RICHMOND, Va. – Despite improving its run total from Friday, the Navy baseball team was on the defensive side of a big inning, as a five-run sixth inning propelled Richmond (3-0) to a 9-4 victory over the Midshipmen Saturday morning at Pitt Field in Richmond, Va.
 
In a game that saw sophomore Andrew Manning blast his first home run of the season and rookie Owen Peterson tally a pair of RBI, Navy posted twice as many runs on Saturday as did over Friday's doubleheader but the Spiders used a two-hit, three-RBI day from Jordan Jaffe and a three-run contest by Phil Bernstein to spark their offense.
 
The Mids found themselves down early, as a Bernstein walk in the first inning set up Jaffe to put a two-run homer off the batter's-eye in center field that gave Richmond the 2-0 lead. Navy chipped away right away when Manning led off the second with his 379-foot solo shot over the right field wall and into the adjacent parking lot. Richmond put itself up by two runs again in the bottom of the frame, as Brady O'Brien worked a leadoff walk, got to third on a Connor Larson double and then raced home on a wild pitch.
 
With freshman lefty Spencer Stephens coming on to start the third and posting three scoreless frames, including escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, Navy got him run support in the fifth inning when a Mac McCommons single and two walks loaded the bases for Peterson, who drove home junior Henry Mitchell to cut the Spiders' lead to 3-2.
 
The Spiders' big inning in the sixth got started when Joey Wilga singled home Jack Arcamone, while a double steal brought home DJ Pacheco and Aaron Whitley drove in Aidan O'Keefe on a single shortly after. A two-run throwing error by the Mids then scored Whitley and Bernstein to extend the edge, 8-2.
 
Both teams are held scoreless in the seventh, but Navy got on the board again in the eighth via sophomore Evan Brown's RBI single to knock in junior Brock Murtha, but Richmond answered again with Jaffe driving in Bernstein for the second time on the day way of a single following Bernstein's two-out double. Navy did not go quietly, putting the first two runners of the ninth inning on base while Peterson poked a one-out single to drive in McCommons, but the final two MIds were retired by Tyler Rigot to complete the series sweep.
 
Richmond starter Gerry Peacock notched the win after going two innings, while Glenn Smith followed with two scoreless frames in a game that featured seven pitchers taking the mound for the Spiders.
 
For Navy, sophomore Matt Archibald made a two-inning start and struck out three in his college debut but suffered the loss, as Stephens relieved him with a 3.1-inning outing that included one earned run on three hits. Junior righty Jackson Beattie followed by getting one out over two batters faced, freshman Mikey Plummer tossed 1.1 innings and senior Liam Golden ended the game with one run allowed in one inning of action.
 
Game Notes
• Navy now holds a 19-16 lead over Richmond in the all-time series.
• Manning's homer marked the fourth of his Navy career.
• Ivan Aguirre's sixth-inning stolen base was the fourth steal of his career.
• Archibald is the first Navy pitcher to start their college debut since Matthew Shirah on Feb. 24, 2021.
 
Up Next
Navy will host Coppin State on Tuesday in its home opener. First Pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.