FORT PIERCE, Fla. (March 9, 2025) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball team opened a six-game Florida trip by splitting a doubleheader against Monmouth College. After earning a 3-2 win in walk-off fashion to start the day, the Mariners dropped the second game by an 18-10 score. USMMA moved to 2-4 on the season, while Monmouth moved to 4-4.
 
Game Links

• Game 1 Box Score
• Game 2 Box Score 

Game 1
An RBI single by senior Jack Millen (Shelby, N.C.) capped a two-run seventh as the Mariners walked-off with a 3-2 win in the opener. Freshman Braden Vazquez (Missouri City, Texas) went 1-for-3 with a game-tying RBI single, while classmate Luke Kruer (Sellersburg, Ind.) finished 1-for-1 with an RBI and a walk. Junior Ryan Felton (Granbury, Texas) allowed two unearned runs and struck out seven in 5.2 innings for a no-decision, while sophomore David Cherwonuk (Chattanooga, Tenn.) tossed 1.1 scoreless frames to earn the win.
 
Felton worked a 1-2-3 top of the first inning before the Mariners stranded runners on second and third in the bottom of the frame. Felton then worked out of trouble in the second, escaping a bases-loaded jam with an inning-ending strikeout.
 
After the Mariners stranded a runner on third in the bottom of the second, Felton surrendered a single to lead off the third before retiring the next three batters.
 
USMMA broke through with the game's first run in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Tommy Chiappetti (Buckeye, Ariz.) was plunked with one out and stole second before Kruer made it 1-0 with an RBI single up the middle.
 
Felton escaped another bases-loaded situation in the fifth before the Fighting Scots took the lead with two runs in the sixth. After a leadoff walk and a two-out error, a passed ball tied the game at 1-1 before a single chased Felton from the ballgame. Cherwonuk plunked his first batter before a bases-loaded walk put Monmouth up, 2-1.
 
Freshman Ben Taylor (Lexington, Ky.) started the seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single before sophomore Landon Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.) was plunked. After Vazquez knotted the score at 2-2 with a one-out RBI single, Monmouth went to the bullpen and Millen won the game with an RBI single to right field.
 
Game 2
A USMMA error in the first led to eight unearned runs and set the tone for an eventual 18-10 defeat. Sophomore Ricardo Olivares (Flower Mound, Texas) finished 3-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, while Millen went 3-for-3 with three RBI and two walks. Troutt and Vazquez each finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
 
The Fighting Scots had runners on the corners with no outs when an error helped set the stage for eight unearned runs as the Mariners trailed, 9-0, after one frame.
 
The Mariners broke through for a run in the second as Taylor drew a leadoff walk before Troutt sent a one-out single into center. A wild pitch then led to a throwing error by the catcher as Taylor scored and made it a 9-1 ballgame.
 
Monmouth went up 12-1 with a three-run third, but USMMA responded with four runs in the fourth. After an error and a double to open the frame, Olivares made it 12-3 with a two-run single to left center. Vazquez followed with a single before Millen added an RBI single up the middle. Chiappetti kept the rally the going with another single before a Kruer RBI fielder's choice made it 12-5.
 
After Monmouth tacked on two more in the fourth for a 14-5 lead, the Mariners answered with three runs in the fifth. A one-out hit batsman and a walk set the table for an Olivares RBI single before a Vazquez single loaded the bases. Millen then drew a bases-loaded walk before a Chiappetti RBI fielder's choice made it 14-8.
 
The Mariners plated another run in the sixth as a two-out RBI single from Olivares brought USMMA to within 14-9.
 
The Fighting Scots promptly answered in the bottom of the sixth as three doubles helped lead to a four-run frame and an 18-9 score.
 
A Millen RBI double in the seventh led to the final 18-10 margin.
 
The Mariners are right back in action at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 10, as the Florida trip continues with a game against Earlham.
 
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