ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Holding a three-way tie for first place entering the final weekend of the Patriot League regular season, the Navy baseball team will host rival Army in a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
As both teams sit tied with Bucknell and a regular-season championship up for grabs, the Midshipmen (29-15, 15-8 PL) and Black Knights (26-17, 15-8 PL) open the series with a single game on Saturday at 1:05 p.m., while Sunday's doubleheader to wrap up the regular season is also slated for a 1:05 p.m. start.
 
Also serving as Navy Baseball's Alumni Weekend, Saturday's game is Senior Day for the Mids' seven seniors while Sunday will feature ceremonial first pitches from Navy Football's recent NFL draft picks Landon Robinson and Eli Heidenreich. All three games will air on ESPN+ and can be heard live on WNAV Radio (1430 AM), with Scott Wykoff calling the action.
 
Postseason Watching
Navy, Army, Bucknell and Holy Cross have all locked up berths in the Patriot League Tournament, with seeding still to be determined … Navy has secured a top-three seed in the Patriot League Tournament, while the team still has the ability to clinch at least a share of the league's regular-season title … To clinch the outright regular-season title and No. 1 seed, Navy needs a combination of four from Navy wins/Army losses AND a combination of four from Navy wins/Bucknell losses … To clinch a share of the regular-season title and No. 1 seed, Navy needs a combination of four from Navy wins/Army losses AND a combination of three from Navy wins/Bucknell losses … The Mids can clinch a semifinal-round home series (No. 2 seed) with a combination of four from Navy wins/Army losses OR a combination of four from Navy wins/Bucknell losses … Navy would be the No. 2 seed by losing two games against Army and Bucknell only wins one game against Lehigh … Navy would be the No. 3 seed by losing two games against Army and Bucknell wins two games against Lehigh OR by losing three games against Army.
 
April Thaw
Navy went 13-4 in the month of April, hitting .287 as a team while tallying a staff ERA of 3.74 … Patrick Walsh led the team with a .386 average in April, tallying 13 runs scored and 15 RBI while doubling six times and hitting two homers … Chris Klug batted .368 in April with 11 steals, while Tyler Cripe hit .345 last month with 14 runs and 13 RBI … Evan Brown hit .313 in the month with a team-best four homers and 16 RBI … Brady Bendik had a 1.30 ERA in four April starts, tallying 30 strikeouts over 27.2 innings … Matt Archibald had a 1.52 ERA over his four April starts, punching out 39 in 23.2 innings, while Tyler Grenn had a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings last month.
 
Return of the Brown Bear
Evan Brown is hitting .313 in 19 appearances (17 starts) since returning from injury, logging 12 runs and 16 RBI while slugging .531 … Brown has also swiped five bases in that stretch and walked seven times … Additionally, he has provided a steady hand in the infield, splitting time between second base and third base.
 
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 52-28 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 16-7 in home games this year … Will Howard is hitting .326 at home this spring while reaching base at a .508 clip … Chris Klug has batted .306 in 16 home games this year, scoring 14 times and knocking in seven RBI … Victor Izquierdo leads the team with 15 runs scored and 19 RBI at home this season while batting .265 … Patrick Walsh (.270 BA) 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 four home relief outings, not allowing a run over seven 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 .. Tyler Grenn has posted a 2.45 home ERA in 29.1 innings over 10 outings (three starts) at Max Bishop Stadium, garnering 24 strikeouts to six walks.
 
Lifetime in Annapolis
Andrew Manning has mashed at the friendly confines of Max Bishop Stadium during his three seasons, posting a .310 career average in 79 home games while racking up 60 runs scored and 45 RBI … Victor Izquierdo has hit .271 with 67 RBI across 80 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 … Brady Bendik has a 3.52 home ERA in his career, tallying 120 innings over 22 outings (20 starts) while striking out 118.
 
Career Snapshots in the PL
In 22 career Patriot League starts, Brady Bendik has maintained a 2.88 ERA over 131.1 innings, striking out 125 and notching an 11-7 record while recording six complete games … Tyler Grenn has posted a 4.01 ERA across 23 career appearances in league play, totaling 119 innings and 67 strikeouts while making 17 starts with three complete games and two saves … Matt Archibald holds a 1.91 ERA over 12 career Patriot League starts, totaling 91 punchouts over 66 frames … John Carroll has a 2.08 ERA in six career relief outings in league play, allowing just three runs in 8.2 innings … Evan Brown has batted .299 in 55 career league games, scoring 31 runs and driving in 32 RBI while walking 19 times … Andrew Manning has a .292 average in 73 career league games, scoring 41 runs and posting 47 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 … Victor Izquierdo has hit .277 in league play all-time with 39 runs and 42 RBI, while Jack Killelea has a .284 career league average … Tyler Cripe and Patrick Walsh are both hitting .338 in league games during their rookie seasons.
 
