ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A battle between the top two squads in the Patriot League awaits the Navy baseball team this weekend, as the Midshipmen (27-14, 13-7 PL) head to Bucknell (21-19, 14-6 PL) for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at Depew Field in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
The second-place Mids are riding a five-game winning streak as they travel to the league-leading Bison, as eight-straight league victories have propelled Navy to just one game back of Bucknell in the standings. Saturday's doubleheader is set for a 12-noon first pitch while the series finale on Sunday is slated for a 12-noon start as well, as Sunday's action will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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.
 
April Thaw
Navy has gone 11-3 in the month of April, hitting .289 as a team while tallying a team ERA of 3.89 … Patrick Walsh is leading the team with a .400 this month, tallying 11 runs scored and a team-best 13 RBI while doubling five times … Tyler Cripe has hit .364 in April with 12 runs and 11 RBI, while Chris Klug is batting .333 this month with a team-high 13 runs scored … Brady Bendik has a 0.83 ERA in three April starts, tallying 23 strikeouts over 21.2 innings … Matt Archibald has a 1.37 ERA over his three April starts, punching out 32 in 19.2 innings, while Tlyer Grenn has a 1.50 ERA over 18 innings this month.
 
Return of the Brown Bear
Evan Brown is hitting .314 in 16 appearances (14 starts) since returning from injury, logging nine runs and 13 RBI … Brown has also swiped four bases in that stretch and walked six times … Additionally, he has provided a steady hand in the infield, splitting time between second base and third base.
 
Career Snapshots in the PL
In 21 career Patriot League starts, Brady Bendik has maintained a 2.87 ERA over 125.1 innings, striking out 118 and notching a 10-7 record while recording six complete games … Tyler Grenn has posted a 3.95 ERA across 22 career appearances in league play, totaling 114 innings and 64 strikeouts while making 16 starts with three complete games and two saves … Evan Brown has batted .299 in 52 career league games, scoring 28 runs and driving in 29 RBI while walking 18 times … Andrew Manning has a .289 average in 70 career league games, scoring 40 runs and posting 43 RBI with eight homers … Ty DePerno has batted .301 through his first 37 league games over the last two years, racking up 21 runs scored and 19 RBI … Matt Archibald holds a 1.89 ERA over 11 career Patriot League starts, totaling 84 punchouts over 62 frames … John Carroll has a 2.08 ERA in six career relief outings in league play, allowing just three runs in 8.2 innings … Victor Izquierdo has hit .286 in league play all-time with 36 runs and 41 RBI, while Jack Killelea has a .284 career league average.
 
2026 Weekend Warriors
This season has seen the Mids go 22-11 over 33 weekend games … Patrick Walsh holds a .310 average on the weekends, racking up 16 extra-base hits and 24 RBI in 32 games … Tyler Cripe is batting .313 on the weekends with 22 RBI in 29 starts … Spencer Stephens holds a 1.88 ERA on the weekends, logging 14.1 innings with 16 strikeouts over eight outings … Navy is 12-4 on Saturdays, hitting .252 while holding opponents to a .224 average … Cripe is hitting .353 on Saturdays with 17 RBI, slugging at a .608 clip, while Victor Izquierdo has batted .305 in 16 Saturday games with 12 runs scored and 11 steals … Tyler Grenn is pacing the team with a 0.82 ERA over four Sunday appearances, racking up seven strikeouts to one walk in 11 innings … Patrick Walsh has hit .423 on Sundays with a .846 slugging percentage, while Jake Hooten is hitting .313 in Sunday games.
 
Road Dogs Redux
The Mids have posted a .257 team batting average on the road and a 3.00 team ERA, compiling a 9-7 away record this season … Evan Brown holds an all-time road average of .295 with 27 RBI in 41 career road games, hitting .281 in 12 road games this year … Victor Izquierdo has a .323 road average this season to go with 16 runs scored and 10 RBI … A trio of freshmen have been big contributors on the road, with Tyler Cripe hitting .362 alongside a team-best 19 RBI, while Patrick Walsh is batting .319 with six extra-base hits on the road and John Loudon has batted .310 with eight RBI in road games … Jackson Clark has a perfect 0.00 ERA over five road outings, striking out 14 in 10.1 innings … Brady Bendik has a 1.63 ERA over four road starts, striking out 32 to just eight walks in 27.2 innings … Tyler Grenn has a 1.64 road ERA in 11 innings, while Matt Archibald holds a 2.22 road ERA across 28.1 innings with 35 strikeouts.
 
