KINSTON, N.C. – A hot start from the Air Force (2-6) offense was too much for the Navy baseball team (1-5) to overcome Sunday afternoon at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, N.C., as the Falcons defeated the Midshipmen, 14-1, in seven innings to close out the 2025 Freedom Classic.
 
Despite an attempt to erase its early deficit with freshman Ty DePerno's RBI single, the Navy pitching staff could not hold an Air Force lineup in check that featured Walker Zapp raking three hits for the Falcons.
 
A first-inning double from Zapp with two on brought home the game's first run and Tripp Garrish followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Ben Niednagel, while a Zach Peters single later in the opening frame scored Zapp to make it 3-0 before the Mids had their first at-bats.
 
Navy cut the Air Force edge to 3-1 in the bottom of the second when junior Victor Izquierdo walked and eventually made his way to third base for DePerno, who had a hard-hit infield single to plate Izquierdo, but Air Force starter Jon Mitchell then worked out of a jam that saw two Mids in scoring position. The Falcons answered the next half-inning, as Christian Taylor singled in Zapp and then later scored himself on a Navy balk.
 
Both sides tossed scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Falcons struck again with two bases-loaded walks and a pair of bases-loaded hit-batters in the sixth to extend the lead to 9-1 and a pinch-hit grand slam by Cam Anstey made it 13-1. The Falcons tacked on their last run of the game in the seventh when Niednagel scurried home on a wild pitch, while Navy saw its day end with runners left stranded at second and third base in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Mitchell finished with six strikeouts in 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on four hits to tally his first college win, while Sam Hentges got three strikeouts over a scoreless 1.1 innings.
 
Navy rookie Spencer Stephens was handed the loss after being on the hook for five runs in two innings, while sophomore Matt Archibald relieved him for three innings, junior Jackson Beattie got two outs, senior Liam Golden recorded one out and freshman lefty John Carroll pitched the final inning for the Mids.
 
Game Notes
• Navy is now 33-35 in the all-times series against Air Force, going 18-22 against the Falcons in Kinston.
• Sunday marked the collegiate debuts for Carroll and infielder Eric Sun.
• Junior infielder Henry Mitchell has reached base safely in all six of Navy's games this season.
 
Up Next
Navy will host Manhattan on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in the Mids' home opener. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.