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United States Merchant Marine Academy

EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Luke Kruer
SMD Concepts
1
Bard BARD 9-14
14
Winner Merchant Marine MERCHANT 15-7
Bard BARD
9-14
1
Final
14
Merchant Marine MERCHANT
15-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bard BARD 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 1
Merchant Marine MERCHANT 1 7 2 2 2 0 X 14 8 2

W: Cahalan, Charles (1-0) L: Tom Maxwell (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Kruer Becomes Career Leader In Home Runs As Baseball Dominates Bard 14-1 At Home

KINGS POINT, N.Y. (April 15, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team bounced back with a dominant 14-1 victory over non-conference opponent Bard on Wednesday evening at Bartoszek Field. The Mariners improve to 15-7 on the season, while the Raptors fall to 9-14 overall.

Game Links

How It Happened
The Mariners opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as sophomore Luke Kruer (Sellersburg, Ind.) recorded a RBI groundout to give USMMA a 1-0 lead.

Kings Point broke the game open in the second inning with a seven-run outburst. Freshman Drew Davis (Springboro, Ohio) came around to score on a wild pitch before sophomore Braden Vazquez (Missouri City, Texas) delivered a two-run double to extend the lead to 4-0. Entering the game, Kruer sat tied with Davey May ('09) for the school record for home runs with 19. He only needed two at-bats to become the school's all-time leader in home runs with 20 as he belted a grand slam to stretch the advantage to 8-0.

The Blue and Gray continued to build their advantage in the third inning, adding two more runs. Freshman Axel Prechel (Corvallis, Ore.) recorded an RBI double, and classmate Thomas Byrne (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) followed with a sacrifice fly RBI to push the lead to 10-0.

Merchant Marine extended its lead in the fourth inning when junior Christian Gamez (Kent Island, Md.) ripped a two-run double to make it 12-0.

Bard got on the board in the fifth inning on a wild pitch to make it 12-1, but the Mariners quickly answered in the bottom half. Freshman Davin Fulton (Houston, Texas) scored on a wild pitch, and sophomore Ben Taylor (Lexington, Ky.) drew an RBI walk to extend the lead to 14-1, which held the rest of the way for a Mariner victory.

Deeper Look At The Box Score

  • Five Mariners scored two or more runs, with Kruer, Prechel, Vazquez, Davis, and junior Landon Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.) each crossing the plate twice.
  • Three Blue and Gray batters recorded multi-RBI performances as Kruer posted a game-high five RBIs, while Vazquez and Gamez each drove in two.
  • Kruer belted a grand slam, his fifth home run over the last two games.
  • Two Mariners recorded multi-hit games as Kruer and Prechel led the way with two hits apiece.
  • Senior Charles Cahalan (Overland Park, Kan.) earned the victory, allowing no runs over two innings with one strikeout. Freshman Levi Reale (Woodbridge, Va.) tossed one scoreless inning with a strikeout, while sophomore Travis Campbell (Alba, Texas) worked a scoreless sixth inning. Senior Caden Pierce (Marietta, Ga.) finished the game with a perfect seventh, striking out two batters.

Up Next
Merchant Marine returns to action for a Skyline Conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 18, against Old Westbury, beginning at noon.

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