ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With major rivalry implications up for grabs to begin Patriot League play, the Navy baseball team (6-9) is set to host Army (4-9) this Saturday and Sunday in a three-game series at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m., and Sunday's series finale is also slated for a 1 p.m. start, with Scott Wykoff calling all the action both days on ESPN+.
 
As part of the 2024-25 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, the winner of the three-game set will earn the baseball Star for this season in addition to having a head-start in the league standings.
 
Army-Navy Star Series Update
With a Feb. 16 victory in wrestling, Army pulled out to an 11-8 edge in the all-sport 2024-25 Star Series presented by USAA … The Black Knights jumped out to a 9-2 lead in star competitions, but Navy's 33-13 football win spurred a streak that saw the Midshipmen take six of the next seven stars before wrestling … Navy has captured the stars in men's rugby, men's cross country, football, gymnastics, rifle, men's indoor track & field, women's indoor track & field and men's basketball … Following baseball, the remaining stars up for grabs are men's and women's outdoor track & field, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's lacrosse … Navy's overall record against Army this season is 9-15.
 
Stephens Named PL Rookie of the Week
Freshman southpaw Spencer Stephens was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Monday … Posting seven strikeouts while allowing just two hits and no walks, Stephens pitched four scoreless innings over two relief appearances and picked up his first collegiate win … Through six appearances this season, including one start, Stephens has maintained a 4.15 ERA across 13 innings, notching 16 strikeouts and a save as well … Stephens is the second Navy player this season to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Week, joining Ty DePerno's honor two weeks ago.
 
Izquierdo and Murtha Heating Up
The heart of the Navy order, juniors Brock Murtha and Victor Izquierdo, have started to turn it on after a slow start through the season's first two weeks … Murtha has tallied a .355 batting average over the Mids' last nine games, accounting for eight runs and knocking in nine RBI while also swiping eight bases … For Izquierdo, he is hitting .323 in his last nine contests, including batting .427 in the four-game series with UMass, notching 10 hits with 11 RBI and four extra-base hits in that nine-game span.
 
Grenn Starting Strong Again
Junior right-hander Tyler Green is off to another impressive start in 2025 after a hot start to 2024 propelled him into a breakout All-Patriot League First Team campaign … Through his first four starts this season, Grenn holds a 2.22 ERA over 24.1 innings to rank first in the Patriot League in both categories, also tallying 15 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .184 batting average against … Last season saw Grenn post a 3.00 ERA through his first four outings, striking out eight in 15 innings while allowing 17 hits.
 
Friendly Confines
Through three seasons at Navy, Brock Murtha is batting .366 at home with a .478 on-base percentage and .574 slugging clip, with 27 of his 74 hits going for extra bases and the infielder stealing 24 bases … In 29 career home games, Victor Izquierdo has 29 RBI and 30 hits, tallying a .294 home average … Andrew Manning has scored 32 times in 33 career home games, also collecting 36 hits and 28 walks to register a .336 average and .489 on-base clip … Landon Kruer has maintained a 2.84 career ERA in 27 home appearances, getting 33 strikeouts in 38 innings while notching 15 saves … In four home appearances so far, Spencer Stephens has posted a 0.00 ERA across 7.2 innings, allowing just two hits to 11 strikeouts … Navy has a .302 batting average at home under head coach Chuck Ristano, scoring 232 runs in 33 home games (7.03 per game) and stealing 82 bases in that span.
 
Turning it on for League Play
Tyler Grenn was electric during the Patriot League regular season last year, recording a 3.04 ERA in seven league starts, including two complete games, while striking out 20 in a league-best 47.1 innings … Andrew Manning also turned it up in league play last season, hitting .337 in 25 league games with seven extra-base hits, 20 runs scored and 13 RBI … Brock Murtha is hitting .274 in 50 career Patriot League games, including mashing a .306 average and stealing seven bases in 2024 … Landon Kruer has tallied a 2.95 ERA in 26 career Patriot League appearances, posting 30 strikeouts in 39.2 innings and racking up 17 saves … Kruer's 2024 league output alone saw him rack up seven saves in 21.1 innings to go with 15 punchouts and a 2.95 ERA.
 
News and Notes
Brock Murtha has hit .340 during the month of March in three years at Navy, totaling 34 runs and 40 RBI in 45 career games during the third calendar month … The Mids' backstop duo have been hitting the ball well since the start of March this season, as Ty DePerno is batting .381 through seven games with seven runs scored and six RBI, while Jack Killelea has hit .389 since returning from injury last week to go with four runs in those five games … Noah Ditas and Tyler Bouchard are both hitting .600 on Saturdays this season, with Bouchard also racking up seven walks and six steals in five Saturday contests so far … DePerno and Henry Mitchell both have .500 averages on Sundays this campaign.
 
