Kings Point, NY – The USMMA baseball team put up a season high 14 runs in a convincing 14-5 victory over Lehman Tuesday evening at Lower Roosevelt Field. Andrew MacKinnon (Buffalo, NY) went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring three runs and notching two RBI. The Mariners stole eight bases without being caught and scored in all but one inning.
Lehman (9-10) was able to manufacture the opening run of the game in the first inning with a sacrifice bunt followed by an Edwin Marrero RBI single. The Mariners immediately answered in their first turn at the plate as the first three USMMA hitters reached base, including a game-tying single off the bat of Warren Hartmann (Wyckoff, NJ). Jake Martin(San Diego, CA) would go on to draw a bases loaded RBI walk to put the Mariners on top, 2-1 after a long first inning.
Merchant Marine (12-9) turned an inning ending double-play in the second before Andrew MacKinnon (Buffalo, NY) singled through the right side of the infield in the bottom half to drive in Nicholas Nalette (Goffstown, NH). Hartmann immediately followed MacKinnon with a triple in the left center field gap to make it 4-1, USMMA. Danny Collins (Sleepy Hollow, NY) kept the rally going with a RBI single up the middle. Cameron Stadele (Alpharetta, GA) powered his own triple to the center field fence and would touch the plate on the same play after an errant relay through. The five run frame gave Merchant Marine a 7-1 cushion going to the top of the third.
USMMA grabbed an 8-1 edge in the third after a hit-and-run play that saw Nicholas Dimas(Keller, TX) double down the left field line to bring in Nalette from first. MacKinnon then dropped a single on the left field line that allowed Dimas to cross the plate and push the lead to 9-1. Lehman appeared to cut into the deficit with a two-run homer from Alberto German in the top of the fourth. However, the Mariners won an appeal on the hitter touching home plate to keep it 9-2, leaving German with only credit for a RBI triple.
The Lightning began to chip away in the top of the sixth with three unearned runs as the Mariners committed a pair of errors in the inning. Martin posted his second RBI hit in the bottom of the inning to bring in Stadele and move the score to 11-5. Collins added another RBI to his team leading total in the seventh with a single that brought home MacKinnon, who led off with a double. Hunter Titus (Granbury, TX) then came off the bench to deliver a two-run double to left center field for his first collegiate hit and improve the USMMA advantage to 14-5.
Keil Silva (Castle Rock, CO) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to seal the victory as Joseph Policastro (Hauppauge, NY) earned the win on the mound after five innings of work. The Mariners have now won five of their last six games as they head into a crucial Landmark Conference series at home this weekend against Catholic.