ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Just a week removed from facing each other in Annapolis, the Navy baseball team (18-16, 9-6 PL) hits the road this weekend to finish its season series with Patriot League foe Lafayette (10-24, 6-6 PL), as the Midshipmen and Leopards will play a three-game at Hilton Rahn '51 Field at Kamine Stadium in Easton, Pa.
 
With both teams in the thick of a tightly-packed league standings, Navy and Lafayette will open the weekend with a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon, while Sunday's series finale is also slated for a noon first pitch. All three games will air on ESPN+ with Matt Fine on the call.
 
Manning and Bendik Claim Patriot League Weekly Awards
A pair of Navy sophomores were honored by the Patriot League on Monday, as outfielder Andrew Manning earned Patriot League Player-of-the-Week honors while right-hander Brady Bendik was named the league's Pitcher of the Week … With the duo helping the Midshipmen to a 3-2 week, Bendik tossed his second-straight complete-game shutout in Navy's 4-0 win against Lafayette, while Manning batted .500 (9-for-18) with four runs and three RBIs on top of four multi-hit games … Manning is the first Navy player to take home Patriot League Player of the Week since Alex Smith and Colin Smith both did so in 2022, while Bendik becomes the third Navy pitcher to earn the league's Pitcher of the Week award this season, joining Tyler Grenn and Landon Kruer.
 
Kruer Breaks League Record
Navy closer Landon Kruer notched his Patriot League-record 29th career save in the March 22 game one win over Bucknell, passing former Holy Cross pitcher John Colella (28 saves) for top spot in the league record book … The Navy closer now holds 30 career saves in total … Currently leading the Patriot League with five saves this season, Kruer has previously led the league in saves each of the previous three campaigns … Kruer's now-30 career saves also make him the active career leader across all three NCAA divisions.
 
Return of the Jack
Jack Killelea has been on a tear offensively since returning from a preseason injury on March 7, batting .373 and reaching base at a .494 clip in his 21 starts while finding himself in the heart of the Mids' order … Navy has gone 14-7 with Killelea in the lineup … Reaching base in 20 of his 21 played so far, Killelea has collected eight extra-base hits and drawn 13 walks to help score 15 runs … As a rookie last season, Killelea batted .292 in 29 games played on top of 17 runs scored and 10 RBI.
 
March of the Brown Bear
Evan Brown morphed into one of the Mids' most consistent hitters once the calendar hit March, batting .338 while starting at third base in all 20 of Navy's games in March … The infielder tallied 14 runs scored, 11 RBI and eight extra-base hits last month, also drawing 11 walks to seven strikeouts … After having an 11-game hit streak snapped on March 22, Brown responded with five-straight multi-hit games before having that stretch stopped March 30 at Holy Cross.
 
Road Dogs
Navy holds a 4.53 team ERA through eight road games this season but have only hit .199 as a team in away games … Evan Brown has batted .2692 in 22 career road games, collecting 15 RBI and drawing 13 walks … Through 30 road games in his career, Andrew Manning has totaled five homers, 19 runs scored and 21 RBI … Jack Killelea is swinging .288 in 17 career road contests, scoring nine times … Brady Bendik has posted a 0.84 ERA in two road starts this season, notching seven strikeouts in 10.2 innings … Tyler Grenn holds a 1.26 ERA through a pair of road starts, not allowing a walk in 14.1 innings while punching out seven … Navy batted .247 as a team in 23 road games last season, posting a .349 on-base percentage in those contests.
 
News and Notes
Andrew Manning is hitting .393 in Navy's last 10 games, racking up 11 hits in nine games while scoring five times and knocking in six RBI … Mason Ceccarelli has appeared in each of Navy's 10 last games, batting .353 and reaching base at a .633 clip with 13 walks in those 10 contests … John Carroll has made three relief outings over Navy's last 10 games, compiling a 0.00 ERA in five innings … Navy is hitting .286 as a team on Saturdays, reaching base at a .394 clip … Tyler Bouchard has batted .467 and reached base at a ,.692 clip in nine Saturday games this season, scoring nine times with seven RBI and eight steals … Brady Bendik has pitched to a 1.50 ERA in three Saturday starts this year, getting 20 strikeouts to just three walks in 18 innings … Ty DePerno leads the team with a .280 average and eight RBI in nine Sunday games.
 
