LEWISBURG, Pa. (Interstat) — Navy defeated Bucknell 5-3 on Sunday, April 26, 2026, in the first game of a Patriot League doubleheader at Eugene B. Depew Field.

The Midshipmen improved to 29-14 overall, while the Bison fell to 21-21. Navy had 10 hits to Bucknell’s six.

Owen Phypers earned the win for Navy, pitching five innings of scoreless relief. He allowed two hits, struck out five and did not issue a walk. Matt Archibald started for the Midshipmen and worked four innings, striking out seven while allowing one earned run without a hit.

Bucknell starter Brady Hoar took the loss, surrendering two earned runs on six hits across six innings. He struck out four. Tyler Hawkins pitched a scoreless seventh for the Bison.

The game turned decisively in the eighth inning, when Navy broke a 3-3 tie by scoring three runs. Patrick Walsh delivered the go-ahead hit, a double to left-center that scored Evan Brown, who had been hit by a pitch. Andrew Manning followed with a single to center, scoring Walsh. Manning later scored on a fielder’s choice by Will Howard, giving Navy a two-run cushion.

Bucknell had tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Lleyton Coupe tripled down the right-field line, scoring Zach Selfon, and Billy Ty singled to bring home Coupe. That came after Garrett Mathias had put Bucknell on the board with a solo home run in the second inning.

Navy had built an early 3-0 lead. Jake Hooten homered down the left-field line in the fifth inning, and Ty Cripe doubled to left-center, scoring Noah Stead. Walsh also drove in a run earlier in the game.

Phypers, who entered in the fifth inning, worked around a walk and a single in the sixth and retired Bucknell in order in the seventh. He allowed no hits in his final 2 1/3 innings, with the only runs charged to him coming on the two hits he surrendered in the fifth. His previous outing was April 18 against Holy Cross, when he tossed 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball with four strikeouts in a 10-5 win.

Bucknell had a chance to rally in the sixth, loading the bases with one out, but Phypers struck out Coupe and got Andrew Swenson to fly out. The Bison also stranded a runner in scoring position in the eighth after John Calabrese doubled but was left on base.

Navy added an insurance run in the eighth when Manning scored on Howard’s sacrifice bunt. Andrew Manning finished 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Walsh also went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Hooten was 1 for 3 with a home run, and Cripe had a double and an RBI.

For Bucknell, Mathias homered and drove in a run. Coupe had a triple and an RBI, and Calabrese doubled.

The Midshipmen and Bison were scheduled to play the second game of the doubleheader later Sunday. Navy had taken two of three earlier in the season against Bucknell, winning 8-3 and losing 3-1 and 7-3. The Midshipmen are next scheduled to host Manhattan on Wednesday, while Bucknell travels to Cornell on Tuesday.