ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Closing out the Patriot League portion of its regular season schedule this weekend, the Navy baseball team (22-20, 13-9 PL) heads to Lehigh (19-20, 8-11 PL) for a three-game series starting Friday at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park in Bethlehem, Pa.
 
Sitting tied for second in the league standing with rival Army and just a half-game back of first-place Holy Cross, the Midshipmen will open the series with the Mountain Hawks with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch on Friday afternoon before continuing the weekend with a 1:05 p.m. start on Saturday, while Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. All three games are slated to be broadcasted on ESPN+.
 
Postseason Watching
Navy can clinch a berth in the Patriot League Tournament with either a league win over Lehigh this series or one Lafayette league loss over the next two weekends … The Mids can clinch a semifinal-round home series (top-two seed) with a combination of three from Navy wins/Army losses OR a combination of six from Navy wins/Holy Cross losses … To clinch the regular-season title, Navy needs a combination of three from Navy wins/Army losses AND a combination of six from Navy wins/Holy Cross losses.
 
Kruer Named to Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List
Navy senior right-hander Landon Kruer was one of 56 relief pitchers named to the Midseason Watch List for the 20th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, members of the NCBWA announced Wednesday … Kruer is one of nine players named to the midseason list who were previously selected to the award's preseason watch list back in February … Kruer also appeared on the Stopper of the Year midseason watch list in 2023 … The NCBWA will announce the finalists on Wednesday, June 4, with the winner being named on Friday, June 13 at the 2025 College World Series.
 
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 .547 slugging percentage … Racking up 11 runs scored and nine RBI in that stretch, the sophomore has tallied four doubles and two home runs while also adding on five walks and two steals … The right fielder has also played perfect defense on 36 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 .277 with a league-leading six homers and a team-high 31 runs scored … Manning is also batting .311 in 22 league games this year with a team-best 16 RBI and five homers.
 
Road Dogs
Navy has tallied a 4.27 team ERA on the road this season, holding opponents to a .252 batting average … Ty DePerno is batting .300 in 11 road games as a rookie, getting on base at a .462 clip … Evan Brown has batted .317 in 12 road games while knocking in 11 RBI, improving his road career batting average to .309 … After batting .105 on the road last year, Tyler Bouchard is hitting .357 in seven away games this season to go with six walks … Tyler Grenn has tallied a 2.00 ERA this season in three road starts, recording 12 strikeouts to one walk in 18 innings … Brady Bendik holds a 2.16 ERA in three away starts in 2025, tallying nine strikeouts in 16.2 innings and pitching two complete games.
 
News and Notes
Mason Ceccarelli has a .457 on-base percentage in his last 10 games, drawing 12 walks in 10 starts while racking up seven runs scored and six RBI … Andrew Manning is batting .370 on Fridays this year, totaling 10 hits in eight Friday games, while Evan Brown is hitting .333 in those eight Friday contests … Tyler Grenn has a 1.66 ERA in three Friday starts in 2025, allowing just four runs in 21.2 innings … Ty DePerno is hitting .421 on Saturdays, scoring 10 runs and driving in eight more in 13 games, while Tyler Bouchard has batted .467 in nine Saturday games this season … Brady Bendik has notched a 1.82 ERA in four Saturday starts this year … Manning is also hitting .306 in 12 Sunday contests with two homers.
 
Career Snapshots in the PL
In 14 career Patriot League starts, Brady Bendik has maintained a 3.40 ERA over 76.2 innings, striking out 61 and notching a 7-5 record while recording four complete games … Tyler Grenn has posted a 4.45 ERA across 14 career appearances in league play, totaling 83 innings and 37 strikeouts while making 13 starts with three complete games … Landon Kruer has a 2.41 ERA in 34 career Patriot League games, racking up 45 strikeouts in 52.1 innings and totaling 23 saves … Evan Brown has batted .305 in 34 career league games, scoring 16 runs and driving in 18 RBI while walking 13 times … Ty DePerno has posted a .329 batting average in his first 22 league games, boasting 11 RBI and five extra-base hits … Hitting .291 in 29 league contests over the past two seasons, Jack Killelea has tallied 15 runs scored and nine RBI while drawing 12 walks … Andrew Manning has a .325 average in 47 career league games, scoring 31 runs and posting 29 RBI with seven homers.
 
League Leaders
Navy's pitchers have notched a Patriot League-best 4.90 ERA and have allowed a league-low 18 homers … Andrew Manning's six homers are tied for the conference lead … Henry Mitchell is fourth in the league with 12 hit-by-pitches, while Brock Murtha's 19 steals rank fourth in the PL as well … Tyler Grenn is third in the Patriot League with 59.2 innings pitched, while his 17 strikeouts looking stand fourth … Brady Bendik is pacing the league with a .205 opposing batting average, also ranking second with 2.98 ERA, fifth with 57.1 innings and sixth with 48 strikeouts … Landon Kruer's seven saves lead the league.
 
Navy Notables vs. Lehigh
Liam Golden has posted a 3.18 ERA in three career starts against Lehigh, going 2-0 with 11 strikeouts in 17 innings … Tyler Grenn posted a 1.80 ERA in two starts last year against Lehigh, racking up 10 strikeouts in 15 innings and notching a complete game … Landon Kruer holds a 0.00 ERA in five career appearances against Lehigh, not allowing a run in seven innings with five strikeouts and three saves … Andrew Manning is batting .455 in his career against Lehigh, totaling 10 hits in seven games with seven runs scored … Brock Murtha has a .263 average in 11 career games against Lehigh with five extra-base hits and 15 RBI.
 
Scouting Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend with a 19-20 overall mark and 8-11 in league play … After winning its last two games in a weekend series against Bucknell, Lehigh was on the losing end of a 13-12 slugfest with Saint Peter's on Wednesday despite Raffaele Rogers tallying four RBI … Leading the league with 39 RBI, Aidan Quinn is batting a team-high .333 with 11 doubles and four homers … Jake Whitlinger is tied for the league lead with six homers and is second in the league with 46 runs while batting .289 and stealing 18 bases … Liam O'Hearen has tallied a 5.86 ERA in a team-high 35.1 innings while tallying a team-best 39 strikeouts.
 
Series History
Winning 10 of its last 12 meetings against the Mountain Hawks, Navy has improved to 104-55 in the all-time series with Lehigh … Navy has captured the season series over Lehigh in each of the last three years, having tallied a combined 12-3 against the Mountain Hawks in that span … Last season saw the Mids sweep the five-game season series over Lehigh … This season's first meeting between the teams saw Navy win the April 6 opener, 5-3, powered by Henry Mitchell's three RBI, while the nightcap saw Lehigh pull off the 7-4 comeback win despite a four-walk game from Mason Ceccarelli and a two-hit contest by Andrew Manning.
 
Up Next
Navy will play its final midweek contest of the season at Virginia next Wednesday, with first pitch between the Mids and Cavaliers set for 4:05 p.m.