ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Looking to return to the league's championship series for the second time in three years, the No. 3-seed Navy baseball team (30-17, 16-10 PL) heads to second-seeded and regular season co-champion Bucknell (24-22, 17-9 PL) for the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament this weekend at Depew Field at Marren Park.
 
Due to projected rain on Saturday, the best-of-three series will now open on Sunday at 1:05 p.m., while the second game is slated for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on Monday. Game three of the series, if necessary, would be held Tuesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Luke Smith will handle play-by-play duties on ESPN+ for all three games.
 
Mids Back in the Postseason
Navy locked up a berth in the Patriot League Tournament back on April 19 following its back-to-back four-game sweeps over Lafayette and Holy Cross … The Mids finished as the No. 3 seed after ending one game back of a three-way tie with Patriot League regular-season co-champions Army and Bucknell … This marks the first time Navy will hit the road for a league semifinal series since a 2023 semifinal meeting at Bucknell … Navy will also be playing in the league's postseason tournament for the fourth-straight year and the 14th time in the last 15 completed seasons.
 
Navy's History in the League Tournament
The Mids have won the Patriot League Tournament six times since joining the league in 1993, claiming the league's tournament title in 1994, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2016 (No tournament was held in 1995, with Navy earning the title via a first-place finish in the regular season) … Navy clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the 26th time in program history and the 14th time in the last 15 completed seasons with its third-place finish this season … The Mids are 36-45 all-time in the league tournament and are 9-19 on the road during the Patriot League postseason … Navy is 2-7 all-time as the No. 3 seed in the league tournament.
 
Bendik Named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year
Junior right-hander Brady Bendik was named the 2026 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, as the league office announced its major award winners on Wednesday … Becoming the first Navy hurler to take home the league's top pitcher award since Noah Song in 2019, Bendik's honor is also the 12th time the Navy program has had a Patriot League Pitcher of the Year awardee … Entering the week first in the league and fourth nationally with a 1.72 ERA, Bendik was once again Navy's ace by going 6-3 in 12 starts while logging 89 strikeouts (23rd nationally) to just 24 walks across a league-high 78.1 innings.
 
Seven Mids Earn All-League Honors
Garnering seven all-league selections on Wednesday, the Mids saw junior starting pitchers Brady Bendik and Matt Archibald, freshman infielder Tyler Cripe and sophomore outfielder Chris Klug selected to the All-Patriot League First Team while senior infielder Victor Izquierdo, junior infielder Evan Brown and freshman Patrick Walsh were all named to the All-Patriot League Second Team … This marks the second-straight season Bendik and Brown had been all-league selections, both earning Second-Team honors last year, while Archibald, Cripe, Izquierdo, Klug and Walsh each received all-league status for the first time in their careers … The Mids have now had multiple all-league selections in each of the last 20 seasons finished.
 
Virtudes Named to League's All-Academic Team
Navy junior left-hander Timmy Virtudes was one of 13 student-athletes named to the 2026 Academic All-Patriot League Team on Thursday …  This marks the southpaw's first time garnering academic all-league honors, while the Midshipmen have now had at least one academic all-league selection in each of the last 11 completed seasons … Virtudes has tallied a 2.70 ERA in nine appearances, registering 10 strikeouts in 13.1 innings while limiting opposition to a .235 average … In the classroom, the junior has posted a 3.55 GPA as an operations research major, receiving Patriot League Academic Honor Roll distinction last season.
 
Postseason Notables
Jackson Beattie has a 0.00 ERA across two career postseason outings, striking out three in 2.2 innings … Jack Killelea has posted a .407 average in eight postseason games for his career, scoring five runs and walking six times … Andrew Manning has a career .367 average in the postseason, notching three doubles, five runs and five RBI in eight playoff starts  … Mason Ceccarelli batted .462 over three postseason starts last year, scoring five times … Brady Bendik compiled a 2.25 postseason ERA in his freshman year over 12 innings, holding a 5.09 career postseason ERA in three outings … Spencer Stephens allowed one unearned run over two postseason appearances last year, tallying two strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
 
Record Book Watching
Matt Archibald's 98 strikeouts are tied for ninth in program single-season history, matching Chuck Davis' 1959 total … Jake Hooten's 20 stolen bases are tied for ninth in program single-season history … Navy's 131 stolen bases are the most in program single-season history … The Mids' 74 hit-by-pitches are third-most in program single-season history … The Mids' 33 homers rank fourth in program history, five shy of the Navy single-season record … Navy's 431 strikeouts as a pitching staff also rank fourth in program single-season history, needing nine more to move into third in the team record book … 2026 marks just the 13th time in program history the Mids have reached the 30-win milestone in a season … Navy's five shutouts pitched this year are tied for the 10th most in program single-season history, with the record being 12 during the 2016 campaign.
 
