ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After dropping a 4-1 decision to Marist (5-5) in game one of Friday's doubleheader, the Navy baseball team (7-6) bounced back in game two with a 4-1 victory of its own, being led by starting pitcher Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.) who recorded a career-best outing against the Red Foxes en route to his first win of the season.
 
"Really well-pitched games today by our starters," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "I thought (Nate) Mitchell threw well, had a tough first inning, but we didn't make a play for him. He pitched really well. (Matt) Shirah was really good today, gave us 6.2 innings, we've been averaging 3.2 innings a start. When you get that kind of length out of starters, especially in a competitive game, it kind of dictated the way the day went. It was great to see a bounce-back day on the mound today.
 
"Offensively, we chipped away and got the hits we needed. They (Marist) have some pretty good arms, that's a pretty good team as far as their pitching staff goes. All in all, when you lose the first and then fight back to win the second, it's a good day."
 
Shirah pitched a career-high 6.2 innings in game two of the twin bill, allowing just one run on four hits while walking one batter and striking out a career-best six.
 
The sophomore right-hander was followed by Colin Jones (Sr., Collierville, Tenn.) who closed out the win by pitching the final 2.1 innings without allowing a hit, in addition to striking out two batters.
 
"(Colin) Jones was great for us today out of the bullpen," Kostacopoulos continued. "He is like a new guy this season. Two or three outings ago, he really started to pitch better. The trajectory that he is on is where we need him to be. He has done a great job of working with coach (Mike) Trapasso and getting some things straightened out, that's always gratifying to see."
 
Not to be overlooked was the effort of Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.) in game one of the doubleheader, as the junior pitched six innings in which he allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out four batters. Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.) came on to pitch the final frame of the seven-inning contest, retiring each of the three batters he faced.
 
In Navy's win over Marist in game two, Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) led the way at the plate for the Mids by going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored.
 
Newcomer Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.) posted a career-best outing at the plate, tallying three hits in three at-bats that included a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) led the way for the Midshipmen in game one, posting a 1-for-3 showing with a double and a run scored.
 
"Ivan (Aguirre) was huge for us," Kostacopoulos said of the freshman second baseman. "We've seen him breakthrough over the last couple games at the plate. His hit today was huge for us, battled back with two strikes and ended up getting a triple and scoring on the error. That's a really big hit right there, that's going to help his confidence a lot."
 
Game One: Marist 4, Navy 1
The Red Foxes parlayed a three-run first inning with a solid 5.1 innings pitched by starting pitcher Jack Bowery (1-0) to secure a 4-1 victory over Navy in game one of Friday's doubleheader. Despite pitching a career-high six innings against Marist, allowing just one run on three hits through the final five frames of his outing, Mitchell (0-1) took his first loss of the 2022 campaign.
 
Marist opened the contest with three runs on four hits, highlighted by a two-RBI triple, to take an early 3-0 lead over the Midshipmen. Navy struck back with a rally of its own in the bottom of the second, tallying a run on two hits that included an RBI single by Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) to cut its deficit to 3-1.
 
However, the Mids would be mostly silenced at the plate the rest of the way, as Bowery would retire nine of the next 11 batters he faced before being lifted from the game with one out in the sixth. With the lead now at 4-1 in favor of Marist after an RBI single in the fifth, Zane Kmietek was tasked with recording the final eight outs following the departure of Bowery.
 
Kmietek did just that over his 1.2 innings of work, walking one and striking out two, while not allowing a hit en route to closing out the three-run win for the Red Foxes over Navy. Left fielder Brian Hart paced the Marist lineup in game one, going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. 
 
Game Two: Navy 4, Marist 1
In game two of the Friday doubleheader, Navy earned a three-run win of its own, 4-1, over Marist on the back of a stellar pitching performance from Shirah (1-1) and timely hitting from the likes of Aguirre, Policelli, Nick Burch (Jr., Hollywood, Md.) and Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.).
 
After Marist opened the game with an RBI double against Shirah, taking a 1-0 lead over the Midshipmen, the sophomore right-hander responded by retiring five-straight batters to hold the Navy deficit at one run.
 
The aforementioned deficit would be erased in the home half of the second, as the Mids tallied three runs on three hits, including a booming RBI double by Burch prior to Aguirre posting the first triple of his collegiate career. The three-base hit by Aguirre brought home Burch, along with the freshman scoring on the same play due to a throwing error, giving Navy a 3-1 advantage over Marist.  
 
The second-inning rally proved to be ample support for Shirah, who retired 13 of the next 16 batters he faced before giving way to Jones with two outs in the seventh. Jones would inherit a 4-1 lead as the Mids added a run on the fifth on an RBI single by Smith, providing additional support for the duo of Jones and Shirah.
 
Jones picked up where Shirah left off in his 2.1 innings of work, striking out two batters without allowing a hit en route to picking up his second career save and securing 4-1 victory for the Midshipmen.

Erubiel Candelario (2-2) took the loss for Marist after allowing four runs, three being earned, over five innings of work. Catcher Gene Napolit led the way for the Red Foxes on offense in game two, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. 
 
"I think we proved today that the game can be played well if you throw strikes," Kostacopolous continued in closing. "If you noticed today, we didn't have many runners on base and made some pretty good plays. When the ball is in play like that, you are going to play better defense. Pitching and defense kind of go together."
 
UP NEXT
Following an off day on Saturday, Navy is slated to return to action Sunday for a 3:30 p.m. contest against Delaware State at Max Bishop Stadium. Additionally, Max Bishop Stadium is scheduled to play host to a contest between Delaware State and Marist on Sunday, beginning at noon.