ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy (10-5, 5-5 Patriot League) is back in Patriot League action on Saturday and Sunday against Bucknell (6-15, 6-11 Patriot League) in a three-game series. The Midshipmen host the doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Bison host the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa.
Following the guidelines set by state and local government officials, Navy will allow limited attendance at its home baseball games this spring. Spectators will be required to wear a mask throughout the contests and maintain social distancing. No visiting fans are permitted at Sunday’s game hosted by Bucknell.
After dropping a doubleheader last Saturday at Lafayette, the Midshipmen bounced back on Sunday and swept the doubleheader at home to split the weekend series. Navy’s two wins on Sunday pushed its home record to 8-1 this season and the Midshipmen have won 18 of their last 19 home games.
Navy’s offense sparked it to the two wins last weekend as the Midshipmen hit .344 against the Leopards. Overall, Navy is hitting .302 for the year to lead the Patriot League and rank 14th in the nation in batting average. The Midshipmen also rank eighth in the country with a .419 on-base percentage to go along with a .445 slugging percentage. As a team, Navy has racked up 140 hits with 44 going for extra bases.
Logan Keller has spearheaded Navy’s offense with a .371 batting average to lead all Patriot League hitters. The freshman also has 19 RBIs, 23 hits and a .548 slugging percentage, which all rank in the top five in the Patriot League. Zach Stevens is just behind Keller with a .345 average and 14 RBIs, but the junior has a team-leading .552 slugging percentage – second in the Patriot League – behind seven extra-base hits while also being tied for the team lead with 14 runs scored.
The Navy pitching staff struggled last week against Lafayette allowing 33 runs over the four games where the Midshipmen issued 15 walks and hit 10 batters. Through the first 15 games of the season, Navy has a 5.88 ERA and is allowing the opposition to hit .262 for the year. Jared Leins has a team-low 2.70 ERA in three appearances and 6-2/3 innings. Charlie Connolly has logged the most innings for the Midshipmen with 24 and he leads the way with 36 strikeouts along with a 4.13 ERA. Connolly has a league-leading 13.50 strikeouts per nine innings mark and he is tied for second in wins with three.
Bucknell snapped a seven-game losing streak this past Monday with an 8-2 win over Lehigh and the Bison are now 6-15 on the season and 6-11 in the Patriot League. Bucknell has a .239 team average with Peter Marren leading the way with a .329 batting average behind 25 hits to rank fourth in the Patriot League. Eunsang Yu has a team-leading 13 RBIs in just 14 games and 11 starts this spring.
On the mound, Chris DiFiore has paced the Bison to a 5.96 ERA with his 2.45 ERA in six appearances and four starts. DiFiore also has a team-high 29 strikeouts while Will Greer has thrown a team-leading 34 innings in his six starts for a 3.97 ERA.
During the first weekend series between the two teams this spring, Navy won two of the three games at the end of March to start its Patriot League season. The Midshipmen won the opening game, 7-1, before Bucknell run-ruled the Midshipmen in game two, 11-1, in seven innings. In a shootout in the rubber match, Navy used a 10-run eighth inning to flip its 9-5 deficit into a 15-10 victory. The Midshipmen’s 17 hits against the Bison in the final game of the series in March, are still their season-high through 15 games.
After the three-game series on Saturday and Sunday, the Midshipmen travel to Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday before hosting Coppin State on Wednesday. Navy’s next league series is a four-game set at home against Holy Cross.