Bendik and Archibald Among D1Baseball's Top 100 Starting Pitchers
Junior right-handers Brady Bendik and Matt Archibald both appeared in D1Baseball.com's Week 12 Player Rankings for the Top 100 Starting Pitchers, announced Thursday … Bendik appeared at No. 50 while Archibald came in at No. 59, the only two Patriot League pitchers to make the list at the 12-week mark.
 
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 .303 in 20 starts since returning from injury, logging 14 runs and 17 RBI while slugging .487 … Brown has also swiped five bases in that stretch and walked seven times … The junior has also hit all four of his homers during this 20-game stretch.
 
Road Dogs Redux
The Mids have posted a .260 team batting average on the road and a 3.02 team ERA, compiling an 11-8 away record this season … Evan Brown holds an all-time road average of .296 with 30 RBI in 44 career road games, hitting .289 in 15 road games this year … Victor Izquierdo has a .288 road average this season to go with 19 runs scored and 11 RBI … A trio of freshmen have been big contributors on the road, with Tyler Cripe hitting .347 alongside a team-best 21 RBI, while Patrick Walsh is batting .322 with seven extra-base hits on the road and John Loudon has batted .310 with eight RBI in road games … Jackson Clark has a 1.32 ERA over seven road outings, striking out 16 in 13.2 innings … Brady Bendik has a 1.87 ERA over five road starts, striking out 39 to just nine walks in 33.2 innings … Tyler Grenn has a 2.81 road ERA in 16 innings, while Matt Archibald holds a 2.23 road ERA across 32.1 innings with 42 strikeouts.
 
Career Snapshots in the PL
In 23 career Patriot League starts, Brady Bendik has maintained a 2.80 ERA over 138.1 innings, striking out 131 and notching an 11-7 record while recording six complete games … Tyler Grenn has posted a 4.03 ERA across 24 career appearances in league play, totaling 125 innings and 69 strikeouts while making 18 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 2.00 ERA in seven career relief outings in league play, allowing just three runs in nine innings … Evan Brown has batted .296 in 58 career league games, scoring 33 runs and driving in 33 RBI while walking 19 times … Andrew Manning has a .287 average in 76 career league games, scoring 43 runs and posting 47 RBI with eight homers … Ty DePerno has batted .298 through his first 38 league games over the last two years, racking up 21 runs scored and 20 RBI … Victor Izquierdo has hit .271 in league play all-time with 40 runs and 43 RBI, while Jack Killelea has a .284 career league average … Tyler Cripe is hit .341 in league games during his rookie season, while fellow freshman Patrick Walsh batted .318.
 
2026 Weekend Warriors
This season has seen the Mids go 25-14 over 39 weekend games … Patrick Walsh holds a .301 average on the weekends, racking up 18 extra-base hits and 30 RBI in 38 games … Tyler Cripe is batting .315 on the weekends with 27 RBI in 35 starts … Spencer Stephens holds a 1.88 ERA on the weekends, logging 14.1 innings with 16 strikeouts over eight outings … Navy is 12-5 on Saturdays, hitting .247 while posting a 3.49 ERA … Cripe is hitting .333 on Saturdays with 17 RBI, slugging at a .561 clip, while Victor Izquierdo has batted .281 in 17 Saturday games with 12 runs scored and 11 steals … Tyler Grenn is pacing the team with a 2.12 ERA over five Sunday appearances, racking up nine strikeouts in 17 innings … Patrick Walsh has hit .405 on Sundays with a .811 slugging percentage, while Andrew Manning is hitting .302 in Sunday games and Cripe has batted .303 on Sundays.
 
