ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A battle for first place in the Patriot League is on deck this weekend in Annapolis, as the Navy baseball team (21-17, 12-7 PL) will host Holy Cross (19-19, 10-6 PL) for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
With the Crusaders a half-game behind the Midshipmen in the league standings entering the series, the two teams will open with a 1:05 p.m. doubleheader Saturday following Navy's Senior Day ceremony, as those games will air on ESPN+ with Scott Wykoff on the call. Navy and Holy Cross then close the series on Sunday with a nationally-televised contest at 2:06 p.m., with Rich Waltz and Todd Coffey covering the action for CBS Sports Network.
 
Senior Salute
Navy's five-man senior class will be honored prior to Saturday's doubleheader, as pitchers Owen Beisty, Liam Golden and Landon Kruer and infielders Ivan Aguirre and Brendan Munnelly will be celebrated alongside their families for four years of dedication to the Navy baseball program … A two-year starter early in his collegiate career, Aguirre has played in 86 games for Navy with a .214 average … Overcoming multiple injuries during his four years, Beisty has made 25 appearances on the mound for Navy, including two starts … A member of the weekend rotation his first two years before persevering through injuries later on, Golden has pitched in 32 games for the Mids, striking out 75 in 97.1 innings … The Patriot League and Navy career saves leader, the former walk-on catcher in Kruer has tallied a 3.17 career ERA across 67 relief outings … Serving as the team's captain this season, Munnelly is another former walk-on who has provided leadership on and off the field throughout his career.
 
Friendly Career Confines
Through three seasons at Navy, Brock Murtha is batting .340 at home with a .461 on-base percentage and .537 slugging clip, with 31 of his 83 hits going for extra bases and the infielder stealing 30 bags … In 48 career home games, Victor Izquierdo has 44 RBI and 48 hits, tallying a .289 home average … Andrew Manning has scored 44 times in 47 career home games, also collecting 53 hits and 35 walks to register a .342 average and .474 on-base clip … Landon Kruer has maintained a 2.39 career ERA in 33 home appearances, getting 46 strikeouts in 49 innings while notching 19 saves … In five home appearances this year, Matt Archibald has posted a 1.06 ERA across 17 innings, allowing five hits to 26 strikeouts … Mason Ceccarelli is batting .375 and reaching base at a .625 clip at home this season, scoring six times and driving in five RBI in 12 appearances while drawing 16 walks to two strikeouts … Navy has a .293 batting average at home under head coach Chuck Ristano, scoring 325 runs in 48 home games (6.77 runs per game) and stealing 103 bases in that span (2.15 steals per game).
 
Bendik Going the Distance
Sophomore right-hander Brady Bendik has tallied three-straight complete games heading into the weekend, including back-to-back complete-game shutouts on March 28 and April 5 and going the distance in his April 13 start as well … Bendik is the first Navy pitcher to throw complete-game shutouts in back-to-back starts since Noah Song on April 20 and April 27, 2019 … Bendik is also the first Navy pitcher to throw three-straight complete games since Song did so in 2019 (March 16, March 24, March 30) … In his last three starts, Bendik has tallied a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings, striking out 15 and holding opponents to a .182 batting average.
 
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 32 career saves in total … Currently leading the Patriot League with seven saves this season, Kruer has previously led the league in saves each of the previous three campaigns … Kruer's now-32 career saves also make him the active career leader across all three NCAA divisions.
 
Manning Powering Up
Andrew Manning has been heating up for Navy over his last 15 games, hitting .358 in that span with a .642 slugging percentage … Racking up 12 runs scored and 13 RBI in that stretch, the sophomore has tallied four doubles, a triple and three home runs while also adding on six walks and two steals … The right fielder has also played perfect defense on 32 chances … Manning has seven multi-hit games in that span, including a three-hit contest in the April 13 nightcap at Lafayette … On the season, Manning is hitting .266 with a league-leading six homers and a team-high 27 runs scored … Manning is also batting .297 in 19 league games this year with a team-best 15 RBI and five homers.
 
Return of the Jack
Jack Killelea had been on a tear offensively after returning from a preseason injury on March 7, batting .373 and reaching base at a .494 clip in his 21 starts before heading back to the injured list April 6 … 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.
 
News & Notes
Brock Murtha is hitting .318 in six games since returning from a three-game absence due to a military obligation, tallying three doubles and a homer in that span to go with four runs scored and four RBI … Of Murtha's 15 stolen bases this season, 14 of those steals have come at home … Mason Ceccarelli has batted .333 in Navy's last 10 games, tallying eight runs scored and eight RBI in 10 starts while also walking 15 times to eight strikeouts … Over Navy's last 10 games, Landon Kruer has made four scoreless appearances to post a 0.00 ERA across 8.2 inning while punching out 12 to just three hits … Tyler Bouchard has hit .467 and reached base at a .692 clip on Saturdays this season, scoring nine times and driving in seven more runs in nine Saturday starts while swiping eight bases … Ty DePerno is hitting .452 on Saturdays this year, including smacking a pair of homers and accounting for 10 runs and eight RBI … In three Saturday starts this year, Brady Bendik holds a 1.50 ERA over 18 innings with 20 strikeouts … Sundays have seen Andrew Manning bat .303 with a .425 on-base percentage, recording seven runs scored and six RBI in 11 Sunday starts … Kruer has shut down opponents on Sundays with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances, not allowing a run while striking out seven in six innings.
 
