KINGS POINT, N.Y. (March 26, 2024) – The USMMA baseball team took down the rival Coast Guard Bears at Bartoszek Field 5-3 this afternoon for its third straight win. Merchant Marine's victory was also their third in a row over Coast Guard. With the win, the Mariners improved to 7-8 on the year while the Bears fell to 7-5 in defeat.
 
Game Link

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Junior Garrett Clapsaddle 

In his final career game against Coast Guard, senior Tyler Reistetter (Dickinson, Texas) dazzled on the mound. For the third time in five starts this season, Reistetter struck out 10 or more hitters as the left-hander fanned 11 Bears in eight superb innings.
 
Head coach Michael Notebaert's offensive theme of the day was to treat today's game versus the rival Bears like any other contest in hopes of not having his freshmen overthink the opponent. Notebaert's philosophy paid immediate dividends as freshman Christian Gamez (Kent Island, Md.) opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second inning to plate junior Garrett Clapsaddle (Murphy, N.C.).
 
The Mariners grinded out a second run in the second when senior Brice Garner (Fort Collins, Colo.) reached on an E5 that scored sophomore Charles Cahalan (Overland Park, Kan.) to make it 2-0 Mariners. A 2-0 lead quickly doubled to 4-0 in the third inning thanks to RBI groundout from Reistetter and an RBI infield single by Calahan.
 
The score stayed stuck at 4-0 until the Bears broke through against Reistetter on a two-run single by Richard Barkley to cut the Mariners' lead in half. Reistetter got picked up by his backstop Clapsaddle after he surrounded his first and only runs of the afternoon.
 
"I told him to lock in out there and just think of it as me and him. Nothing else matters, doesn't matter what the umpires or hitters do. Just be you, make your pitches, and pound the zone." said Clapsaddle after the win. Reistetter responded in strong fashion by needing only 16 combined pitches to get through the seventh and eighth innings as the Bears when six up and six down in Reistetter's final two innings.
 
Now 4-1 on the season, the three-time Skyline Pitcher of the Week recorded multiple punchouts in three of his eight innings of work. Reistetter's final line was 8 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, and 11 Ks.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Reistetter helped his own cause with an opposite field RBI single to bring home junior Jack Millen (Shelby, N.C.) and make it 5-2 Mariners. Along with his brilliance on the bump, the reigning Skyline Player of the Week went 1-for-4 with two RBIs at the plate.
 
With Reistetter done after eight innings, sophomore Caden Pierce (Marietta, Ga.) locked down the win and earned his second save of the season. Pierce gave the Kings Point crowd what they wanted: a strikeout to end the game. Pierce punched out Blake George to slam and door and allow the Mariners crowd to erupt with cheers. The Mariners' closer has not allowed an earned run in six innings in six appearances this season.
 
Up next for Merchant Marine is a meeting with the Baruch Bearcats at Bartoszek Field. USMMA will get a week off before the Bearcats come to Kings Point. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Baseball Schedule Page.
 
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