ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy baseball team (3-1) prepares for an action-packed weekend at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C, taking on a trio of quality opponents at South Carolina's Salute the Troops Weekend.
 
Joining fellow service academies Air Force and Army in Columbia, the Midshipmen will open with the rival Falcons (2-2) at 6 p.m. on Friday before facing the host Gamecocks (4-1) in a 1 p.m. contest Saturday, while the weekend concludes on Sunday with an 11 a.m. matchup against the Marshall Thundering Herd (2-1). Saturday's game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
 
Last Time Out
Led by Victor Izquierdo's career-high five RBI, Navy powered its way to an impressive 12-0 run-rule win over Delaware State in the Mids' home opener on Tuesday … Izquierdo was one of five Mids to record a multi-hit day, including a three-hit, three-run performance by Chris Klug, while starter Tyler Grenn set the tone on the mound by holding the Hornets to one hit over his five innings of action … Klug's three hits and three runs scored both marked career highs … Henry Mitchell's three runs scored matched his single-game career high … Grenn's five strikeouts are the most by the righty in a game since his April 13, 2025 start at Lafayette.
 
Bendik and Phypers Pick Up Weekly League Honors
Navy had a pair of honorees Monday when the Patriot League office announced its first set of weekly awards for the 2026 season, as junior right-hander Brady Bendik was named the Pitcher of the Week while freshman righty Owen Phypers collected Rookie of the Week distinction … Dominant starts from Bendik and Phypers helped propel the Mids to a season-opening series win at Queens, with both pitchers allowing just one run in their respective starts of five-or-more innings … Bendik pitched 5.2 innings of one-run ball in Navy's 12-1 opening-day win over Queens on Friday, finishing with one run allowed on four hits while limiting Queens to one walk and punching out six in 5.2 innings … Phypers made a statement in his collegiate debut Saturday, allowing just two hits in a five-inning start in Navy's 12-4 series-finale victory at Queens, as the rookie notched the win by striking out seven and held Queens to one run on two fifth-inning hits.
 
Triple-Dozen Offense
Scoring 37 runs over the course of its first four games, Navy has posted 12-run contests three times already this season … Notching a 12-1 win over Queens last Friday to kick off the spring, the 12 runs were the most by Navy in a season opener since a 13-3 win over Delaware State on Feb. 19, 2010 … With its 12-0 win against Delaware State on Tuesday, it marked the most runs by Navy in a home opener since a 20-4 win over Delaware State in the 2016 home opener … The 37 runs by Navy through its first four games this season are the most since the 2024 and 2012 teams scored the same amount of runs in their opening four contests.
 
A LOUD Start
Freshman centerfielder John Loudon started his collegiate career with a bang, posting a four-hit, five-RBI Navy debut in Navy's 12-1 run-rule victory last Friday over Queens on Opening Day … Loudon ripped a pair of doubles and a two-run home run in his first college start, also scoring three times as the Navy leadoff hitter … The rookie finished the weekend series at Queens with four runs, five hits and six RBI while walking twice … Loudon became the first Navy freshman to record five RBI in a game since Stephen Born drove in five at Delaware State on April 15, 2015 … Loudon's four hits are the most by a Navy true freshman since Zane Raba tallied a four-hit day against Bucknell on March 28, 2021.
 
Weekend Warriors
Evan Brown was a force in Friday games last season, hitting .375 with five doubles in nine Friday games, while Andrew Manning batted .344 on Fridays with five RBI and five runs scored in those nine games … Ty DePerno batted .383 on Saturdays last spring, scoring 13 times and driving in 12 more runs in 15 Saturday games … Noah Ditas hit .545 in seven Saturday appearances as a rookie, while Tyler Bouchard had a .474 average in 10 Saturday starts with eight steals and Evan Brown held a .352 average in 15 Saturday contests last spring … Andrew Manning posted a .291 average in 17 Sunday games last season with a pair of homers, while Bouchard batted .286 in eight Sunday games.
 