News & Notes
Navy has outscored opponents by a 53-8 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 … Chris Klug is hitting .457 in the Mids' last 10 games, posting seven runs, seven RBI and seven steals … Tyler Cripe is batting .381 over the last 10 contests, leading the team with 13 RBI, while Evan Brown is hitting .300 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 .316 when playing third base, while Patrick Walsh has a .350 average as the designated hitter.
 
Navy Among NCAA Stat Leaders
Navy's pitching has posted a league-leading 3.79 ERA that sits 10th nationally, while the team's 1.35 WHIP also leads the Patriot League and ranks 33rd in the nation … The Mids are 12th in the country with five shutouts pitched … Navy is also 10th in the country and atop the league with 131 stolen bases as a team (13th nationally at 2.79 per game) … The Mids' 0.36 triples per game ranks eighth in the country … Brady Bendik's 1.72 ERA ranks fourth in the country, while Matt Archibald's 2.35 ERA is 23rd nationally and Tyler Grenn's 2.62 ERA is 47th … Archibald's 98 total strikeouts are seventh in the country and his 13.57 strikeouts per nine innings rank 11th in Division I, with both marks leading the Patriot League, while Bendik's 89 strikeouts sit 23rd in the nation … Archibald's 5.40 hits allowed per nine innings rank fourth nationally and his seven victories rank 29th in the country … Grenn's 2.13 walks allowed per nine innings rank 81st nationally and first in the Patriot League.
 
Navy Notables vs. Bucknell
Matt Archibald has a 3.20 ERA against Bucknell in four career starts, logging 28 strikeouts in 19.2 innings, while Brady Bendik has pitched to a 3.62 ERA in five career starts against the Bisons, striking out 30 to just eight walks in 27.1 innings … Evan Brown has hit .324 against Bucknell in 11 career games, knocking in 11 RBI … Ty DePerno has hit .320 in eight starts all-time against Bucknell, while Chris Klug has a .289 average in 10 career starts against the Bison… Tyler Grenn has a 3.86 ERA in five career appearances against Bucknell, including a 1.96 ERA over the last three seasons.
 
Scouting Bucknell
Bucknell took two of three games from Lehigh last weekend to secure a share of the regular season title and the two-seed in the Patriot League tournament … In conference play, the Bison led the Patriot League with a .274 batting average and ranked second to Navy with a 4.68 ERA … Garrett Mathias is hitting .305 with a .926 OPS, tallying a team-high 40 RBIs along with seven home runs on the season … Michael Trommer is hitting .295 with nine home runs, 22 RBIs and 40 runs scored … Hadley Maxwell was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List a week ago, as he ranks eighth in the nation with 10 saves and holds a 2.05 ERA … Head coach Scott Heather and assistant coaches Jason Neitz, Brett Smith and Josh Kieffer were named the Patriot League Coaching Staff of the Year after the Bison were picked to finish fifth in the preseason polls … Maxwell and Trommer were named to the All-Patriot League First Team on Wednesday, while Brady Hoar, Lleyton Coupe and Billy Fluharty all nabbed second-team all-league selections … Maxwell was honored as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Thursday, joined on the academic all-league team by Coupe and Jonathan Adelmann.
 
Series History
Navy holds a 103-90-1 all-time record against Bucknell … Navy is 5-3 over its last eight 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 … The second series between the teams this year saw Navy rally to win the first two games, 9-4 and 5-3, thanks to back-to-back multi-hit contests from Chris Klug, but the Bison outlasted the Mids in a 5-4 victory in the 13-inning series finale despite Brown's two-RBI outing.
 
Navy-Bucknell in the Postseason
The Mids are 10-18 against Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament … Navy is 4-9 against the Bison in Lewisburg during postseason play … The last time the two sides met up in the postseason was 2023, when No. 2 seed Bucknell swept top-seeded Navy in a semifinal series in Lewisburg … Navy's last postseason series win over Bucknell occurred in 2016 at Max Bishop Stadium, as the Mids battled back after dropping the opener to win the series, eventually claiming the league championship and a spot in the NCAA Regionals.
 
Up Next
The winner of the Navy-Bucknell series will advance to the Patriot League Tournament's championship series against the winner of Holy Cross and Army, with the best-of-three championship series beginning on Monday, May 18.