ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Surviving a two-out rally in the ninth inning, the Navy baseball team (6-2) held on Friday afternoon for a 5-4 win over St. Bonaventure (3-5) at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
 
The Midshipmen used another strong outing from Brady Bendik, who worked in the sixth inning for the second-straight start, while both John Loudon and Henry Mitchell tallied multi-hit games and Victor Izquierdo accounted for two RBI for the Mids, outshining three-hit days from the Bonnies' Anthony Fernandez and Chris Hoalcraft.
 
After Bendik danced around a pair of runners in the top of the first, Navy opened the scoring in the bottom of the frame, as John Loudon singled through the left side, stole second and tagged up to reach third before dashing home on Izquierdo's groundout for the 1-0 lead. St. Bonaventure evened the game in the fourth when Hoalcraft led off with a chopping single to the mound and eventually scored on Antonio Cordeiro's double to left.
 
The Mids retook the in the fifth, as Mason Ceccarelli laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt with runners at the corners to drive in Jake Hooten, while Navy made it 3-1 a few pitches later when Izquierdo cranked a double into the left-center gap to plate Mitchell.
 
Putting two runners scoring position in the seventh, the Bonnies tied the game for the second time thanks to Fernandez ripping a two-run single into left that knocked in Brian Carrothers and Joey Bruno, but Navy responded once again following the seven-inning stretch, as a St. Bonaventure fielding error put Evan Brown on, who then raced home on Hooten's double down the left line, making it 4-3 Mids. Another bunt single from Mitchell right after put Hooten on third, allowing the rookie to score on a double-play ball and increase the lead to 5-3.
 
The Bonnies threatened with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth, but Spencer Stpehens dug deep with a Carrothers strikeout, an Alex Hebenstreit sacrifice fly and a Christopher Florentino pop-out to keep the Mids in the lead at 5-4. With SBU loading the bases again in the ninth by working three walks, Aidan Healy shut the door on the one-run win, inducing the Cordeiro groundout to close out his first collegiate save.
 
Bendik wrapped up Friday with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings while holding the Bonnies to one run on five hits, while Tyler Grenn followed with two runs allowed in an inning-plus, Stephens was on the hook for one run in his two frames despite two strikeouts and Healy retired the second batter he faced for his 0.1-inning save.
 
David James lasted five innings for the Bonnies by allowing three runs on five hits while striking out six. Mark Holm then relieved him for an inning, surrendering two unearned runs and suffering the loss, while Joey Calabretti finished the game by tossing two no-hit frames.
 
Game Notes
• Navy moves to 1-0 in the all-time series with St. Bonaventure.
• Bendik's seven strikeouts are the most by the righty since a seven-punchout outing on April 5, 2026 against Lafayette.
• Ty DePerno holds a five-game on-base streak heading into Saturday, getting hits in his last three games.
 
Up Next
Navy and St. Bonaventure continue the series with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on Saturday