ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Coming off its first weekend series of 2026, the Navy baseball team (2-1) is set to open its home slate on Tuesday afternoon, as the Midshipmen host Delaware State (0-4) in a 1 p.m. non-conference game at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
The first of 27 home contests, 2026 home opener will be streamed on the Navy Athletics YouTube channel and heard live on WNAV radio (1430 AM / 99.9 FM) with Scott Wykoff calling the action.
 
Navy in Home Openers
The Mids are 7-3 in their last 10 home openers, including winning five-straight home openers from 2018 to 2022 … Navy is 1-0-1 in home openers against Delaware State, posting a 20-4 win over the Hornets in the 2016 home opener and playing to a 5-5 tie after 11 innings in the 2009 home opener … Last year's home opener saw Navy tally a 7-4 win over Manhattan on Feb. 25, as Brock Murtha and Victor Izquierdo broke out at the plate to join Ty DePerno in tallying two-hit afternoons … Izquierdo has tallied four hits and four RBI over the Mids' last two home openers.
 
Midweek Mania
The Mids went 6-3 in midweek contests last season under head coach Chuck Ristano after going 5-4 in 2024 … Navy went 4-2 in midweek home games last year … Victor Izquierdo batted .379 in midweek contests last year, racking up 11 hits and 16 RBI in those nine games … Mason Ceccarelli posted a .333 average and .515 on-base percentage over seven midweek starts as a rookie … Ty DePerno hit .308 in midweeks last season while also tallying 12 walks in nine games for a .525 on-base clip … Jack Killelea batted .467 while making four midweek starts in 2025, scoring six times … Making three midweek appearances, Spencer Stephens tallied a 1.80 ERA across five innings while striking out seven.
 
I'm Coming Home
Navy finished 18-14 in home games last season, batting .273 as a team in Annapolis … Andrew Manning paced the Mids with a .340 home average in 2025, scoring 25 times and driving in 17 more runs in 31 home starts while also adding eight doubles and two homers … Jack Killelea hit .343 in just 22 home games last season, scoring 14 runs … Mason Ceccarelli totaled a .321 average and .542 on-base percentage in 21 home games, making 18 home starts … Tyler Bouchard batted .283 at home last year while also swiping 10 bases in 17 home starts … Spencer Stephens finished with a 2.53 ERA over 13 home outings, striking out 24 in 21.1 innings, while Matt Archibald had a 2.89 home ERA over eight appearances (six starts), punching out 43 in just 28 frames.
 
Navy Notables vs. DSU
Victor Izquierdo is 3-for-5 in his career against Delaware State with five walks, six runs scored and five RBI … Andrew Manning has batted .500 (4-for-8) against the Hornets in his career, totaling five runs scored and four RBI.
 
Series History
In a series that dates back to 1980, Navy holds the 27-7-1 all-time lead over Delaware State … Navy has won its last two meetings in the series back in 2024 … Posting a 17-7 home win on Feb. 27, 2024 that featured Eduardo Diaz and Ivan Aguirre both record four RBI, the Mids then notched a 17-3 victory at Delaware State on March 12 saw Zane Raba rack up a career-high four RBI to support a pitching staff that held the Hornets to just four hits.
 
Scouting Delaware State
The Hornets dropped four games at VMI in their opening series, being outscored 67-12 by Keydets for the weekend … Caleb King paces DSU with a .429 average, scoring twice and hitting a homer in the VMI series … Batting .250, Rosnell Lewis leads the Hornets with five RBI on the season … The 2025 season saw Delaware State go 7-34 overall and 6-24 in NEC action, as the returning Hassan Turner batted .306 across 39 games with 25 runs scored and 20 RBI.
 
Up Next
Navy will head to Columbia, S.C., this weekend for South Carolina's Salute the Troops Weekend. The Mids will face rival Air Force on Friday at 6 p.m. before squaring off with the host Gamecocks at 1 p.m. Saturday, while Navy finishes the weekend with a 11 a.m. contest on Sunday against Marshall.