Army Baseball hosted Navy at Doubleday Field this past weekend, where they won the first and third games in the series to take this season’s Star. AFF’s own Lynn Fern attended all three games, and friends, let me tell you, she was damned fired up heading into Sunday afternoon’s finale.
The Black Knights came into Sunday’s contest having won 7 of their last 8 games. But though the team has been making contact at the plate, they haven’t been hitting solidly enough, often enough, to consistently drive in runs. Coming into this weekend’s series, we’d seen a lot of pop-ups alongside enough really solid pitching, base running, and defensive play to get tough, contested wins and to turn opposing errors into disaster.
The Black Knights made that same formula work this weekend.
The baseball star is coming home! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/ABWfkafAfm
— Army Baseball (@ArmyWP_Baseball) March 29, 2026
Early Game Excitement
Army jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in Friday’s game, but defensively, they couldn’t quite hold on. Navy came back after holding the Black Knights scoreless for eight straight innings. But in the 10th inning, Army’s underclassmen showed up big. Yearling John McKillop hit a line drive to get on base. The staff then brought in yearling J.T. Craig to pinch run for McKillop. Finally, plebe David Dubrule laid down a perfect walk-off RBI bunt to give his team a clutch, series opening 5-4 win.
The Mids came back Saturday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Army never quite managed the comeback, setting up Sunday’s dramatic winner-take-all finale.
Anything better than a walk off bunt pic.twitter.com/gqVGh0Rgxo
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) March 27, 2026
Sing Second Sunday
Sunday’s vibe centered around winning the Star. The dugout stayed calm but alive with energy before the game. Head Coach Chris Tracz set the tone with a pregame speech and then told firstie starting pitcher Trey Ates that he planned to use Ates for as long as he could.
The game was coming for Ates. He was due.
Navy scored in the top of the first, but the Black Knights came back quickly, making it 2-1 by the end of that initial inning. They walked twice with no outs and then worked Navy into two throwing errors, taking extra bases on balls that should’ve been routine outs. That set them up to score on double-play. They then scored two more in the third, again on Navy fielding errors, to take a 4-1 lead.
But that score was never gonna hold. Ates threw the game of his life — 129 pitches, 79 strikes, and just one run allowed through his first seven innings of work — but he eventually gave up a two-run homer in the eighth to make the score 4-3, Army. Coach Tracz then went to the bullpen, bringing in the Beast, plebe Josiah Overbeek, for the last four outs. Overbeek saw men get on base twice, bringing Navy’s would-be go-ahead run to the plate both times. However, he stayed calm and clean when it mattered, holding the lead and helping his team in the game’s final moments.
Army won this final game, and the series itself, on good fielding, good base running, and outstanding pitching. They put the ball in play, forcing the Mids to make plays in the field, and made those plays themselves when they were on defense. They played flawlessly in the field, recording their thirteenth error-free game this season. As much as anything, that won them the game.
Lynn Fern’s *massive* photo-gallery is now up on our Patreon page. Definitely check that out.
Looking Forward
With the win, the Black Knights now hold the all-time series lead, 138 games to 137. Moreover, Army has now beaten its service academy rivals in 24 of their last 36 games. The team sits 14-11 overall for the season, 6-3 in the Patriot League.
We’ve got plenty of baseball left to play, but the AFF Crew is already looking forward to the Patriot League Championship Series, starting May 9th. As of this writing, the Black Knights stand two games back from Bucknell for the right to host the series. They’ll play Bucknell four times from April 17 through the 19th. The Black Knights’ next series starts Saturday at Holy Cross.
Go Army! Beat Holy Cross!!!
