Merchant-Marine athletics photo

KINGS POINT, N.Y. (May 9, 2021) – The USMMA baseball team captured the program's first conference title on Sunday with a thrilling 3-2 extra-inning win over Old Westbury in the Skyline Championship Game at Bartoszek Field. Junior Garrett Aichele (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) provided the dramatics with a long walk-off homer to right-center to win it.

The Mariners (16-3) earn the Skyline's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships and will find out early this week where they are headed for the regional rounds.

Senior Andrew Hunt (Severna Park, Md.) earned the victory after tossing two scoreless innings on Sunday, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after allowing no earned runs over five innings in relief with six strikeouts and a save in Saturday's win over the Panthers.

Old Westbury broke through with a run in the top of the second, however the Mariners answered right back on an RBI-single by senior Jack McCann (Newark, Del.) the plated freshman Jack Millen (Shelby, N.C.).

The Panthers went back out on top in the next half-inning, but just like before, Merchant Marine got the run right back, this time on a laser beam of a homer over the left field wall by sophomore Joey Zanetti (Richmond, Va.).

Senior Ben Kane (Huntington Beach, Calif.) got the start for the Mariners and lasted five innings, giving up two runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Junior Billy Todd (Gastonia, N.C.) came in and fired two scoreless innings of relief, while classmate Quinton Heck (Massillon, Ohio) added one scoreless inning in the eighth before Hunt came in.

The Mariners had a great chance in the bottom of the seventh inning, but were unable to produce with runners at the corners with one out. Old Westbury got the bases loaded in the top of the ninth before Hunt blew one by the Panthers' #2-hitter John Dell'Olio to get out of the jam.

USMMA went in order in the bottom of the ninth before the Panthers got a one-out runner in the top of the 10th but were unable to move him along. That set up the stage for Aichele's walk-off with one out in the bottom of the 10th when he drilled a fastball off the light stanchion passed the right-centerfield wall to start the celebration for the Mariners.