FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 18, 2022) – The USMMA baseball team had another strong day at the plate at the Gene Cusic Classic, but the Mariners' offensive output ultimately was not enough, as they fell short in their Friday afternoon tilt against the Bethel University Royals, 13-6. With its fifth-straight win, Bethel improved to 9-2, while the Mariners dropped to 3-8 in defeat.
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

Game Recap
Merchant Marine scored six-plus runs for the fourth-consecutive contest and have plated a total of 30 runs in the four games. Merchant Marine compiled 11 hits and nine walks in the game to go along with their six runs. Freshman Garrett Clapsaddle (Murphy, N.C.) registered his second multi-hit game of the week by going 2-for-3 with two RBI-singles to notch the first multi-RBI game of his collegiate career.
 
Fellow freshman Derek Vanasse (Camarillo, Calif.) joined Clapsaddle in creating offense for the Mariners. Vanasse was highly-productive once again, as he finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. It was Clapsaddle who drove Vanasse home both times with his two RBI singles.
 
On the mound, sophomore Kole Register (Virginia Beach, Va.) took the loss, as it was Bethel's top-two hitters who did the damage offensively. The Royals' leadoff-hitter Matthew Carlsen and number-two batter Ty Koehn combined for an 8-for-10 day at the dish and drove in nine of the Royals' 13 runs.
 
In relief of Register, sophomores Kellen Brown (Fort Pierce, Fla.) and Grant Gould (Coronado, Calif.) both made their first appearances on the bump this season. They combined for only one run allowed over 2.1 innings on a total of 39 pitches. Brown fanned two Royals in his 1.1 IP, while Gould tossed a one-two-three eighth inning on only 11 pitches.
 
Up Next
The Mariners close out their stay in Florida tomorrow morning with a 9 a.m. showdown against the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Merchant Marine will look to get back in the win column versus the Blue Devils before heading home to host arch-rival Coast Guard on Monday afternoon. Any live links for the game will be posted on the USMMA Baseball Schedule Page before first pitch and sent out on our social media sites (links below).
 
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