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United States Merchant Marine Academy

EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Christian Gamez
3
Earlham EARLHAM 4-4
6
Winner Merchant Marine MERCHANT 1-1
Earlham EARLHAM
4-4
3
Final
6
Merchant Marine MERCHANT
1-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Earlham EARLHAM 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 3 7 1
Merchant Marine MERCHANT 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 X 6 12 1

W: Bearden, Tucker (1-0) L: K. Jeffries (1-2) S: Pierce, Caden (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Mariners Capture First Win of 2026 Season With 6-3 Victory Over Earlham

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (March 9, 2026) - The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team picked up its first win of the season with a 6-3 victory over Earlham on Monday morning at Lawnwood Sports Complex. The Mariners improve to 1-1 on the year, while the Quakers fall to 4-4 overall.

Game Link

How It Happened
The Blue and Gray broke through in the bottom of the third inning when sophomore Braden Vazquez (Missouri City, Texas) delivered an RBI single to left field to give USMMA the early 1-0 lead. Kings Point added to its advantage in the fourth inning as freshman Drew Davis (Springboro, Ohio) ripped a two-run double to right field to extend the lead to 3-0.

Earlham answered in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 3-2.

USMMA responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by junior Christian Gamez (Kent Island, Md.) before adding two more in the seventh when freshman Thomas Byrne (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) scored on a fielding error, and sophomore Luke Kruer (Sellersburg, Ind.) had an RBI single to secure the 6-3 victory.

Deeper Look At Box Score

  • The Mariners registered 12 hits on the afternoon, with four players recording multi-hit games. Freshman Jason Brown (Marlton, N.J.) led the way with three hits.
  • Junior Tommy Chiappetti (Buckeye, Ariz.), Kruer, and Gamez recorded two hits each.
  • Davis recorded the team's only extra-base hit with his two-run double and finished with a team-best two RBIs.
  • Kings Point also received a strong effort from its pitching staff. Freshman Tucker Bearden (Lakeland, Tenn.), making his collegiate debut, allowed just three hits and two runs while striking out three to earn his first career victory. The bullpen limited Earlham to just one run over the final four innings. Senior Charles Cahalan (Overland Park, Kan.) struck out two of the three batters he faced, while classmate Eddie Lippert (Deer Park, N.Y.) allowed one run and posted a strikeout as he retired three of the four hitters he faced. Sophomore Travis Campbell (Alba, Texas) tossed a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout, and senior Caden Pierce (Marietta, Ga.) secured his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth and one strikeout.
  • Kings Point also stole five bases on the day, with Kruer leading the way with two.

Up Next
Merchant Marine is back at it tomorrow, March 10, at 1:30 p.m. against Penn St. Behrend at Lawnwood Sports Complex in Fort Pierce, Fla.

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