Brendan Grudberg ’28
Assistant Sports Editor
The Holy Cross Crusaders baseball team is coming off wins in a home weekend series over conference opponent Lehigh as well as a midweek duel against Harvard of the Ivy League. The Crusaders have had an up-and-down season to put it lightly, as they have struggled to find consistent output from their starting pitchers and have had lots of inconsistency in their bats, as well. Having clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth weeks ago, the Crusaders have used the last few series of 2026 to find their postseason formula as they look to defend their reign as conference champions next weekend.
Two weekends ago, Holy Cross came into a four-game set against Navy in good spirits. They had just split their previous series with then-Patriot League No. 1 seed Bucknell, and had kept themselves in the hunt for home field advantage after a rough non-conference outing. However, the series against Navy exposed many of the issues that have persisted for the Crusaders all season long, the most apparent being their struggle to find a consistent #2 arm behind Jaden Wywoda.
Wywoda, the 2026 preseason Patriot League pitcher of the year, has been the Crusaders’ undisputable ace this season. He ranks fourth in the Patriot League in ERA amongst starters (3.90, min. nine GS) and has gone long distances in the majority of his starts, logging 64.2 innings in his 11 starts (5.87/appearance). He went the distance in his game one start against Navy, allowing five hits, two walks, and three earned runs in an abbreviated seven-inning loss to Navy. You can’t ask for much more than a quality complete game, but unfortunately the Crusaders’ bats could only muster up two runs against Navy’s ace, and likely Patriot League pitcher of the year, Brady Bendik.
The bats would come alive in the following three games against Navy, putting up 14 total runs. But the rest of Holy Cross’ pitchers really struggled to pick up Wywoda’s slack, allowing 29 runs themselves in those games, which led to the Crusaders getting swept, 0-4.
None of the Crusaders’ three starters went more than four innings in this one, and their shallow bullpen depth was exposed as a result. The Crusaders only have three primary relievers who are pitching below a 5.0 ERA, and their three most frequent starters behind Wywoda all have above a 7.5 ERA. This lack of pitching depth looks like a real issue concerning the Crusaders’ postseason chances, but they may have found a solution in their following series.
After the sweep and a midweek loss to Brown, the Crusaders returned to Fitton Field for a series with 13-26 Lehigh. Having swept the Mountain Hawks earlier in the season, and a playoff berth in hand, the Crusaders used this series to improve their spot in the standings, but more importantly try new things with a young pitching staff that has clearly had its struggles in 2026. Wywoda started game one as expected and pitched a gem, going all seven innings without giving up a single run and striking out nine batters en route to an easy 9-0 victory for Holy Cross. However, it was game two when the Crusaders potentially found their formula for postseason success.
Sophomore Jake Lenahan has been one of the Crusaders’ most reliable bullpen arms dating back to last season, in which he logged nearly 80 innings out of the ’pen at an ERA below 5.00.
Lenahan usually serves as a “long reliever”, typically coming in early for a struggling starter for between three and four innings of solid pitching before other players close out the game. The endurance in Lenahan’s skill set gave manager Ed Kahovec the idea to throw Lenahan out as the starter, at a time where the search for starting pitching had grown more important than ever.
Lenahan’s performance in the second game against Lehigh must have given Kahovec regret–not for giving him the start, but for not having tried this earlier. He went pitch-for-pitch with Wywoda, throwing seven innings of scoreless ball himself and punching out six batters, before Brock Graf and Thomas Skrobe closed it out for a crucial 3-2 win. Lenahan didn’t get the pitching win in this one due to some untimely run support, but he was the biggest reason for the Crusaders’ victory.
The third game against Lehigh reminded fans that the pitching struggles are still around, as none of the Crusaders’ five pitchers could find their stride, giving up 14 runs in a mercy rule-shortened loss in the series finale. Credit to Lehigh’s bats for picking up their slack and avoiding a season sweep by the Crusaders, but the performance was still concerning for the postseason-bound Crusaders.
Looking ahead to the final series this weekend against last-place Lafayette, the Crusaders will do some more searching for a reliable gameplan in the conference tournament. Lenahan will likely get the day two start again unless the Crusaders want to rest him, and game three will be another audition for a third starter in the event that their postseason three-game series goes to a rubber match.
As for who Holy Cross will play in the conference tournament, it’s totally up in the air. They will most likely remain the No. 4 seed, but with a three-way tie for first, the Crusaders can’t do any future gameplanning until they know the results from this weekend.
My best guess is that the winner of the Army/Navy series will be the Crusaders’ opponent, but if Bucknell sweeps Lehigh then it’ll likely be them. Regardless, the talented Crusaders squad must find the right deck of cards to play if they want any shot at defending their title as Patriot League champions.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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