ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In what turned into a pitchers' duel between a pair of rookies, Garrett Mathias' two-run first-inning home run proved the difference as Bucknell defeated the Navy baseball team, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of their Patriot League series at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
While the Midshipmen (15-8, 2-4 PL) saw Owen Phypers allow just one over his next six frames after the first-inning blemish, the Bison got an impressive outing from Brady Hoar, who worked into the eighth inning and only surrendered two hits to Navy over the first seven innings. Offensively, Billy Fluharty paced the Bucknell offense with a 4-for-5 performance, while Will Howard was a bright spot for the Mids by accounting for two of the team's five hits.
 
Bucknell took an early lead after Fluharty led off the game with a single, as Mathias followed its up with a two-out, two-run shot to dead-center to hand the Bison a 2-0 edge before the Mids came to bat.
 
With both freshman starters locking in, Hoar faced just two batters over the minimum over the first seven frames, while Phypers allowed just three batters to reach from the second through sixth innings.
 
Fluharty was able to break the scoreless streak by adding an RBI single in the seventh inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Navy finally responded and broke the shutout in the bottom of the eighth when Chris Klug and Andrew Manning single before an RBI groundout by Howard scored Klug, cutting the deficit to 3-1, but a ninth-inning rally fell short despite Ty DePerno's two-out hit bringing the tying run to the plate.
 
Hoar (3-2) notched the win as he allowed just one run on four hits, striking out two and issuing no walks over his seven-plus innings, while Jake Schultz relieved him in the eighth and pitched two scoreless frames, striking out three batters to pick up his first save of the season.
 
Phypers (3-2) took the loss for Navy, yielding three runs on eight hits and one walk over seven innings. Jackson Clark kept the Mids within striking distance, providing two scoreless innings of relief.
 
Game Notes
• Navy shifted to 101-89-1 in the all-time series with Bucknell.
• DePerno moved his hitting streak to five games with the ninth-inning single.
• Phypers' seven innings matched a season high for the rookie.
 
Up Next
Navy will close out the homestand with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch Tuesday against Saint Joseph's.