ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Ready for its first home postseason series in six years, the No. 2-seed Navy baseball team (26-20, 15-10 PL) hosts third-seeded Holy Cross (25-25, 14-11 PL) in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament this weekend at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
The best-of-three series will open on Saturday at 1 p.m., while the second game is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. Game three of the series, if necessary, would follow 40 minutes after the conclusion of game two. Scott Wykoff will handle play-by-play duties on ESPN+ for all three games.

Promotions at the Park
This weekend will feature a Navy Baseball button giveaway on Saturday, while kids can run the bases postgame following the completion of the series Sunday.
 
Playoff Baseball Returns to Annapolis
Earning home-field advantage in the semifinals with a second-place finish in the league standings, Navy will host its first home series in the Patriot League Tournament since the 2019 season, when the Mids hosted both the semifinal and championship round following their fifth-straight regular-season title … The Mids have won or split all but one multi-game series at home this season, including sweeps of Patriot League foes Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh … Navy has lost just three of its 14 home series over the past two seasons … The Mids have also posted a 16-6 record at home this year, including a 10-2 mark against league opponents.
 
Navy's History in the League Tournament
The Mids have won the Patriot League Tournament six times since joining the league in 1993, claiming the league's tournament title in 1994, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2016 (No tournament was held in 1995, with Navy earning the title via a first-place finish in the regular season) … Navy 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 with its second-place finish this season … The Mids are 33-40 all-time in the league tournament and are 24-23 at home during the Patriot League postseason.
 
Slick Fielders
Navy has been the best team defensively in the Patriot League, as the Mids' .980 fielding percentage ranks 14th in the country entering the weekend … The Navy infield has been most impressive, with the team turning 39 double plays that ranks second in the league and 43rd nationally … Individually, senior outfielder Zane Raba has posted a 1.000 fielding percentage that ranks first in the Patriot League while sophomore first baseman Victor Izquierdo has the second-best fielding percentage (.997) … Senior shortstop Eduardo Diaz also has the best fielding percentage (.994) among Patriot League middle infielders.
 
"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 88 times being hit by a pitch sit second in the Patriot League and rank 30th in the NCAA entering the weekend … The 88 hit-by-pitches are also a program record, eclipsing the previous record of 79 in 2011 … The Mids have three players who are in the top-150 nationally in getting beaned … Sitting 93rd in the nation with 14 hit-by-pitches are Raba and sophomore Brock Murtha, while fellow sophomore Mac McCommons is 127th at 13 hit-by-pitches … Raba and Murtha are tied for third in the Patriot League, while McCommons ranks sixth in the conference … The 14 hit-by-pitches also put Murtha and Raba in a tie for third in program single-season history.
 
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 81 bases in 46 games this year to rank 36th in the NCAA at 1.76 steals per game … Currently leading the Patriot League, the Mids' 81 stolen bases are fifth in program history for a single season … Pacing the league and sitting 19th in the nation with his 27 steals, Raba has the third-most ever by a Navy player in a single season and the most since John Cocca's 32 stolen bases in 2002 … Murtha's 19 stolen bases rank fourth in the league and 66th in the country.
 
The Best of April
After missing the final 49 games of last season and having a slow start to 2024, Izquierdo has started to become a force in the heart of the Navy lineup, as he posted a team-best .304 average during the month of April … Mashing six doubles and a home run across 16 games in April, Izquierdo knocked in 12 RBI and scored eight times while slugging .464 … Senior righty Nolan Jorgenson was nearly lights out in April, allowing four runs over 19.2 innings while appearing in relief five times and making his first collegiate start on April 14 at Holy Cross … Jorgenson posted a 3-0 record during the month of April while registering one save and having nine strikeouts to one walk.
 
Seniors in the Record Books
As his college career winds down, senior Logan Keller finds himself sixth in program history with 125 career RBI … For his career, Diaz sits ninth in program history with 88 walks and 10th with 24 hit-by-pitches, while his 398 career assists rank second in the Navy record book … Keller's 173 career starts ranks 13th in program history while Diaz's 170 career starts put him 14th … Raba's 25 career hit-by-pitches are tied for eighth in program history and his 40 career steals also rank eighth in Navy's records … Jorgenson is sixth in program history with 59 career appearances, with 58 of those coming in relief.
 
Diaz, Jorgenson Pick Up Major Awards
With the league office announcing major award winners this week, Diaz was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year while Jorgenson earned distinction as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year … Taking home the league's Defensive Player of the Year award for the second time in three seasons, Diaz became the first player in league history to be a two-time Defensive Player of the Year … Becoming the first Navy player in 19 years to win the league's Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, Jorgenson joined Toby Moore (1995), Dean Farmer (2003) and Trevor Thompson (2005) as the only four Mids to earn the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in baseball.
 
