FORT PIERCE, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – Sophomore Ricardo Olivares (Flower Mound, Texas) had five RBIs as the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team used a pair of five-run innings to cruise past Wabash, 15-5. USMMA improved to 4-6, while Wabash dropped to 6-5.
 
Game Links

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Ricardo Olivares 

Olivares went 2-for-5 with two triples, while senior Garrett Clapsaddle (Murphy, N.C.) finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Freshman Luke Kruer (Sellersburg, Ind.) was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, and sophomore Tommy Chiappetti (Buckeye, Ariz.) was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs. Junior Ryan Felton (Granbury, Texas) had five strikeouts and surrendered just two runs in 6.0 innings of work to earn the win in relief.
 
Wabash took a quick lead with three runs in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff single, an error and a wild pitch gave the Little Giants a runner on third with no outs, three-straight one-out singles led to a pair of runs. A two-out, bases-loaded walk later made it a 3-0 ballgame.
 
USMMA then took the lead for good with a five-run fourth. Chiappetti and Clapsaddle started things with back-to-back one-out singles before sophomore Christian Gamez (Kent Island, Md.) reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases as no out was recorded. Olivares then tied the game with a bases-clearing triple and Kruer put the Mariners on top with an RBI single. Kruer then stole second and freshman Louis Inserra (Coplay, Pa.) gave USMMA a 5-3 lead with an RBI single.
 
The Mariners went right back to work in the fifth and added two more runs. Sophomore Landon Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.) singled with one out and Chiappetti promptly followed with an RBI triple. Clapsaddle then pushed the lead to 7-3 with an RBI single.
 
Wabash manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth as a leadoff single, a groundout and a stolen base put a runner on third with one out. A sacrifice fly then made it a 7-4 ballgame.
 
USMMA responded in the sixth with three more runs. Kruer led off with a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt before Charles Cahalan (Overland Park, Kan.) added an RBI single. After Troutt was plunked and Chiappetti reached on an error to load the bases, a pair of wild pitches allowed two more runs to score as USMMA extended its lead to 10-4.
 
The Little Giants got a run back in the seventh as a leadoff triple led to an RBI groundout that made it a 10-5 game.
 
The Mariners tacked on five more runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. A leadoff walk and consecutive one-out hit batsmen loaded the bases before Clapsaddle followed with a two-run single through the left side. After a Gamez RBI single to center, Olivares made it 15-5 with a two-run triple to left.
 
The Mariners host their annual 142 Game on Tuesday, March 18, with a 6 p.m. first pitch against FDU-Florham at Bartoszek Field.