ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Returning to the friendly confines of Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium for a five-game homestand, the Navy baseball team (13-6, 1-2 Patriot League) kicks off its stay in Annapolis with a Wednesday afternoon showdown against non-conference opponent Maine (2-16, 0-0 America East).
 
Renewing their series for the first time since 2008, the Midshipmen and Black Bears are set for a 3:05 p.m. first pitch, as Navy will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day by debuting their green N-Star hats. Scott Wykoff will handle the play-by-play duties on the Navy Athletics YouTube channel and WNAV radio.
 
Archibald Earns PL Pitcher of the Week
Leading the Mids to a shutout in their first conference win of 2026, junior right-hander Matt Archibald was named the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week on Monday … Archibald went a career-high eight shutout innings at Lehigh on Saturday, helping Navy post a 3-0 win over the Mountain Hawks by striking out nine and limiting Lehigh to five hits … Archibald picked up his second winning decision in as many starts while twirling his third-straight quality start … On the season, the righty has racked up a 2.79 ERA in five starts with 44 strikeouts across 29 innings … This marks Archibald's second career Patriot League Pitcher-of-the-Week honor … It also marks the third time a Navy hurler has earned PL Pitcher of the Week this season after Brady Bendik claimed the award on Feb. 16 and Owen Phypers earned the accolade on March 2.
 
Back at Bishop
This marks Navy's 104th season playing at the ballpark now known as Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium, with the Mids beginning play at then-Lawrence Field in 1923 … Navy has gone 43-23 at home during head coach Chuck Ristano's three seasons at the helm … The Mids have won 11 and only lost four of the 17 home weekend series during Ristano's tenure.
 
2026 Home Cooking
Jake Hooten has posted a .308 batting average in eight home starts, also stealing seven bases in those games … Victor Izquierdo leads the team with eight RBI at home this season, also drawing three walks while batting .290 at home … Aidan Healy has posted a 0.00 ERA in three home appearances, striking out three in two innings.
 
Lifetime in Annapolis
Andrew Manning has mashed at the friendly confines of Max Bishop Stadium during his three seasons, posting a .336 career average in home games while racking up 55 runs scored and 36 RBI in 65 contests … Victor Izquierdo has hit .276 with 58 RBI across 66 home starts in his four seasons with the Mids, notching 17 doubles and three homers … Jack Killelea holds a lifetime home average of .347 over 35 games, scoring 25 runs while driving in 13 more … Matt Archibald has posted a 2.70 home ERA over 10 career outings in Annapolis, totaling a 4-3 record with 65 strikeouts in 40 innings while limiting opponents to a .153 average … Spencer Stephens holds a 2.51 home ERA and 6-0 record over 16 appearances at Max Bishop Stadium, punching out 31 in 28.2 innings while picking up three saves.
 
Midweek Mania
Navy is 3-0 in midweek games this year, notching home wins over Delaware State and Coppin State while picking up a road victory at Norfolk State last Tuesday … The Mids went 6-3 in midweek contests last season under head coach Chuck Ristano after going 5-4 in 2024 … Navy is hitting .320 as a team in midweeks this year … Victor Izquierdo holds a .500 batting average with nine RBI in midweeks this season, previously hitting .379 in midweek contests last year … Patrick Walsh has hit .400 in three midweek starts, doubling twice, while fellow rookies Tyler Cripe and John Loudon both batted .300 in three midweek appearances.
 
News & Notes
Navy has outscored opponents by a 26-1 margin in the second inning this season … Navy has posted a 2.79 team ERA over its last 10 games, striking out 97 batters in those 87 innings … Victor Izquierdo has batted .359 over his last 10 starts, scoring seven runs and driving in six more … Tyler Cripe is batting .345 over the Mids' last 10 games, homering twice and plating eight RBI … Ty DePerno has broken out with a .296 average over Navy's last 10 games, reaching base at a .387 clip … Patrick Walsh is hitting .373 when in the starting lineup this year, knocking in 10 RBI with eight extra-base hits.
 
Navy Among NCAA Stat Leaders
Navy's pitching has posted a league-leading 3.39 ERA that sits 22nd nationally, while the team's 1.34 WHIP also leads the Patriot League and ranks 51st in the nation … Navy is also 17th in the country and atop the league with 51 stolen bases as a team (18th nationally at 2.68 per game) … The Mids' 0.47 triples per game ranks fourth in the country … Patrick Walsh's four triples are tied for the Division I lead, while Henry Mitchell's nine hit-by-pitches rank 22nd in the country … Owen Phypers is tied for the 48th nationally with three victories, while his 2.08 ERA is 87th nationally … Brady Bendik's league-leading 1.84 ERA ranks 64th in the country … Matt Archibald's 44 total strikeouts are eighth in the country and his 13.66 strikeouts per nine innings rank 26th in Division I, with both marks leading the Patriot League.
 
Scouting Maine
The Black Bears started the season by taking games in their series with Duke and High Point but then lost a midweek at Charlotte before being swept by Winthrop, Dayton and Nebraska, entering Wednesday on a 13-game slide … Maine opens America East play this weekend with a three-game set at UMBC … The Black Bears had at least one Black Bear has earned an America East weekly honors the first four weeks of the season … Jack Donlin and Troy Carpenter earned Pitcher and Rookie of the Week on opening weekend, respectively, before Carpenter earned Rookie of the Week in week two for back-to-back honors, Rex Hauser earned the honor of Rookie of the Week in week three before Hunter St. Denis got the honor in week four … Quinn Murphy paces the team with a .348 average, while Juju Stevens has batted .308 with a team-best seven homers and 17 runs scored … Maine ranks 51st in the country with 27 homers.
 
Series History
Navy leads the all-time series with Maine by a 3-2 margin, with the series beginning in 1957 … The most recent meeting in the series came on March 15, 2008, as Navy captured a 5-4 home win thanks to Mitch Harris homering for the third-straight game and belting a go-ahead triple in the seventh … Navy and Maine's most historic matchup was in the 1982 NCAA Northeast Regional, as the Black Bears claimed a 4-3 victory over the Mids in the regional final on May 30.
 
Up Next
Navy hosts Bucknell in a three-game Patriot League series on Saturday and Sunday.