchision has posted a 2.47 ERA in 43.2 innings that leads the league and ranks 43rd in Division I … Cole Leaman has also been good on the mound, registering a 2.15 ERA over eight starts and getting 33 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.
 
Series History
Navy has a 100-53 edge in the all-time series with Lehigh, including an 8-2 mark in the teams' last 10 meetings … The Mids have split or won its last five series with Lehigh … Last year saw Navy go 4-1 against the Mountain Hawks, sweeping a March 25 doubleheader at home before taking two of three in Bethlehem April 29-May 1 … This season's first matchup between the two schools had the Mids sweep an April 6 doubleheader in Bethlehem, as a career-high 8.2 innings from sophomore starter Tyler Grenn led Navy to a 2-1 win in 10 innings for the opener, while a career-high six innings of relief from freshman Ryan Bibb helped the Mids complete the sweep with a 6-2 victory in the nightcap.
 
Up Next
Navy will make the trip to Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, April 23, as the Mids and Mountaineers are set for a 3 p.m. first pitch in Emmitsburg, Md.