ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Securing its spot in next month's Patriot League Tournament, the Navy baseball team (24-16, 14-8 PL) pulled out the series and season sweep of Lehigh (19-19-1, 6-12 PL) with a 4-2 victory Sunday afternoon, capping off a memorable Alumni Weekend at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Led by its pitching staff holding the Mountain Hawks to just seven hits, the Midshipmen were able to generate timely offense to pick up its 14th league win as senior Hudson Lehnertz collected three hits and freshman Andrew Manning tallied two hits of his own.
 
After a scoreless first inning, Navy landed the opening blow in the second inning as a leadoff single from sophomore Victor Izquierdo and a two-out error put him on third base, allowing him to come home on freshman Jack Killelea's infield single. Lehigh fought right back in the top of the third when back-to-back singles put runners on first and third for Tyler Young, who plated Jake Whitlinger on a fielder's choice.
 
Navy took the lead back in the fourth when senior Anthony Fiallo put a ball in play that led to a Lehigh fielding error, as Killelea raced home from first base to make it 2-1. Manning then singled to start the sixth and found his way to third after a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball, coming home on Fiallo's fielder's choice and extending the lead to 3-1.
 
Lehigh made it a one-run game in the top-half of the eighth on Raffaele Rogers' solo home run, but junior closer Landon Kruer later worked out of a bases-loaded jam to end the frame, and Navy answered in the bottom of the inning as singles from a trio of seniors, Eduardo Diaz, Fiallo and Zane Raba, led to Raba driving Diaz home for an insurance run. Kruer then got three flyouts in the ninth to pick up his league-leading seventh save of the season and secure the Mids' postseason berth with two weeks of league play remaining.
 
Freshman starter Brady Bendik went 4.1 innings and held Lehigh to just one run on five hits while fanning five Mountain Hawks, while fellow rookie Evan Foster got the win by limiting Lehigh to one run on two hits in his three innings of relief and Kruer notched the five-out save with one strikeout.
 
Marcus Danchision suffered the loss after going five innings and giving up two unearned runs on five hits, as Julio Ermigiotti then pitched two innings with one unearned run allowed and Tommy Lamar surrendered one run on three hits in his frame of action.
 
Coach Chuck Ristano Comments
"First and foremost, it was a special weekend honoring a fantastic group of seniors and our alumni. To see and meet the people who helped build this program means a lot to our staff and current group of players, and I'm thrilled that we were able to play so well for them. On the field, we did a little bit of everything. We are a different team and lineup with Lehnertz in there and it's great to have him back. It was a pretty complete effort and it was fun to manufacture offense with hits, walks, the short game and some aggressive baserunning. On the mound, we got some great starting pitching and the bullpen group of Jorgenson, Kruer and Foster were outstanding as well."
 
Game Notes
• Navy is now 103-53 in the all-time series with Lehigh, claiming the last seven meetings and nine of the last 10 contests between the teams.
• With three more steals on Sunday, Navy's 78 stolen bases on the year rank fifth in program single-season history.
• Navy has clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the 24th time in program history and the 12th time in the last 13 completed seasons.
• Izquierdo extended his on-base streak to 16 games, while Diaz moved his on-base streak to 14 contests and Lehnertz improved his to 10-straight games on base.
 
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.