Navy in the NCAA Stat Rankings
Navy ranks 46th in the nation with 2.13 steals per game, while the Mids' pitching staff is 79th-best nationally with 8.49 hits allowed per nine innings … Henry Mitchell is 12th in the country with 0.64 hit-by-pitches per game … On the base paths, Tyler Bouchard stands 45th nationally with 0.64 steals per game and Brock Murtha ranks 59th with 0.60 steals per game … Tyler Grenn's 0.90 WHIP leads the Patriot League and stands 69th in Division I, while his league-best 2.22 ERA is 116th in the country.
 
Navy Notables vs. Army
Brady Bendik has tallied a 4.15 ERA in two career appearances against Army, notching six strikeouts in 8.2 innings … Mac McCommons hit .286 in three games against Army last season, tallying a double and a run scored … Brock Murtha batted .292 against the Black Knights in 2024, getting seven hits in seven games with three runs scored and two doubles.

Scouting Army
The Black Knights have started to break out of a slow start, as wins in their last two games have pushed them to 4-9 overall, with a 3-8 road record … After dropping the opening series at North Alabama and being swept at Wofford, Army pulled out wins in the series finales at Air Force and against Fordham to avoid sweeps there … Army then run-ruled Albany, 14-4, in a home game Wednesday, as Jack Quinlan collected five RBI and William Parker posted a 4-for-5 day with three runs scored … 2024 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Justin Lehman has continued his success into the new year, currently holding a 3.04 ERA in four starts, registering 16 strikeouts in 23.2 innings while also hitting .267 when in the lineup … Andrew Berg has also been effective on the mound in five appearances at a 3.21 ERA, racking up 16 punchouts in 14 frames … Addison Ainsworth is leading the team with a .319 average, 10 runs, 12 RBI and 11 walks … Thomas Schreck has broken out at the plate by batting .302 in 13 games, notching five doubles and eight runs scored … Parker returned from injury last week and immediately went 6-for-16 with five runs scored and three RBI in four games … Lehman enters the weekend on a six-game hitting streak while Quinlan has reached base safely in his last nine games.
 
Series History
Army leads Navy in the all-time series, 133-131, and has claimed the last three games between the rivals … Navy has gone 61-63 against Army at home, as the Mids' win to start the season series last year marked Navy's first home victory over the Black Knights since 2019 … The Mids posted a 2-5 record against Army last year, going 1-1 at home … The two teams split that doubleheader in Annapolis on March 24, with Navy snapping its five-game losing streak to Army with a 5-2 victory in the opener while Army bounced back for an 8-1 win in the nightcap … The first game saw Tyler Grenn hold Army to two runs in six innings while Hudson Lehnertz, Mac McCommons and Anthony Fiallo all had two-hit contests … Lehnertz and Andrew Manning both collected two hits in the nightcap as well despite Justin Lehman's quality start for the Black Knights … Despite Grenn's three-hit complete game to open the Star Series on April 26, Lehman's own complete-game shutout help Army grab the 1-0 victory … Matthew Shirah and Nolan Jorgenson combined for the 2-0 shutout the next day to even series with an RBI double from Fiallo being the deciding factor on offense … The series finale on April 28 saw Logan Keller and Victor Izquierdo both drive in two runs each as the Mids battled back from a 5-2 deficit to take the lead late, but Army's Chris Barr's single walked it off with two outs in the ninth for a 7-6 Black Knights star-clinching win … The two teams then met in the Patriot League Championship series, as Army took the first game, 11-8, despite Eduardo Diaz hitting two homers for Navy, while the second game saw the Black Knights clinch the title after Matthew Ronnebaum and Tanner Gresham combined for a 3-0 two-hit shutout.
 
Navy Baseball, Under Armour Unveil 2025 Jolly Rogers Uniform
Following the lead of Navy Football, Navy Baseball and Under Armour unveiled the team's 2025 Jolly Rogers uniform last month … The Jolly Rogers were established in 1943 and are the most lethal and history-rich squadron in all of Naval Aviation and continue to exemplify the traditions and excellence of professionalism of the United States Navy … Their tagline is Fear the Bones and their callsign is Victory … Flying over nine different types of fighter aircraft in the past 63 years, the Skull and Crossbones have become the most recognized and feared insignia in the world … The current Jolly Rogers of VFA-103 continue to exemplify the Naval Aviation traditions of excellence and professionalism … With the Jolly Rogers emblem proudly emblazoned on the tails of the most lethal and history-rich fighter squadron in all of Naval Aviation, the legacy of "The Bones" promises to endure for many years to come … The Navy baseball uniform color scheme for the Army-Navy game mimics the iconic color of the Jolly Rogers aircraft … The all-white hat is a first for the Navy baseball program, with a blue skull and crossbones replacing the traditional N-star logo … The batting helmet is white, designed to mimic the helmets worn by pilots of their fighter jets, with "NAVY" in solid blue letters across the front, while a skull and bones logo is placed in a pennant shaped decal on the side … The white jersey features a navy-blue yoke, which extends to full blue raglan sleeves … Each sleeve contains a white skull and crossbones, while the sleeves feature thick stripes of gold, navy and white, matching the helmet striping … The pants are white with the same chevron striping pattern as on the helmets and on the sleeves.
 
Up Next
Navy will host Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. in Annapolis.