Baseball Set for Four-Game Series with Navy to Open Patriot League Play

Friday, March 21

Annapolis, Md.

4 p.m.

Bucknell University

Navy

Photo by: Alisa Mitchell

Baseball Set for Four-Game Series with Navy to Open Patriot League Play

3/19/2025 2:38:00 PM | Baseball

Bucknell (8-10) at Navy (9-10)
When: Friday, Mar. 21, 4:00 p.m., Saturday, Mar. 22, 1:00 p.m. (DH), Sunday, Mar. 23, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell is 8-10 heading into Patriot League play this weekend after playing six games over its Spring Break trip to Florida last week. The Bison were put to the test, playing nine games in 10 days from the start of the Maine series to the end of Spring Break. BU went 0-2 against Florida Atlantic to start the trip, then split the series 2-2 with Florida International over the weekend.
The Bison dropped their first three games, getting outscored 52-19, but bounced back with big wins over FIU on Friday and Saturday evening. On Friday, the Bison trailed FIU 4-1 before a seven-run ninth inning flipped the game on its head. The Bison bats stayed hot into Saturday, using two five-run innings to pull away to a 14-3 run-rule victory. On Sunday, BU staged another late comeback with a four-run eighth inning, but ultimately fell 8-6.
Despite the slow start to the week, the offense started to pick up, raising the team batting average from .198 to .226 by the end of the week. Bucknell averaged 7.8 runs per game over the six-game stretch after averaging just 4.5 runs per game over its first 12 games.
After being stifled at the plate for eight innings in Game 2 on Friday night, the Bison exploded for seven runs in the ninth to take an 8-4 lead. A walk by Billy Kender tied the game before Michael Trommer gave BU the lead with a fielder's choice. The Bison were feeling good at the plate as Ryan Facinelli and Chris Morabito roped the first pitches they saw to extend the lead to 8-4.
Jonathan Adelmann earned the win on Friday as he pitched the final three innings. It was a nervy ending as FIU loaded the bases with no outs, but Adelmann calmly got three quick outs to end the game 8-6. Adelmann sports a 1.23 ERA in 14.2 innings. Florida International's two runs in the ninth were the first earned runs Adelmann allowed this season.
Tyler O'Neill started Friday night's game. O'Neill was excellent over six innings, striking out eight batters. His start on Friday was stained by two early home runs by FIU's Brylan West, accounting for three of the four runs he allowed. O'Neill came back to strike out West in the fourth inning with the bases loaded, and did not allow another run from there.
O'Neill moved up three spots to fourth on Bucknell's career strikeouts list with 186 strikeouts. O'Neill's fourth strikeout in the third inning surpassed Mike Anders ('98) and Andrew Andreychik ('16). He now sits nine strikeouts behind Jack Recco ('77) on the list. O'Neill heads into league play this weekend with a 4.40 ERA over five starts. After allowing eight earned runs between his first two starts, O'Neill has allowed just six earned runs in his last three starts with 22 strikeouts.
The Bison carried the momentum into Saturday, scoring 14 runs on 11 hits. Ben Magovern had another solid start on the mound, allowing just an unearned run on three hits over five innings. Magovern has a 3.20 ERA over five appearances and four starts after missing last season with an injury. He enters the weekend with a 2-1 record, striking out 17 batters compared to eight walks in 19.2 innings.
Tyler Dunn's two-run homer in the first inning quickly got the Bison on the board in Game 2 on Saturday, and two more in the second made it 4-1. A messy fourth inning gave Bucknell five runs, and a home run by Michael Trommer in the sixth kickstarted another five-run frame.
Dunn has proved to be an integral part of the Bison lineup after missing seven games early in the season. Dunn returned for the start of the Maine series, picking up 10 hits and nine walks in the nine games since his return. Dunn has a .333 batting average with a .490 on-base percentage, reaching base safely in each of the 11 games he has featured in. Dunn is second on the team with 13 RBIs.
Dunn leads the team with a .639 slugging percentage and a 1.129 OPS. The first baseman was 7-for-19 with eight RBIs and four extra-base hits over the Spring Break. Dunn has been a clutch hitter this season, batting .538 with runners in scoring position and .500 with two outs.
Dunn is climbing several career program records this season. The four-year starter ranks 20th in games played (151), 16th in games started (145), 18th in at-bats (536), 17th in RBIs (95), 11th in walks (70), and eighth in sacrifice flies (9).
Billy Fluharty got hot at the plate over the Spring Break, hitting 12-for-24 with six RBIs to raise his season batting average to .300. The center fielder has five doubles and 10 RBIs this season.
Michael Trommer hit .316 in the six games with six hits and four RBIs. Trommer gave the Bison the lead Friday night with a fielder's choice. He hit a ground ball up the middle, but hustled to beat the double-play throw at first to keep the inning alive. The third baseman then homered in Bucknell's 14-3 win on Saturday.
Chris Morabito and Ryan Facinelli each had six hits over the six games after both produced eight hits through the first 12 games. Facinelli had three RBIs on Sunday, including his first career home run. The first baseman and designated hitter had two doubles, a triple, and the home run for a .542 slugging percentage during the break.
Freshman John Calabrese made his debut on Tuesday against Florida Atlantic and has appeared in every game since. Calabrese opened his account with a pinch-hit RBI single late in Game 1. The right fielder then singled in another pinch-hit opportunity in Game 3. Calabrese got his first career starts on Friday and Saturday at FIU, going 1-for-3 with a run scored in each of the games. He then went 1-for-2 coming off the bench on Sunday.
Overall, Calabrese was 5-for-12 with an RBI and five runs scored. Calabrese's walk in Game 2 at FIU helped jump-start BU's seven-run rally in the ninth.
Hadley Maxwell has been a solid piece out of the bullpen for the Bison. Maxwell has a 1.69 ERA in 10.2 innings over six appearances. Maxwell has allowed eight runs, only two of which have been earned.
Through 18 games, the Bison have a .226 team batting average and an 8.75 team ERA. Opponents are batting .307 and have a 4.80 ERA against BU.
The Bison are 2-2 against ACC foes. Bucknell won its single game against Pitt, and took Game 2 from Virginia Tech in its opening series.
Against Pitt, seven Bison pitchers combined for a four-hit, 17-strikeout effort. The 17 strikeouts were four shy of the team record of 21, set in 1956 against Franklin & Marshall (all by Don Richards) and in 1989 against Wilkes.
Head coach Scott Heather is in his 13th season at the helm, passing Bill Lane (1946-57) as the third-longest tenured coach in program history. Heather's 228 career wins are second-most in team history, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591).