Grenn, Jorgenson and Murtha Earn All-League Honors
The Mids saw sophomore starting pitcher Tyler Grenn selected to the All-Patriot League First Team while Jorgenson (relief pitcher) and Murtha (second base) garnered All-Patriot League Second Team distinction on Wednesday … Grenn, Jorgenson and Murtha each received all-league nods for the first time in their careers … The Mids have now had multiple all-league selections in each of the last 18 seasons finished.
 
Three Mids Named to All-Academic Team
Joining Jorgenson on the Patriot League's All-Academic Team were fellow seniors Hudson Lehnertz and Matthew Shirah, the league announced Thursday … Shirah earned the honor for the second-straight season and Jorgenson garnered the accolade for the second time in three years, while Lehnertz received the distinction for the first time … Jorgenson and Shirah become the sixth and seventh Navy players to take home multiple Academic All-League nods, adding to a list that includes Stephen Born, Michael Coritz, Jared Leins, Zach Stevens and Colin Smith.
 
News and Notes
Freshman righty Brady Bendik was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Tuesday, winning the award for the third time this season after striking out seven in three innings of relief against Penn State … Murtha is hitting a gaudy .405 over 22 games at home this season, totaling 25 runs scored and 25 RBI while slugging 10 doubles and three homers and swiping 12 bases … Lehnertz has also raked in Annapolis with a .465 home batting average while tallying five doubles, 11 runs and five RBI in just 13 games … Grenn has posted a 3.03 home ERA in 38.2 innings, holding a 5-1 record in eight appearances … Rookie Andrew Manning has mashed in Patriot League play with a team-best .337 average while starting all 25 league games, adding on 20 runs scored, seven extra-base hits and 13 RBI.
 
Navy Notables vs. Holy Cross
In three career appearances, sophomore Jackson Beattie holds a 1.50 ERA against Holy Cross while tallying seven strikeouts in six innings … Diaz has hit .354 (23-for-65) in his career against the Crusaders, notching 14 runs and 13 RBI with five doubles in 19 games … Keller has batted .316 against Holy Cross over 19 career starts, going 24-for-76 with 13 runs scored and 17 RBI … Senior Brian Furey is 4-for-7 this season against Holy Cross … Jorgenson has a 4.41 career ERA when facing Holy Cross with 16.1 innings pitched in six appearances … Junior righty Landon Kruer stands at a 1.04 ERA through five career appearances against Crusaders, picking up four saves and nine strikeouts in 8.2 innings.
 
Scouting Holy Cross
Named the Patriot League Coach of the Year, Ed Kahovec's squad finished the regular season by winning eight of its last 10 games to go 25-25 overall and 14-11 in league play … Sweeping a Saturday doubleheader with Lafayette, the Crusaders then closed the regular season with a Sunday split against Lehigh … Holy Cross was represented by six players on the All-Patriot League Second Team, with starting pitchers Alex Bryant and Danny Macchiarola joined by catcher Colin Brown, first baseman Chris Baillargeon, shortstop Jimmy King and outfielder Jack Toomey … King leads the team with a .294 average while ranking second in single-season program history with 21 stolen bases … Brown ranks second on the team with a .290 average and has posted a team-best 11 doubles … Baillargeon has led the Crusaders with 37 runs scored and is tied for the team lead with 30 RBI, while his 45 walks are the most by any player in the Patriot League this season … Toomey has batted .271 with eight doubles, a league-best five triples and eight home runs in addition to sharing the team lead with 30 RBI … Logging a team-high 63 innings and a 5.29 ERA for the season, Macchiarola posted a 3.63 ERA, 5-1 record and 50 strikeouts in conference play … Bryant tallied a league-leading 69 strikeouts while tallying a 5.14 ERA in 61.1 innings … Holy Cross ranks sixth nationally with 21 triples and 13th with 282 walks, leading the league in both categories.
 
Series History
Navy is 91-54 in the all-time series with Holy Cross, winning 10 of the last 12 meetings between the schools … Navy is 8-3 at home against the Crusaders over the last four seasons, including winning the last five meetings in Annapolis … The Mids are 7-5 against Holy Cross in Patriot League Tournament action, with a 6-3 home postseason record against the Crusaders … Navy has won three of the four tournament series with Holy Cross, claiming the 2008 and 2018 semifinal rounds in Annapolis and the 2016 finals in Annapolis, while Holy Cross swept the 2012 semifinal series in Worcester … The Mids went 3-2 against the Crusaders in the regular season this year, sweeping a March 25 doubleheader at home before dropping two of three in Worcester on April 13-14 … Keller has hit .476 against the Crusaders this season, going 10-for-21 with two doubles and six RBI, while Kruer has tossed 5.2 scoreless frames against Holy Cross this spring.
 
Up Next
The winner of the Navy-Holy Cross series will advance to the Patriot League Tournament's championship series against the winner of Bucknell and Army, with the best-of-three championship series beginning Sunday, May 19.