COLUMBIA, S.C. – Sparked by a three-run second inning, the Navy baseball team (4-1) used timely hitting and strong pitching to take down service academy rival Air Force (2-3) on Friday night at the University of South Carolina's Founders Park in Columbia, S.C.
 
In its opening game of the Gamecocks' Salute the Troops Weekend, the Midshipmen saw Andrew Manning launch his first home run of the season to join John Loudon in tallying two-hit evenings, while Brady Bendik's five shutout frames and Spencer Stephens three-inning save highlighted the pitching performance against the Falcons.
 
With his classmate Bendik working out of an early bases-loaded jam with one out in the first inning without any damage, Manning delivered the opening salvo of the night when he blasted a 402-foot home run into the right-field alley to start the top of the second, while a string of three hits in a row from Mason Ceccarelli, Patrick Walsh and Tyler Cripe later in the inning swelled the lead to 3-0 Navy.
 
As Bendik continued to keep the Falcons off the board, Navy added to its lead in the fifth inning when Henry Mitchell doubled off the right-field wall and eventually came home on Chris Klug's fielder's choice.
 
Air Force clawed back to make it a one-run game in the sixth, as Brooks Burdine walked and stole second before coming home on Christian Taylor's RBI single for the Falcons' first run, while Landon Boyd followed with a two-run homer to right to make it 4-3.
 
With Stephens coming out of the bullpen for the seventh to hold the Falcons' bat in check, the Mids answered back in the eighth after a pair of hit-by-pitches brought up Manning, who ripped an opposite-field single to drive in Loudon for a 5-3 lead.
 
Stephens continued to keep Air Force grounded in the bottom of the eighth and then retired the side in the ninth to close out the rivalry win and pick up his first save of the campaign.
 
 Bendik finished with five strikeouts in his five innings, limiting Air Force to three hits to earn the win, while Jackson Clark pitched the sixth and allowed three runs before Stephens held the Falcons hitless over the final three frames.
 
In the other dugout, Gaines Estridge racked up 10 strikeouts over his seven frames but surrendered four runs on seven hits in the loss, while Davis Rhyne gave up a run in 0.1 innings and Joey Collier struck out three across the final 1.2 innings.
 
Head Coach Chuck Ristano Postgame
"That's a really good win against an academy rival. Admittedly, we have a lot of things we can still clean up, but anytime you play a game with that level of intensity it's good to see the competitive gene come out in our guys. It was a long, grinding game and if Brady doesn't bite down in the first inning, it probably goes in a different direction. Teams often go as their starting pitcher goes and Brady just kept making big pitch after big pitch. It's also energizing when you leave the yard, and it was good to see Manning jolt some life into us with his home run."
 
"I'd like to tighten up the box score a bit … we gave away a few too many free bases, and credit to their starter as we let him settle in a bit. I think for the majority of these first five games, we've done really well with our two-strike hitting, but today it most definitely could've been better. In games where the box score seems to tilt in the wrong direction, mental toughness and the ability to keep pushing forward is a trait that I'm proud we put on display today."
 
Game Notes
• Navy now holds a 34-35 all-time record against Air Force.
• Bendik has gone five-or-more innings in 10 of his last 11 outings for the Mids.
• Manning's two-hit night was the 32nd multi-hit game of his career.
• Ceccarelli has now recorded a hit in every game this season and has an eight-game hitting streak dating back to last season.
• Navy did not draw a walk offensively on Friday, the first time the Mids have done that since March 28, 2025 at Army (5-1 Navy win).
 
Up Next
Navy will take on weekend host South Carolina on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.