ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Missing two starters and having another go down early, the Navy baseball team (8-4) was unable to overcome the bad luck in a 3-1 loss to Dartmouth (3-4) on Friday evening at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
The Midshipmen were able to get early offense with Mason Ceccarelli's second home run of the season and saw Andrew Manning heat up with a pair of hits, but the Big Green nixed multiple Navy rally attempts to spoil Brady Bendik's first quality start of 2026.
 
As Navy began the day without Evan Brown and Chris Klug among others, Dartmouth got the first-inning lead when Nico Banez reached on an error to start the game and Taer Rodriguez doubled him home with a looping ball down the right-field line, while Axel Riess ripped his own double into the right-center gap to drive in Rodriguez for a 2-0 edge, but Bendik settled in and was able to toss scoreless frames the next four innings.
 
Ceccarelli answered back in the bottom of the first when he lifted a solo shot just inside the right-field foul pole, cutting the deficit to 2-1, but Navy's momentum took a hit when Henry Mitchell exited the game in the second diving for a Dartmouth single.
 
Navy stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the third and fifth innings, and Dartmouth grabbed some insurance in the sixth when Milo Suarez worked a leadoff walk, then advanced on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch before racing home on a groundout from Alejandro Puig, making it 3-1.
 
With the Navy bullpen working out of danger in the later innings, the Mids tried to comeback with walks in the seventh and eighth innings but Trey Sejnoha and Mac Burke shut the door, with Burke then retiring Navy in order to earn the save in the ninth.
 
Starter Izzy Parsky lasted four-plus innings for Dartmouth, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three, while Sejnoha got the win with 3.2 scoreless frames and five punchouts before Burke picked up the 1.1-inning save along with striking out two.
 
Getting the hard-luck loss, Bendik finished with three runs (one earned) over his six innings despite his five strikeouts. Jackson Clark then relieved him for 1.2 innings and held the Big Green to one hit while punching out three, and Adyn Lucero finished the game with 1.1 scoreless frames.
 
Game Notes
• Navy moves to 42-25-3 in the all-time series with Dartmouth.
• Bendik has recorded five-or-more strikeouts in every start this season.
• Izquierdo moved his on-base streak to six games.
 
Up Next
Navy and Dartmouth continue the series Saturday when they play a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader. The first game will be seven innings, while the nightcap will be a nine-inning cont