ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Winning eight of its last nine games, the Navy baseball team (26-14) returns home on Wednesday evening for a non-conference showdown with in-state foe Maryland Eastern Shore (7-27) at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Marking the Midshipmen's lone home contest in a nine-game stretch, Wednesday's tilt with the Hawks set for a 5:05 p.m. first pitch.
 
Tyler Cripe Claims Patriot League Player- and Rookie-of-the-Week Awards
Navy freshman Tyler Cripe picked up a pair of honors from the Patriot League office on Monday, being named the league's Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week … Cripe put together an impressive week with a .368 average over five games, including scoring five times and knocking in five RBI during Navy's four-game sweep over Holy Cross in Worcester … The infielder went 7-for-19 on the week with two homers, also drawing three walks and stealing two bases while recording a sacrifice fly for the Mids … This marks Cripe's first time winning the league's Player- or Rookie-of-the-Week accolades … He becomes the second Mid to take home Player of the Week this season and is also the fourth different Navy freshman to garner the Rookie-of-the-Week honor.
 
Midweek Mania
Navy is 4-3 this year in midweek games, hitting .260 … Victor Izquierdo is batting .333 and slugging .630 in midweek games, also accounting for six runs and 11 RBI … Evan Brown has batted .333 in three midweek appearances … Jackson Beattie holds a 0.00 ERA in four midweek relief appearances, holding opponents to three hits while striking out seven in 8.1 innings … Ian Brown has a 5.51 ERA as a midweek starter this year, striking out 16 in 16.1 innings across his five midweek starts.
 
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 51-28 at home during head coach Chuck Ristano's three seasons at the helm … The Mids have won 13 and only lost five of the 20 home weekend series during Ristano's tenure.
 
2026 Home Cooking
Navy has gone 15-7 in home games this year … Will Howard is hitting .300 at home this spring while reaching base at a .491 clip … Chris Klug has batted .298 in 15 home games this year, scoring 13 times and knocking in seven RBI … Victor Izquierdo leads the team with 14 runs scored and 19 RBI at home this season while batting .275 … Patrick Walsh has tallied six doubles, a triple and a homer along with 18 RBI in 22 home games … Timmy Virtudes holds a 0.00 ERA in three home relief outings, not allowing a run over 6.1 innings … Jackson Beattie has a 2.25 home ERA through seven appearances, striking out 12 in 12 innings … Brady Bendik has a 1.93 ERA in five home starts, getting 39 strikeouts in 32.2 frames, and Matt Archibald holds a 2.48 home ERA across five starts, punching out 56 in 32.2 innings.
 
Lifetime in Annapolis
Andrew Manning has mashed at the friendly confines of Max Bishop Stadium during his three seasons, posting a .315 career average in 78 home games while racking up 60 runs scored and 45 RBI … Victor Izquierdo has hit .274 with 67 RBI across 79 home starts in his four seasons with the Mids, notching 20 doubles and four homers … Matt Archibald has posted a 2.67 home ERA over 13 career outings in Annapolis, totaling a 7-3 record with 99 strikeouts in 60.2 innings while limiting opponents to a .150 average.
 
Navy Among NCAA Stat Leaders
Navy's pitching has posted a league-leading 3.54 ERA that sits eighth nationally, while the team's 1.29 WHIP also leads the Patriot League and ranks 24th in the nation … The Mids are ninth in the country with five shutouts pitched … Navy is also seventh in the country and atop the league with 116 stolen bases as a team (12th nationally at 2.90 per game) … The Mids' 0.40 triples per game ranks sixth in the country … Brady Bendik's 1.65 ERA ranks seventh in the country, while Tyler Grenn's 2.05 ERA is 25th and Matt Archibald's 2.36 ERA is 42nd nationally … Archibald's 91 total strikeouts are third in the country and his 13.43 strikeouts per nine innings rank 13th in Division I, with both marks leading the Patriot League, while Bendik's 76 strikeouts sit 23rd in the nation … Archibald's seven victories rank ninth in the country … Grenn's and league-best 0.93 WHIP sits 15th in the country, while his 1.23 walks allowed per nine innings rank 14th nationally and first in the Patriot League.
 
Scouting Maryland Eastern Shore
The Hawks enter the week 11th in the NEC standings after being swept by Mercyhurst, while Joshua Caldwell finished 5-for-9 with two doubles in the series … Jonathan Gonzalez Perez has paced the team with a .336 average, 10 homers and 45 RBI … Ansel Carson has batted .315 and scored 32 times with six doubles, while Caldwell is third on the team with a .314 average … Richard De Jesus paces the team with 11 starts on the mound, posting a 5.91 ERA over 53.1 innings, while Janluis Santiago has made a team-best 12 relief outings.
 
Series History
Navy is 37-6 in the all-time series with Maryland Eastern Shore, winning the last two meetings … Last year's meeting saw Mason Ceccarelli cap off a career day at the plate as the walk-off hero, propelling the Mids to a 7-6 win over the Hawks in 11 innings on April 2.
 
Up Next
Second-place Navy will head to league-leading Bucknell for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday in Lewisburg, Pa., with first place in the Patriot League standings on the line.