Career Snapshots in the PL
In 12 career Patriot League starts, Brady Bendik has maintained a 3.38 ERA over 64 innings, striking out 53 and notching a 7-3 record while three complete games … Tyler Green has posted a 4.42 ERA across 12 career appearances in league play, totaling 73.1 innings and 28 strikeouts while making 11 starts with three complete games … Landon Kruer has a 2.64 ERA in 31 career Patriot League games, racking up 39 strikeouts in 47.2 innings and 21 saves … Evan Brown has batted .291 in 27 career league games, scoring 14 runs and driving in nine RBI while walking 10 times … Ty DePerno has posted a .354 batting average in his first 15 league games, boasting 11 RBI and four extra-base hits … Hitting .319 in 26 league contests over the past two seasons, Jack Killelea has tallied 14 runs scored and eight RBI while drawing nine walks … Andrew Manning has a .326 average in 40 career league games, scoring 26 runs and posting 23 RBI with five homers.
 
League Leaders
Navy's pitchers have notched a Patriot League-best 4.98 ERA while the Mids are fielding at a league-high .966 clip … Navy's batters have tallied a league-leading nine triples … Ty DePerno's .443 on-base percentage ranks fourth in the Patriot League, while Andrew Manning's four homers are third among conference leaders … Henry Mitchell is third in the league with 12 hit-by-pitches, while Brock Murtha's 15 steals rank fourth in the PL … Tyler Grenn is second in the Patriot League with 50 innings pitched, while his 12 strikeouts looking stand fourth … Brady Bendik is pacing the league with a 2.82 ERA and a .163 opposing batting average, also ranking fifth with 40 strikeouts and sixth with 44.2 innings … Landon Kruer's five saves lead the league.
 
Navy in the NCAA Stat Rankings
Henry Mitchell's 12 hit-by-pitches put him 69th in the country while Brock Murtha's 15 steals rank 72nd among Division I leaders … Brady Bendik ranks 13th nationally with his 5.24 hits allowed per nine innings among qualified pitchers, while his 0.94 WHIP stands 22nd in Division I and his 2.82 ERA places 68th nationally.
 
Navy Notables vs. Lafayette
In three career starts against Lafayette, Beady Bendik has posted a 1.31 ERA over 20.2 innings and racked up 17 strikeouts to 12 hits and six walks … Evan Brown has hit .320 in seven career games against the Leopards, tallying four runs and four RBI … Batting .391 in seven career games against Lafayette, Victor Izquierdo has notched two doubles, a homer and five RBI … Andrew Manning has hit .478 in seven career starts against the Leopards, registering five runs, six RBI and four walks … Jack Killelea has hit .462 against Lafayette in his career while Ty DePerno is batting .571 against the Leopards in 2025.
 
Scouting Lafayette
After a slow start to 2025, the Leopards have rattled off four-straight wins and hold a 6-4 record in their last 10 games … The split with Navy last Saturday was followed by a doubleheader sweep at Bucknell before returning to Easton for a commanding 22-11 victory over Saint Peter's … Led by Michael Zarrillo's five RBI, Wednesday's win over the Peacocks was the highest run total for the Leopards in a single game since 2005 … Easton Brenner is pacing Lafayette with a .343 batting average to go with 22 runs and 23 RBI, also walking 21 times for a .486 on-base percentage … Ethan Swidler is batting .313 with a team-high 40 hits, 10 doubles and 23 walks … Alex Barrist is hitting .310 with a league-leading four triples … Michael Zarrillo has totaled a team-leading 26 runs scored and 25 RBI while hitting .283 with a team-best four homers … Tristan Helmick leads the staff with a 4.79 ERA across 35.2 innings, registering 35 strikeouts to 16 walks … Joe Skapinetz (5.31 ERA) paces the team with 42.1 innings and a Patriot League-high 53 strikeouts … Mike Romano has tallied a 2.79 ERA in a team-leading 12 relief outings, logging 19.1 innings and getting three saves … Brenner brings a 26-game on-base streak into the weekend.
 
Series History
Navy holds a 104-54-2 record over Lafayette in the all-time series, but Lafayette has won three of the last four contests between the teams … The Mids have either won or tied the season series with Lafayette in 12 of the last 13 seasons … Last year saw Navy go 3-2 against the Leopards, sweeping a three-game series in Annapolis March 30-31 before dropping both games of an April 7 doubleheader in Easton that snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Mids … This season's series-opening doubleheader last Saturday in Annapolis saw Navy take the opener thanks to Brady Bendik's two-hit, complete-game shutout, while Ty DePerno's three-hit performance in the second game proved not enough for Navy as five different Leopards had multi-hit contests in the nightcap.
 
Up Next
Navy will continue league play on Wednesday with a 3:30 p.m. contest at Bucknell.