News & Notes
Navy has outscored opponents by a 48-5 margin in the second inning this season … Aidan Healy has a 0.00 ERA over Navy's last 10 games, totaling 3.2 innings in three outings while striking out four and walking none … Patrick Walsh is hitting .424 in the Mids' last 10 games, racking up five extra-base hits with eight runs scored and eight RBI … Tyler Cripe is also batting .342 over the last 10 contests, scoring nine times and driving in 10 runs, while Chris Klug is hitting .324 with 11 runs scored in those 10 contests … Cripe has batted .327 with 12 runs scored and 13 RBI in his 15 games at shortstop … Evan Brown is batting .333 when playing third base, while Patrick Walsh has a .405 average as the designated hitter.
 
Navy Among NCAA Stat Leaders
Navy's pitching has posted a league-leading 3.52 ERA that sits seventh 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 sixth in the country and atop the league with 118 stolen bases as a team (13th nationally at 2.88 per game) … The Mids' 0.39 triples per game ranks sixth in the country … Brady Bendik's 1.65 ERA ranks sixth in the country, while Tyler Grenn's 2.05 ERA is 22nd and Matt Archibald's 2.36 ERA is 40th nationally … Archibald's 91 total strikeouts are fourth 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 24th in the nation … Archibald's seven victories rank ninth in the country … Grenn's league-best 0.93 WHIP sits 14th in the country, while his 1.23 walks allowed per nine innings rank 15th nationally and first in the Patriot League.
 
Navy Notables vs. Bucknell
Matt Archibald has a 3.45 ERA against Bucknell in three career starts, logging 21 strikeouts in 1.52 innings, while Brady Bendik has pitched to a 3.80 ERA in four career starts against the Bisons, striking out 23 to just seven walks in 21.1 innings … Evan Brown has hit .333 against Bucknell in eight career games, knocking in eight RBI … Ty DePerno has hit .320 in eight starts all-time against Bucknell, while Victor Izquierdo is batting .273 in his career against the Bison … Tyler Grenn has a 3.44 ERA in four career appearances against Bucknell.
 
Scouting Bucknell
After avoiding the weekend sweep at Army by claiming the series finale over the Black Knights, the Bison played close in a 9-7 loss at Penn State … In conference play, Bucknell leads the Patriot League with a .275 batting average and ranks second to Navy with a 4.81 ERA … Michael Trommer is hitting .313 and leads the team with 47 hits and nine home runs … Leyton Coupe is batting .304 with 10 extra-base hits, while Garrett Mathias is hitting .276 with six homers and leads the team with 35 RBI … Everett Garber has a 4.93 ERA in 45.2 innings over nine starts, posting six outings of at least five innings or more … Brady Hoar has a 5.33 ERA in nine starts and is 5-3 on the season … Hadley Maxwell has a 1.40 ERA and is 9-for-9 in save opportunities this season, being named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List on Wednesday.
 
Series History
Navy holds a 101-89-1 all-time record against Bucknell … Navy is 3-2 over its last five games in Lewisburg … The Mids took last year's season series, winning four of five meetings, as Navy took the first three games of a four-game March series in Annapolis while Evan Brown's grand slam propelled Navy to a 6-4 victory in Lewisburg on April 16 … The first series between the teams this spring saw Bucknell take two of three in Annapolis on March 21-22 … Bucknell took that series opener, 7-3, thanks to a six-run seventh-inning comeback while Matt Archibald pitched Navy to an 8-3 win in the nightcap, but Brady Hoar held the Mids in check to lead the Bison to a 3-1 victory in the rubber match.
 
Up Next
Navy will return to Annapolis for its regular-season-ending homestand, starting with a 3:05 p.m. contest against Manhattan on Wednesday, April 29.