Road Dogs
Victor Izquierdo led the way with a .321 batting average on the road last season, racking up 10 RBI and nine runs scored with five doubles in 16 away games … Ty DePerno also hit .310 on the road during his rookie season, reaching base at a .464 clip … After hitting at a .300 clip in true road games as a rookie in 2024, Evan Brown continued his hot bat away from home with a.298 average in 2025 while adding 11 RBI and six extra-base hits … Andrew Manning also did damage on the road in 2025, hitting three doubles and four homers over 16 road starts to slug .444 … Brady Bendik was dominant over four road starts last year, posting a 2.40 ERA over 22.1 innings, tossing two complete games and striking out 13 batters.
 
Navy Notables vs. Air Force
Ty DePerno went 3-for-8 against Air Force in last year's Freedom Classic series, earning himself Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors … Over eight innings in two outings against AFA, Tyler Grenn has held the Falcons to two runs on five hits while punching out five for a 2.25 ERA … Ryan Bibb holds a 1.59 ERA across two appearances against the Falcons, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out six over 5.2 innings.
 
Scouting Air Force
The Falcons opened the season with four games at the MLB Desert Invitational, run-ruling Penn State on Opening Day before falling to Iowa in a 4-3 contest, scoring a 12-6 win over UConn and then dropping an 11-8 battle with Kansas State … Ben Niednagel leads Air Force with a .462 average while scoring four times and knocking in three RBI … Wyatt Hanoian is hitting .385 with two doubles and five RBI, while Luke Elmore's .333 average is supplanted by five RBI on the young campaign … Gaines Estridge leads the pitching staff after tossing six shutouts innings and limiting Penn State to two hits last Friday … Walker Zapp represented the Falcons on the 2026 Preseason All-Mountain West Team … Air Force finished last season with a 20-34 record, going 12-18 in Mountain West play.
 
Scouting South Carolina
The Gamecocks opened the season by taking two of three games in a weekend series with Northern Kentucky, before notching midweeks against Wofford and Gardner-Webb … KJ Scobey's .435 batting average paces South Carolina along with his two homers and six RBI … Reese Moore (.429) and Talmadge LeCroy (.421) are both batting above .400 as well, with LeCroy also tacking on four RBI … Connor Chicoli paces the team with a 1.50 ERA and six innings pitched across two appearances, striking out seven to no walks … Logan Sutter was named a Preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association … The Gamecocks wrapped up the 2025 season at 28-29 overall and 6-24 in SEC action.
 
Scouting Marshall
The Thundering Herd started the campaign with a pair of wins over Evansville, 5-2 and 18-11, but suffered a 10-9 loss to Kennesaw State … Marshall will begin the weekend with games on Friday and Saturday at the Citadel, before taking on Navy Sunday in Columbia and playing at Winthrop on Monday … Through the opening weekend Marshall leads the SBC with 10.7 runs per game and ranks fifth in the country with 2.64 homers per game … Tyler Kamerer is the team leader with a .455 average and sitting top-25 in the nation with three doubles, while Jackson Halter holds a .417 average after hitting for the cycle last Saturday … Griffin Miller returns to the staff after being named to All-SBC Second Team last year … the Herd posted a 33-26 record in 2025, tallying a 16-14 Sun Belt mark and reaching the conference tournament's semifinal round.
 
Series Histories
Navy holds a 33-35 all-time record against Air Force, including going 30-35 in neutral-site contests against the Falcons … The Falcons took two of three from the Mids last season at the Freedom Classic in Kinston, N.C., despite Navy's 7-2 win in the Saturday game that featured Tyler Grenn's quality start and a two-run Evan Brown homer … Friday will mark the first neutral-site game between Navy and Air Force to not take place in Kinston, N.C. since the 2010 season, when the Mids claimed a three-game series with the Falcons in Savannah, Ga. … Navy has played South Carolina once in program history, as the Mids posted a 6-1 win over the Gamecocks during the 1920 season en route to a 14-1 record … Sunday will mark the first all-time meeting between Navy and Marshall on the baseball field.
 
Up Next
Navy will head to regional foe Coppin State on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 2:30 p.m. at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, Md.