WEST POINT, N.Y. – Two career-best performances on the mound and clutch hitting led the Navy baseball team to a pair of wins over rival Army, as the Midshipmen defeated the Black Knights, 3-0 and 5-1, to sweep the doubleheader and claim the season series Friday afternoon at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field.
 
Led by Brady Bendik and Tyler Grenn tossing the first back-to-back complete games for the Mids since 2014, Navy was backed up at the plate by pair of two-hit games from Evan Brown and a three-RBI afternoon for Andrew Manning, propelling the Mids to their first season-series victory over their rivals since 2021.
 
Game One Recap
With Bendik retiring nine of his first 10 batters faced, including six via the strikeout, Navy looked to do damage early when Victor Izquierdo was hit by a pitch to lead off the second inning and Brown followed with a single to extend his on-base streak. Continuing his success against the Black Knights this month, Manning then knocked in both runners on a double into the left-center gap to give the Mid a 2-0 lead
 
Despite allowing leadoff singles in the fourth and fifth innings, Bendik got some help from his defense with double plays to wipe out both of those runners, while three-straight one-out singles from the Mids in the top of the sixth found Brown driving in Izquierdo to grow the edge to 3-0.
 
Inducing another double play for his defense to end the sixth inning, Bendik then worked around a one-out error in the bottom of the seventh to force a Jack Quinlan fielder's choice and close out his complete-game shutout.
 
Bendik wrapped up his complete-game victory with six strikeouts while holding the Black Knights to just three hits and one walk over 100 pitches. Battling on the other side, Army's Andrew Berg also went the distance, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five in seven frames for the losing decision.
 
Game Two Recap
The Mids got to hitting right away in the nightcap, when Jack Killelea's two-out single kicked off a first-inning mini-rally that saw Ty DePerno single as well before Izquierdo's own single drove in Killelea for the game's opening run. Navy then added on in the second inning with Manning's solo homer out to right-center, while a two-out single in the third inning from Izquierdo knocked in Brock Murtha for the Mids' third run.
 
Retiring the first seven Black Knights faced, Grenn found himself in trouble in the third inning when a pair of one-out hits put two runners in scoring position but the right-hander then induced a shallow flyout and a groundout to keep Army off the scoreboard.
 
The bottom of the sixth found Thomas Schreck hit a leadoff double and come in right away on Chris Barr's single to ruin Grenn's shutout attempt, but the Navy righty then got Addison Ainsworth to ground into a double play to limit the damage.
 
Putting runners on third base in the seven and eighth innings, Navy finally added insurance in the ninth frame when Izquierdo singled and eventually raced home from third base on a dropped third strike, while another wild pitch later in the frame scored Brown to increase the Navy advantage to 5-1.
 
Going back out for the ninth, Grenn then sat down the Black Knights in order to secure the complete game and the doubleheader sweep while retiring his last seven batters faced.
 
Grenn closed the day with three strikeouts and no walks issued in his career-high nine frames, allowing just one run on six hits and logging 99 pitches to earn the winning decision. Suffering the loss, Justin Lehman gave up five runs on 11 hits in eight-plus innings while striking out one, and Kevin Reavey struck out three to get Army's final three outs in the ninth.
 
Coach Chuck Ristano Comments
"Obviously, we're very pleased by how these two games went. Any time you play Army, it's a big game and it demands a big performance. We got that from two elite starting pitchers today. Brady and Tyler have been outstanding for us all year and, when we needed their best, we got it. Total poise and control for 16 innings. Our infield defense was a separator for us as well. We turned a bunch of double plays and it's been really fun to watch those guys kind of grow into their positions."
 
"In game two, it was good to see our guys let their swings loose a bit and I liked the type of contact we make for all nine innings. Lehman was the 2024 Pitcher of the Year in the league for a reason and to be able to get to him a bit says a lot about how our offense is evolving."
 
"Singing second is special. To stand on that line and listen to our guys sing the Alma mater is really fulfilling for the staff and I."
 
Game Notes
• Navy retakes the 135-134 lead in the all-time series with Army.
• This marks the first time Navy has claimed the season series over Army since 2021.
• The current 7-2 league record is Navy's best start to Patriot League play since an 11-2 league start in 2019.
• Friday's opening 3-0 shutout is Navy's first shutout since a 2-0 shutout on April 27, 2024 at Army.
• Navy has pitched a shutout at West Point in three of the last four seasons.
• Bendik and Grenn's complete games mark the first time Navy has had starters throw back-to-back complete games since 2014 when the Mids posted three-straight complete games in a series against Lehigh, as Stephen Moore threw a nine-inning complete game on April 19 while Luke Gillingham tossed a seven-inning complete game to open the next day and Kyle Condry finished the April 20 doubleheader by going the full nine innings.
• Brown extended his on-base streak to 17 games, while Killelea has reached base safely in 16-straight games.
• Brown has now tallied five-straight multi-hit games after his 11-game hit streak was snapped last Saturday.
• Izquierdo's three hits in the nightcap mark a career high for the Navy first baseman.
• Killelea has a hit in 15 of his 16 games this season since returning from injury.
• Grenn's complete game marks the first game this season that Navy has not walked an opposing batter.
 
Up Next
Navy will head to Holy Cross for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.