FORT PIERCE, Fla. (March 8, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team dropped its season opener to Gettysburg College, 18-1, on Sunday afternoon at Lawnwood Sports Complex. The game was called in the middle of the sixth inning due to lightning. The Mariners drop to 0-1 on the season, while the Bullets remain unbeaten at 8-0.
Game Link
Game Highlights
- Both teams were held scoreless in the first inning. Sophomore Braden Vazquez (Missouri City, Texas) recorded the Blue and Gray's first hit of the season with a single through the left side. Gettysburg got out of the early trouble by turning a double play, followed by a strikeout to end the inning.
- After a lead-off single and a walk put two men aboard for the Bullets, freshmen Jason Brown (Marlton, N.J.) and Drew Davis (Springboro, Ohio) turned a double play, and junior Tommy Chiappetti (Buckeye, Ariz.) forced a pop-out to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.
- Gettysburg took control in the bottom of the second with a 10-run inning, added three runs in the third, one in the fourth, and four more in the fifth.
- Vasquez led Kings Point with two hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate, and senior Charles Cahalan (Overland Park, Kan.) drove in USMMA's only run. Davis also scored the Mariners' lone run and recorded a double in the contest, while junior Landon Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.) and Chiappetti also recorded one hit each.
- Chiappetti got the start for KP and threw one scoreless inning, allowing one hit and a walk. After freshman Baxter Hamilton (Sugar Land, Texas), who suffered the loss, pitched the second inning, sophomore Jack Gibson (Danville, Pa.) came in relief and tossed three innings, recording three strikeouts along the way.
- Alex Wilkie-Viscio got the win for the Bullets, going six innings with eight strikeouts and allowing one run.
Up Next
Merchant Marine returns to the diamond tomorrow morning, March 9, at 11 a.m. against Earlham at Lawnwood Sports Complex in Fort Pierce, Florida.
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