ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Following a weekend series win over Lehigh to start its eight-game homestand, the Navy baseball team returns to action Wednesday afternoon when it hosts in-state rival Maryland for a non-conference showdown at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
With first pitch slated for 3:05 p.m., the Midshipmen (18-12, 5-7 PL) and Terrapins (14-18, 2-10 B1G) are set to renew an in-state rivalry that dates back to 1896, with Wednesday marking the team's first meeting since 2022 and the Terps' first trip to Annapolis since the 2012 season. Tim Nolan will handle play-by-play duties on ESPN+ and WNAV Radio (1430 AM), while the first 150 fans in attendance will receive a Navy Baseball-themed beach ball giveaway.
 
Bendik, Izquierdo Pick Up Weekly PL Awards
A pair of Navy players were honored by the Patriot League on Monday after big performances in the series win over Lehigh, as senior Victor Izquierdo was named the league's Player of the Week and junior Brady Bendik earned Pitcher of the Week … The duo was instrumental in the Midshipmen taking two of three from the Mountain Hawks, as Bendik tossed a complete-game shutout in the series opener and Izquierdo batted .444 and accounted for seven of Navy's runs over the series … It was Izquierdo's first time winning Patriot League Player of the Week … This was Bendik's third-career Patriot League Pitcher of the Week distinction and his second of the season.
 
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 47-27 at home during head coach Chuck Ristano's three seasons at the helm … The Mids have won 12 and only lost five of the 19 home weekend series during Ristano's tenure.
 
2026 Home Cooking
Navy has gone 11-6 in 17 home games this year while pitching to a 3.86 ERA and hitting .249 … Ty DePerno paces the Mids with a .298 home batting average in 16 games, racking up five doubles, a triple and a homer … Will Howard is hitting .310 at home this spring while reaching base at a .487 clip … Chris Klug has batted .303 in 10 home games this year, scoring six times and knocking in four RBI … Victor Izquierdo leads the team with 11 runs scored and 16 RBI at home this season while batting .276 … Patrick Walsh has tallied 14 RBI in 17 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 2.70 home ERA through six appearances, striking out eight in 10 innings.
 
Lifetime in Annapolis
Andrew Manning has mashed at the friendly confines of Max Bishop Stadium during his three seasons, posting a .321 career average in 73 home games while racking up 58 runs scored and 41 RBI … Victor Izquierdo has hit .274 with 64 RBI across 74 home starts in his four seasons with the Mids, notching 20 doubles and three homers … Matt Archibald has posted a 2.85 home ERA over 12 career outings in Annapolis, totaling a 6-3 record with 87 strikeouts in 53.2 innings while limiting opponents to a .148 average … Spencer Stephens holds a 2.79 home ERA and 6-0 record over 17 appearances at Max Bishop Stadium, punching out 31 in 29 innings while picking up three saves.
 
News & Notes
Navy has outscored opponents by a 33-2 margin in the second inning this season, also heavily outscoring foes, 25-11, in the fourth inning … Navy has posted a 2.93 team ERA over its last 10 games, striking out 96 batters in those 86 innings … Ty DePerno broken out with a .323 average over Navy's last 10 games, reaching base at a .447 clip … Tyler Grenn has a 1.54 ERA over Navy's last 10 games, logging 11.2 innings over five relief outings with nine strikeouts to one walk … Tyler Cripe is batting .327 over the Mids' last 15 games, scoring nine runs and plating 15 RBI … Victor Izquierdo has hit .305 in his last 15 games, racking up 10 runs and 10 RBI … Grenn has posted a 1.74 ERA out of the bullpen this year, logging 15 strikeouts and two saves over 20.2 relief innings … Cripe has batted .327 with 12 runs scored and 13 RBI in his 15 games at shortstop … Ty DePerno moved his on-base streak to 13 games before leaving the game due to injury Sunday, while Walsh improved his on-base streak to 11-straight contests on Sunday.
 
Midweek Mania
Navy is 4-1 this year in midweek games, hitting .285 while also pitching to a 4.30 ERA … Ty DePerno has hit .429 in midweek games and has tallied a .579 on-base clip … Victor Izquierdo is batting .368 and slugging .632 in five midweek games, also accounting for five runs and 10 RBI … Chris Klug is hitting .429 in two midweek starts, while Jake Hooten has batted .300 in three midweek games … 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.
 
Navy Among NCAA Stat Leaders
Navy's pitching has posted a league-leading 3.40 ERA that sits ninth nationally, while the team's 1.27 WHIP also leads the Patriot League and ranks 26th in the nation … Navy is also 15th in the country and atop the league with 82 stolen bases as a team (17th nationally at 2.73 per game) … The Mids' 0.37 triples per game ranks 14th in the country … Patrick Walsh's league-leading four triples are tied for eighth in Division I … Brady Bendik's 1.78 ERA ranks 26th in the country, while Matt Archibald's 2.76 ERA is 87th nationally … Archibald's 74 total strikeouts are third in the country and his 13.59 strikeouts per nine innings rank 17th in Division I, with both marks leading the Patriot League, while Bendik's 62 strikeouts sit 21st in the nation … Victor Izquierdo's 13 steals rank 94th in the country.
 
Scouting Maryland
The Terps enter Wednesday fresh off a Tuesday win at UMBC to propel them to 14-18 overall … Maryland tallied an 11-0 run-rule win over the Retrievers, highlighted by Jordan Crosland's eighth homer of the season and Rylen Stockton's sixth homer of the year … Brayden Martin also pushed his on-base streak to 62 straight games with two walks Tuesday, as his 119 career walks moved him into third all-time in Maryland history … The Terps are 2-10 in the Big Ten Conference after being swept at Ohio State over the weekend despite hitting five home runs on Saturday … Martin paces the team with a .377 average and 34 runs scored, while Crosland has hit .330 … Ryan Costello holds the team lead with 13 homers and 41 RBI … Crosland has a nine-game hitting streak entering Wednesday.
 
Series History
Navy is 51-41-2 in the all-time series with Maryland, but the Terps have taken the last 13 meetings … The series began with the Mids' 1896 season opener, as Navy claimed a 17-3 win … the Terps' last trip to Annapolis was March 7, 2012, as No. 25 Maryland pulled out a 4-2 win over Navy despite a two-hit day by the Mids' Nikolai Simonsen … The last meeting between the teams was an 18-10 victory by the 23rd-ranked Terps in College Park on April 26, 2022, as Navy's Eduardo Diaz hit a pair of solo home runs.
 
Up Next
Navy will host Lafayette in a four-game Patriot League series Friday through Sunday.