Career Snapshots in the PL
In 13 career Patriot League starts, Brady Bendik has maintained a 3.47 ERA over 70 innings, striking out 55 and notching a 7-4 record while recording four complete games … Tyler Grenn has posted a 4.44 ERA across 13 career appearances in league play, totaling 77 innings and 33 strikeouts while making 12 starts with three complete games … Landon Kruer has a 2.45 ERA in 33 career Patriot League games, racking up 44 strikeouts in 51.1 innings and totaling 23 saves … Evan Brown has batted .305 in 31 career league games, scoring 16 runs and driving in 16 RBI while walking 11 times … Ty DePerno has posted a .333 batting average in his first 19 league games, boasting 11 RBI and five 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 .320 average in 44 career league games, scoring 29 runs and posting 28 RBI with seven homers.
 
League Leaders
Navy's pitchers have notched a Patriot League-best 4.85 ERA and have allowed a league-low 18 homers … Ty DePerno's .446 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the Patriot League, while Andrew Manning's six homers are tied for the conference lead … Henry Mitchell is third in the league with 12 hit-by-pitches, while Brock Murtha's 15 steals rank fifth in the PL … Tyler Grenn is third in the Patriot League with 53.2 innings pitched, while his 14 strikeouts looking stand fifth … Brady Bendik is pacing the league with a .182 opposing batting average, also ranking second with 3.02 ERA, fifth with 50.2 innings and sixth with 42 strikeouts … Landon Kruer's seven saves lead the league.
 
Navy in the NCAA Stat Rankings
The Mids' 4.85 team ERA ranks 66th in the country while their 8.95 hits allowed per nine innings rank 82nd … Navy's 60 total stolen bases and 1.58 steals per game rank 73rd and 84th in Division I, respectively … Brock Murtha's 15 steals rank 94th among Division I leaders … Brady Bendik ranks 27th nationally with his 5.86 hits allowed per nine innings among qualified pitchers, while his 1.07 WHIP stands 70th in Division I and his 3.02 ERA places 83rd nationally … Landon Kruer's seven saves sit 15th in the nation, while Tyler Grenn's 2.18 walks allowed per nine innings ranks 100th in the country.
 
Navy Notables vs. Holy Cross
Jackson Beattie holds a 3.52 ERA in four career outings against Holy Cross, striking out 10 in 7.2 innings … Liam Golden has a 4.30 ERA in three career appearances against the Crusaders, holding a 2-0 record and racking up nine strikeouts from those outings … Jack Killelea has batted .316 in seven career games against Holy Cross, while Andrew Manning has hit .375 with nine RBI in 10 career contests against the Crusaders … Brock Murtha has hit .278 in 15 career contests against the Crusaders, scoring 14 runs and stealing four bases.
 
Scouting Holy Cross
The Crusaders enter the weekend winning three-straight and six of their last eight games, moving them to 19-19 overall and 10-6 in league play … After splitting a four-game series with Army and picking up a midweek win over Yale on April 9, Holy Cross bounced back after a series-opening walk-off loss at Bucknell last Saturday by claiming both games of a Sunday twin-bill with the Bison and then heading to West Point for a 12-6 win over the Black Knights on Wednesday … Ranking second in the Patriot League, Chris Baillargeon has paced Holy Cross with a .371 average and 28 walks for a .500 on-base percentage, also tallying a league-leading 49 hits … Hitting .307, CJ Egrie has tallied a league-high 44 runs scored and 26 steals … With a .333 that ranks third in the league, Jimmy King shares the PL lead with 13 doubles and 49 hits … Posting a 3.95 ERA, Danny Macchiarola leads the team with 54.2 innings (second in the PL) and 53 strikeouts (third in the PL) … Ranking fourth in the league with a 3.60 ERA, Jaden Wywoda has tallied 49 strikeouts in 50 innings of work while tallying a league-high six wins … Jake Lenahan is tied for second in the league with four saves across 11 relief outings, registering a 3.33 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 27 frames … Holy Cross' 92 stolen bases rank 11th nationally while its 2.42 steals per game stands 18th in the country … The Crusaders' 75 doubles also rank 59th in the nation … Egrie's 26 steals put him 12th among Division I leaders this season.
 
Series History
Navy holds a 93-57 edge in the all-time series with Holy Cross … The Mids are 5-5 under head coach Chuck Ristano against the Crusaders … Navy is 8-2 in its last 10 home games against the Crusaders and 14-6 in Holy Cross' last 20 contests in Annapolis … Navy has won or split its last eight regular-season series with Holy Cross, dating back to the 2016 season … After Navy swept the season series in 2023, the Mids then went 3-2 in the 2024 regular season against Holy Cross before battling back to claim the best-of-three Patriot League semifinal series against the Crusaders in Annapolis last May … The two teams opened this year's regular-season series with a March 30 doubleheader in Worcester, where the Crusaders took both games, 9-0 and 10-0.
 
Up Next
Navy will wrap up the quick homestand on Tuesday, hosting William & Mary in a 5 p.m. non-conference contest.