PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (May 11, 2024) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team dropped a pair of games on Saturday and was eliminated from the Skyline Championship. The Mariners came up short against fourth-seeded Farmingdale State, 8-6, in their first game of the day before being shut out by top-seeded St. Joseph's-Long Island, 10-0. USMMA concluded its season with a 27-16 overall record.
 
Game Link

• Box Score (Game 1)
• Box Score (Game 2)

Game 1
A four-run first-inning deficit proved too much to overcome in an 8-6 loss to the Rams. Junior Garrett Clapsaddle (Murphy, N.C.) went 1-for-5 with three RBIs, while freshman Tommy Chiappetti (Buckeye, Ariz.) finished 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored. Freshmen Ben Bridges (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Landon Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.) each went 2-for-4.
 
The first five Farmingdale State batters recorded hits to open the bottom of the first as the Rams jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead.
 
The Mariners got on the board in the fourth as Chiappetti made it a 4-1 ballgame with a solo home run to lead off the frame.
 
The Rams tacked on three more runs in the fifth to go up 7-1, but USMMA promptly responded with two runs in the sixth. After Troutt led off with a double, sophomore Charles Cahalan (Overland Park, Kan.) reached on an infield single with one out before junior Travis Leatherwood (Catonsville, Md.) plated a run with a two-out RBI single. Senior Tyler Reistetter (Dickinson, Texas) was then intentionally walked to load the bases and an errant pickoff attempt allowed a run to score as the Mariners pulled to within 7-3.
 
After the Rams added a run in the bottom of the sixth, USMMA answered with a three-run seventh. Bridges led off with a single and Troutt added a one-out single before a walk to Chiappetti loaded the bases. Clapsaddle then came to the plate with two outs and cleared the bases with a double that cut the deficit to 8-6.
 
Game 2
The Mariners were held to just four hits, all singles, in the 10-0 loss to the Golden Eagles. Clapsaddle finished 2-for-4, while Cahalan and Leatherwood each went 1-for-4.
 
After plating a run in the second on a sacrifice fly, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases with no outs in the third as part of a four-run inning that made it a 5-0 ballgame.
 
An error and a Clapsaddle single gave the Mariners runners on first and second with one out in the fourth, but an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play kept USMMA off the board.
 
St. Joseph's-Long Island added a pair of two-out runs in the fourth and then tacked on a run in the fifth to take an 8-0 lead.
 
USMMA looked like it might break through in the seventh, but could not take advantage of a bases-loaded situation with one out. After Clapsaddle and Leatherwood put together back-to-back one-out singles, Reistetter walked to load the bases. Back-to-back strikeouts, however, ended the inning and the Golden Eagles plated two more runs in the bottom of the frame for a 10-0 advantage.
 
The leadoff man reached for USMMA in the ninth as Cahalan singled, but the next three batters were retired to end the game.
 
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