ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Kicking off its first Patriot League home series of the campaign, the Navy baseball team (15-7, 2-3 PL) split a doubleheader against league rival Bucknell (8-11, 4-1 PL) on Saturday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium, falling 7-3 in the opener before bouncing back for an 8-3 victory in the nightcap.
 
Despite a two-run home run by Ty DePerno giving the Midshipmen an early boost, the Bison rallied for six runs in the final frame to defeat Navy in the first half of the twin-bill, while Matt Archibald diced through Bucknell batters and got a pair of crooked numbers from his offense in the second contest of the day to even the weekend series.
 
Game One Recap
Overcoming a first-inning sacrifice fly from Bucknell's Garrett Mathias to open the scoring, Navy built an early 2-1 lead behind a DePerno's two-run homer just under the left-field videoboard in the bottom of the first. The two-run shot marked the first home run of the season for DePerno.
 
Following the rocky first inning, Navy starter Brady Bendik settled in with five scoreless frame and keeping momentum on the Mids' side. On the opposite side, DePerno was hit by Mikey Myro and advanced to third base on a pair of Bison miscues in the third, setting up Patrick Walsh to drive him in on an RBI single down the right-field line to extend the cushion to 3-1.
 
Down to their final two outs in the seventh, the Bison then erupted for their six runs on seven hits against Bendik and the Navy bullpen. Following a single up the middle and a fielding error to put two on, Zach Selfon tied the game with a two-run single to right before Ryan Facinelli cleared the loaded bases with a double to the wall in the left-center gap, giving Bucknell a 6-3 lead, and Deacon Bowne added an insurance run with a two-out RBI single to cap the rally.
 
Bendik (2-3) suffered the loss for Navy despite a strong start, as the righty struck out nine over 6.1 innings but ended with five runs (four earned) on seven hits. Southpaws Spencer Stephens and John Carroll both recorded an out in the seventh to help get Navy to the bottom of the inning, with two runs (one earned) going on Stephens' line.
 
Following Myro's five-inning start that saw him allow the three runs on three hits, Tyler Seidman (1-0) pitched two perfect innings of relief to earn his first win of the season.
 
Game Two Recap
With both squads going scoreless over the first two frames of the nightcap, the Mids built a 4-0 advantage in the third inning when they loaded the bases on a walk and two hit-by-pitches. Tyler Cripe kicked Navy into full-gear when he lined a two-run single to left and DePerno followed with a two-run double down the right-field line.

Navy tacked on to its lead two frames later to support Archibald shutting out the Bison over the first five innings, as Victor Izquierdo punched through an RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-0 in the fifth.
 
Bucknell attempted another rally with three runs in the top of the sixth, capitalizing on a double and two walks, as a Ty Lagoni hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, a Mathias sacrifice fly and Michael Trommer taking home on a double steal with Lagoni cut the Navy lead to 5-3. However, Navy immediately answered with its own three-run sixth, highlighted by an RBI double from Walsh into the right-center gap and a two-run infield single from Mason Ceccarelli to put the game out of reach.
 
Retiring 16 of his first 17 batters faced, Archibald (3-3) struck out seven batters over six innings to earn the win, allowing the three runs on just three hits. Tyler Grenn then slammed the door, tossing three perfect innings of relief with five strikeouts to secure his second save of the season.
 
Everett Garber (2-2) got the loss, surrendering five runs on four hits and six walks over five innings, while Ryan DeLaney gave up three more runs in 0.2 inning and Tyler Hawkins pitched a scoreless final 2.1 frames for the Bison.
 
Game Notes
• Navy moved to 101-88-1 in the all-time series with Bucknell.
• Cripe improved his hitting streak to nine games, moving the on-base streak to 10 contests.
• Ceccarelli shifted his own on-base streak to seven games.
• With two hits in the nightcap, Izquierdo climbed to a team-leading seven multi-hit games.
 
Up Next
Navy and Bucknell will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m.