THROGGS NECK, N.Y. (April 20, 2024) – Late-inning offense proved to be both the hero and the anti-hero for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team as the Mariners split a two-game set with Maritime on Saturday at Reinhart Field in Throggs Neck. USMMA won the first contest by a 7-4 score before dropping a 7-5 decision to the Privateers in the proverbial nightcap on a walk-off home run.
Following the split series, the Mariners boast a record of 18-10 overall and 9-1 in Skyline Conference play. Maritime, meanwhile, is now 20-8 on the season with a 9-3 mark in league competitions.
Game File
Game 1
The Mariners jumped on Maritime starting pitcher Gavin McIntyre with a pair of two-out runs in the top of the first inning. Senior
Tyler Reistetter (Dickinson, Texas) opened the scoring with an RBI single to left field that scored
Garrett Clapsaddle (Murphy, N.C.) and rookie infielder
Ben Bridges (St. Petersburg, Fla.) drew a bases-loaded walk to score
Travis Leatherwood (Catonsville, Md.) as USMMA sent nine batters to the plate in the frame. Maritime got a run back in the bottom of the first inning on an Alex Bardi home run, but the Privateers' lone run of the frame came after a 6-4-3 double play turned by the Mariners' middle infield of Bridges and rookie shortstop
Landon Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.). Bardi would single home the game-tying run in the bottom of the third off USMMA starter
Ryan Felton (Granbury, Texas).
Jack Millen (Shelby, N.C.) led off the top of the fifth inning with a triple and would score the go-ahead run on a Leatherwood sacrifice fly as the Mariners reclaimed a 3-2 lead. KP extended the lead to a two-run advantage following a Bridges sacrifice fly after the inning was extended on a Maritime error. The Privateers cut the deficit in half thanks to a lead-off home run by Freddy Forgione, only for Clapsaddle to launch a three-run home run to center field in the top of the sixth to ice the game in favor of the Mariners. Felton would earn the win by tossing a complete game, striking out seven batters while yielding four runs on nine hits. Clapsaddle went 2-for-3 with the three-run home run and three total runs scored in the game as Reistetter and Troutt each had a pair of hits in the win.
Game 2
The second game of the doubleheader was a pitcher's duel through the first four innings with
Tommy Chiappetti (Buckeye, Ariz.) trading zeroes on the bump with Maritime starter Matt Demme. The Mariners would get on the board first in the top of the fifth inning thanks to a one-out solo home run from Troutt. However, the Privateers responded in a big way in the bottom of the frame following another USMMA double play. Following two singles and a hit batter, Harry Leipold uncorked a grand slam to give Maritime a 4-1 lead after the inning.
It would take until the seventh inning for Merchant Marine to respond by taking the lead with a four-run inning of their own. Troutt pummeled his second home run of the game, a two-run shot that plated Bridges to cut the hosts' lead to one run. Millen would then reach base on an infield hit and come around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Clapsaddle. Leatherwood followed with a run-scoring double of his own as the Mariners took a 5-4 lead with nine outs to play. Maritime would get the last laugh, however, as Bardi boomed a game-ending three-run home run down the right field line in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Privateers the walk-off win.
Troutt was one of three Mariners with a pair of hits in the second game of the doubleheader as USMMA had 11 total base hits in the contest. Chiappetti tossed six innings on the bump with four strikeouts but took the no-decision. The Mariners will return to action and return to the Bronx on Sunday, April 21 for a Skyline doubleheader with Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale beginning at 12 p.m.
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