EASTON, Pa. – After a narrowly falling in the weekend opener, the Navy baseball team (19-17, 10-7 PL) clawed back in the nightcap to earn the doubleheader split with Lafayette (11-25, 7-7 PL) on Sunday afternoon, as the Midshipmen suffered a 4-3 loss to the Leopards before rallying for a 7-4 victory at Hilton Rahn '51 Field at Kamine Stadium in Easton, Pa.
 
After Brady Bendik tossed his third-straight complete game in an opening game of the twin-bill that saw the go-ahead run get to the plate in the final inning, Navy bounced back late in the second game courtesy of a shutdown bullpen and home runs from Andrew Manning and Brock Murtha.
 
Game One Recap
Navy found itself down early, as a first-inning throwing error led to Lafayette taking a 1-0 lead on an Easton Brenner sacrifice fly. A Victor Izquierdo double and three-straight walks in the top of the second then plated Navy's first run of the day but the Leopard retook the lead in the bottom of the frame on Ethan Swidler's double that knocked in Bode Grieve.
 
After Murtha doubled to start the third, Evan Brown drove him in on a single up the middle to tie the game again, while Lafayette grabbed its lead back in the home half of the inning on a Michael Zarrillo single that plated Brenner. Leaving three runners on in the fourth, the Leopards extended their lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning on an Alex Barrist RBI single.
 
Down two in the seventh, Navy started to rally when Tristan Rucker singled to lead off the frame while Mason Ceccarelli later singled home Owen Peterson to cut it to 4-3, but Mike Romano closed out the Mids by inducing the game-ending groundout.
 
Joe Skapinetz picked up the win with a six-inning, two-run outing that saw him limit Navy to four hits while striking out eight, and Mike Romano finished with one run and two hits allowed in the one-inning save. For Navy, Brady Bendik pitched his third-straight complete game but suffered the loss after surrendering four runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings, punching out two Leopards.
 
Game Two Recap
Lafayette took the early lead in the first inning again, as three singles over the first four batters was capped off with Matt Colella driving in Swidler for the opening run. After a Navy error kept the second inning alive, the Leopards then added to the lead with Barrist's two-run triple into right field.
 
The third inning saw Navy finally get on the board, as Tyler Bouchard singled to lead off the frame and stole second before eventually racing home on Brown's own single up the middle, but Lafayette made it 4-1 in the bottom of the frame when Zarrillo smacked a lead-off double and scored on Jack Mislan's single.
 
Navy began its comeback in the fifth when Manning ripped a two-out single up the middle to plate Brown and cut the Lafayette edge to 4-2, but Leopards reliever Owen Basso stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the sixth to keep the Mids at bay. After Spencer Stephens worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth, Izquierdo drew a two-out walk in the seventh to set up Manning for a 367-foot blast over the right-center fence, tying the game at 4-4.
 
Bouchard then doubled in the eighth to bring up Ceccarelli, who laced a single to drive in Bouchard for the go-ahead run, while Murtha hit an opposite-field homer right after to grow the lead to 7-4. Coming in to begin the eighth, Landon Kruer worked around two hits in his first frame to keep the Leopards in check and then got a flyout and two strikeouts to retire them in order in the ninth, securing the Mids' 19th win and his sixth save of the year.
 
After Tyler Grenn allowed four runs (two earned) in 3.2 innings despite five strikeouts, Stephens followed with 3.1 scoreless innings and four strikeouts to earn the win, while Kruer faced seven batters in his six-out save.
 
Trace Florio lasted 5.1 innings in the start for Lafayette, giving up two runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts, while Basso suffered the loss with five runs allowed in 2.2 frames and Jeremiah Holder recorded the final three outs for the Leopards.
 
Game Notes
• Navy now holds a 105-55-2 record over Lafayette in the all-time series.
• Stephens' 3.1 innings matched his career high.
• Bendik is the first Navy pitcher to throw three-straight complete games since Noah Song in 2019 (March 16, March 24, March 30).
• Brown has a team-high 10 multi-hit games this season.
• Ceccarelli and Ty DePerno both enter Monday on eight-game on-base streaks.
• Manning's three hits and three RBI in the nightcap both set season highs.
 
Up Next
Navy and Lafayette will close the series on Monday. First pitch is slated for 12 noon in Easton.