Game 1 Box Score (Defiance 7 - USMMA 1)
Game 2 Box Score (Defiance 3 - USMMA 2)

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 9, 2020) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team lost a pair of games to Defiance College on Day 2 of the Gene Cusic Classic on Monday by the final scores of 7-1 and 3-2. The Mariners' record drops to 1-3, while the Yellow Jackets improve to 2-2. 

Both teams produced runs via RBI doubles within the first two innings of game one, as Defiance struck first in the top of the first, followed by the Mariners answering back as junior Alex Mesaros (Pittsburgh, Pa.) knocked in sophomore Noah Herdman (Naperville, Ill.) in the bottom of the second to tie it up. 

After neither team scored in the third, the Yellow Jackets went ahead by one on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. They tacked on five more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach. 

Senior Garrick Colorado (Williamsburg, Va.) suffered the loss despite tossing five innings and allowing just two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Herdman led the Mariners with two hits, while Mesaros and freshman Joey Zanetti (Richmond, Va.) both had one hit each. 

Defiance junior Nate Kaffenbarger finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, while senior Ben Bucklew was 1-for-3 and knocked in three runs. Junior Cohen Nies earned the victory after throwing six innings of one-run ball on four hits with seven Ks. 

In the second game, the Yellow Jackets opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first and then both pitchers got into a groove. For the Mariners, it was freshman Kole Register (Virginia Beach, Va.), who finished the complete game with no earned runs against on just four hits with eight strikeouts. 

USMMA took the lead with runs in consecutive innings in the fourth on a home run by Herdman, and the fifth on an RBI single by freshman Jared Chambers (Houston, Texas) the plated junior Jack McCann (Newark, Del.) to make it 2-1. 

Things didn't go well for the Mariners in the bottom of the sixth inning, however, as the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with nobody out. They scored the tying run on a double play and then the go-ahead run on a balk during the next at-bat. Both runs were unearned. 

Mesraos and McCann both had doubles for the Mariners and accounted for two of their six hits. 

For Defiance, junior Colin Minner had his team's only RBI, while also scoring a run. Senior Jon Brown got the start and lasted five innings, giving up two runs on six hits with three Ks. Classmate Grant Curavo earned the win after tossing two hitless innings, striking out two. 

The Mariners are back in action on Wednesday, March 11, when they take on Wittenberg College (5-2). First pitch in the single, nine-inning game against the Tigers is set for 9 a.m. at Terry Park Field #3. Live stats for the game will be available at this link. 

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