Kings Point, NY – The USMMA baseball team posted 10 runs in the first three innings en route to a 12-4 victory Wednesday afternoon over Maritime (NY) at Lower Roosevelt Field. Joseph Policastro (Hauppauge, NY) picked up the victory with six strong innings of work, allowing just one earned run that came in the first inning. Warren Hartmann (Wyckoff, NJ) went 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBI, two stolen bases and three runs scored.
Maritime (NY) (5-13) scored the opening run of the game on a double play ball that erased what had been a first-and-third with no outs jam. The Mariners would turn three double plays in the first four innings of action. The Privateers would tack on three runs in the eighth inning against the Mariners relief pitching. However, Maritime (NY) would struggle in the field, committing six errors on the afternoon.
Merchant Marine (6-7) answered back and struck for five runs in the bottom half of the frame. Jake Martin (San Diego, CA) had the big hit with a two-run single down the left field line. Hartmann, Jacob Wood (Richmond, VA), and Keil Silva (Castle Rock, CO) all drove in one run during the rally. USMMA added a sixth run in the second inning with a Danny Collins (Sleepy Hollow, NY) double to right field.
The Mariners broke the game open in the bottom of the third as they pushed across four unearned runs. Silva notched his second RBI with a bunt up the third base line while Andrew MacKinnon (Buffalo, NY) earned a RBI while reaching on an error, which ultimately resulted in a pair of USMMA markers. Hartmann capped the Merchant Marine spurt with a fielder's choice RBI to bring home Nicholas Kopacka (Saugus, CA).
Nicholas Dimas (Keller, TX) led off the sixth inning with a double to center and eventually scored on a Nicholas Nalette (Goffstown, NH) single through the left side to make it 11-1. The Mariners final run of the game came as Hartmann and Collins put together back-to-back hits in the seventh. Merchant Marine got scoreless innings of relief from both Ben Tracy (Doylestown, PA) and Jeff Suciu (Zanesville, OH).
The USMMA baseball team returns to action this weekend for a three-game Landmark Conference series against Drew.