ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Handing the Midshipmen their fourth walk-off win in their last six home games,
Mason Ceccarelli connected on a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning to lift the Navy baseball team (14-6) to a thrilling 9-8 victory over Maine (2-17) on Wednesday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
After the Black Bears had stormed back to tie it in the sixth during a back-and-forth contest, Navy found a way to manufacture the winning run in the final frame, as Ceccarelli's game-winning hit capped off a strong day for the Mids' lead-off hitter, who reached base three times and scored a pair of runs before driving in
John Loudon to seal Navy victory.
While the game ended with late-inning heroics, it started with Navy jumping out to an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings. After
Patrick Walsh got the Mids on the board in the first with a bases-loaded RBI groundout and
Tyler Cripe ripped an RBI single through the right side to start the second-inning scoring, a two-run play on
Victor Izquierdo's fielder's choice paired with a throwing error doubled the hosts' edge.
Maine began to chip away at the deficit, sparked by a bases-clearing, three-run triple down the right-field line from Rex Hauser in the third to get the Black Bears within one run, while a pair of walks in the fourth set up Troy Carpenter for a two-run double that handed the Black Bears their only lead of the day at 5-4.
Kickstarted by
Tyler Bouchard singling and stealing second to begin the bottom of the fourth, Navy quickly retook the lead with a four-run frame, as Cripe punched his second RBI single of the game to tie the score, while Walsh's own RBI single up the middle and
Jake Hooten's two-run double down the left-field line with two outs grew the Mids' advantage to 8-5.
The Black Bears erased the deficit entirely in the sixth behind a sudden display of power, as Juju Stevens launched a lead-off home run to left field and Carpenter belted a two-run shot to center two batters later to tie the game at 8-8, part of a day where Carpenter finished just a single shy of the cycle.
Following Maine's sixth-inning rally, the bullpens managed to quiet the offenses, capped by Navy's
Jackson Clark keeping the Black Bears in check over 1.1 perfect innings, setting the stage for the home half of the ninth.
After
Will Howard started the bottom of the ninth with a lead-off walk, Loudon pinch-ran and quickly advanced to second and third on a pair of wild pitches. Following a Bouchard strikeout, Ceccarelli worked the count full before he laced a single past the third-base bag, allowing Loudon to trot home for the winning run and improve Navy to an 8-2 record at home in 2026.
With
Ian Brown going three innings in his second start of the year, allowing three runs while striking out five, the Mids' bullpen saw
Aidan Healy and
Tyler Grenn both toss a frame before
Adyn Lucero recorded an out, while
Jackson Beattie logged 2.1 innings and handed it to Clark (3-0), who closed it out with two strikeouts.
On the Maine side, Erik Swenson allowed four runs in a 1.2-inning start before giving way to Sebastian Holt, who allowed four more runs in 2.1 frames. Pierce Friedman and Marshall Loch then pitched a scoreless inning each and Tommy Martin twirled two shutout frames before Brennan Rumpf (0-1) came on for the ninth, suffering the loss with one down.
Game Notes
• Navy moved to 4-2 in the all-time series with Maine, winning the last two meetings in the series.
• The last time Navy started 8-2 through its first 10 home games was 2021.
• Brown's five strikeouts matched his career high, set last Tuesday in his start at Norfolk State.
• Cripe's two-hit effort extended his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to eight-straight contests.
• Bouchard's four stolen bases on Tuesday are tied for second in program single-game history, becoming the first Navy player with four steals in a game since
Brock Murtha against UMES on Feb. 25, 2025.
Up Next
Navy hosts Bucknell in a three-game Patriot League series on Saturday and Sunday.