2026 Weekend Warriors
This season has seen the Mids go 24-12 over 36 weekend games … Patrick Walsh holds a .313 average on the weekends, racking up 17 extra-base hits and 26 RBI in 35 games … Tyler Cripe is batting .310 on the weekends with 24 RBI in 32 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 .438 on Sundays with a .813 slugging percentage, while Andrew Manning is hitting .316 in Sunday games.
 
News & Notes
Navy has outscored opponents by a 49-7 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 and Chris Klug are both hitting .361 in the Mids' last 10 games, with Walsh posting eight runs and eight RBI … Tyler Cripe is batting .308 over the last 10 contests, leading the team with 10 runs and 11 RBI, while Evan Brown is hitting .289 with three homers in those 10 contests … Cripe has batted .327 with 12 runs scored and 13 RBI in 15 games at shortstop … Evan Brown is batting .328 when playing third base, while Patrick Walsh has a .388 average as the designated hitter.
 
Navy Among NCAA Stat Leaders
Navy's pitching has posted a league-leading 3.49 ERA that sits sixth nationally, while the team's 1.31 WHIP also leads the Patriot League and ranks 23rd in the nation … The Mids are 11th in the country with five shutouts pitched … Navy is also eighth in the country and atop the league with 125 stolen bases as a team (11th nationally at 2.84 per game) … The Mids' 0.36 triples per game ranks 10th in the country … Brady Bendik's 1.77 ERA ranks seventh in the country, while Matt Archibald's 2.35 ERA is 28th nationally and Tyler Grenn's 2.39 ERA is 31st … Archibald's 98 total strikeouts are third in the country and his 13.57 strikeouts per nine innings rank 12th in Division I, with both marks leading the Patriot League, while Bendik's 83 strikeouts sit 21st in the nation … Archibald's 5.40 hits allowed per nine innings rank fifth nationally and his seven victories rank 16th in the country … Grenn's 1.65 walks allowed per nine innings rank 35th nationally and first in the Patriot League.
 
Navy Notables vs. Army
Matt Archibald has a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against Army, tallying 12 strikeouts in 11.2 innings … Brady Bendik holds a 3.41 career ERA in six outings against Army, logging 33 strikeouts to seven walks over 34.1 innings … Evan Brown has hit .333 in his career against Army … In 11 career games against Army, Ty DePerno holds a .333 average with nine runs and 10 RBI … Jack Killelea has hit .430 in 14 career games against Army … Andrew Manning has batted .292 in 18 career starts against Army, racking up nine runs, 10 RBI, six doubles and three homers … Tyler Cripe batted .357 and Patrick Walsh hit .300 in their first career series against Army.
 
Scouting Army
Army has won five-straight games coming into the weekend, as a wild three-game sweep over Lafayette was followed by the Black Knights' regular-season home finale against LIU on Tuesday, which Army won via a 7-0 shutout … Hitting a team-best .305, Josiah Overbeek is first in the Patriot League with 14 home runs and was named a John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Semifinalist on April 23 … Thomas Schreck has hit .279 with 28 runs scored and 28 RBI, while Chris Barr is batting .274 with 41 runs scored, 32 RBI and a team-best 25 steals (second in the PL) … Kevin Reavey has tallied a 3.35 ERA in 10 outings this season (nine starts), logging 37 strikeouts in 51 innings, while Andrew Berg has posted a 4.34 ERA in 11 starts to go with 48 strikeouts in 66.1 innings … Army leads the Patriot League with a .391 team on-base percentage and .981 fielding percentage.
 
Series History
Army has the narrow 138-137 edge in the all-time series over Navy … Navy is 64-66 all-time at home against Army … Navy is 6-5 against Army over the past two seasons … The Black Knights won the Star Series on March 27-29 … After Army took the opening game, 5-4, in 10 innings despite the Mids erasing a 4-0 deficit, Navy grabbed the Saturday contest, 5-2, behind Tyler Cripe's four RBI and Jackson Clark's eight-out save … Patrick Walsh's late two-run homer wasn't enough to complete the comeback in the Sunday star-clincher, as Trey Ates pitched Army to a 4-3 win over Navy.
 
Up Next
Navy opens the Patriot League Tournament with a three-game semifinal series against a to-be-determined opponent on May 9-11.