Navy at a Glance/Series History

Navy started the season with a 3-9 record, but has since gone 6-1 in its last seven games to get to a 9-10 record. The Midshipmen took two games on the backend of a four-game series with Massachusetts before taking a single game against Fordham and two-of-three from its PL opening series against Army. Navy most recently defeated Dartmouth on Tuesday 13-1 in seven innings.
Navy's series win over Army was its first win in the star series since 2021. Army has won each of the last six Patriot League tournaments and has eliminated the Bison in each of the last three tournaments.
Through 19 games, Navy is batting .235 as a team and is averaging 5.1 runs per game. The pitching staff has a 4.56 ERA and opponents have a 4.73 ERA against the Midshipmen.
Ty DePerno ranks third among Patriot League players with a .346 batting average. DePerno is slugging .500 with a .469 on-base percentage. He ranks second on the team with 14 RBIs and has hit two home runs. DePerno earned this week's Patriot League Rookie of the Week citation after batting .533 last week. DePerno was 3-for-4 at Fordham before going 5-for-11 with five RBIs in the series with Army.
DePerno, Evan Brown, and Brock Murtha all have 18 hits for the Midshipmen. Brown is batting .273 with 10 RBIs and Murtha is hitting .269 with nine RBIs at the plate. Brown is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.
Victor Izquierdo leads the team with 15 RBIs and Andrew Manning leads Navy with three home runs. Jack Killilea is batting .400 in just nine games this season. He is 12-for-30 at the plate with nine runs scored. Killilea is currently on an eight-game hitting streak.
Reliever Landon Kruer was named this week's Patriot League Pitcher of the Week. Kruer earned saves in both of Navy's wins over Army, tying John Colella's (Holy Cross) Patriot League record. Kruer also tossed 1.2 innings to close out the win over Fordham.
Kruer has a 3.97 ERA in seven appearances with three saves in 11.1 innings. He has struck out 13 batters compared to just two walks.
Kruer is one of five Midshipmen with a sub-4.00 ERA. Starter Tyler Grenn has a team-low ERA of 3.45 in five starts. He has tossed a team-high 28.2 innings with 11 earned runs on 24 hits. Opponents are hitting .224 and have struck out 16 times.
Matt Archibald is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 14.0 innings over five appearances. He has started three games and has 21 strikeouts thus far. Opponents have walked 13 times, but are hitting just .133 at the plate.
Kody Clancy has a 3.93 ERA and Spencer Stephens has a 3.94 ERA to start the season. Four of Clancy's six appearances have been starts, but only has one decision on the mound this year. Clancy has struck out 17 batters compared to 13 walks. Stephens has spent most of his time out of the bullpen where he's allowed seven earned runs on 15 hits with 19 strikeouts over 16.0 innings.
Brady Bendik is tied for a team-high five starts on the mound. Bendik has tossed 24.2 innings with a 4.74 ERA and 18 strikeouts.
Navy was 28-23 overall last season with a 15-10 Patriot League record. The Midshipmen defeated Holy Cross to reach the Patriot League championship where they fell to Army in two games.
Navy leads the series with the Bison 96-86-1 dating back to 1904. Navy won the first four games ever played between the two with the Bison grabbing its first win over the Midshipmen in 1909.
Bucknell has gotten the better of Navy over the past few seasons. The Bison are 8-2 in the last 10 matchups dating back to 2023, and the Bison are 12-5 since the start of the 2022 season.
The last time the two met up was a single game in Annapolis, where the Bison won 7-4 on the heels of a four-RBI game by Michael Trommer and five solid innings by Mikey Myro on the mound. The Bison and Midshipmen split a four-game series earlier in the season.

Looking Ahead

The Bison have a single game on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. against Penn State at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park before continuing Patriot-League play with doubleheaders at Holy Cross and Army next weekend.