PURCHASE, N.Y. (April 13, 2025) – Senior Jack Millen (Shelby, N.C.) and junior Caden Pierce (Marietta, Ga.) became the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy baseball program's career leaders in hits and saves on Sunday as Kings Point picked up a sweep of the twin bill with a 6-2 win in Game 1 and a 10-6 win in Game 2. With the wins, the Mariners improved to 15-10 (7-1 Skyline) while the Panthers dropped to 8-20 (5-7 Skyline).
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Entering the day, Millen was sitting on 202 career hits, four away from tying Warren Hartmann's ('14) school record of 206 hits. Millen only needed four at-bats to tie Hartmann's hit record as the senior captain went 4-for-4 with two RBI in Merchant Marine's Game 1 win. Hartmann and Millen did not share the school hit record for very long as Millen's two-run double in the second inning of Game 2 crowned the third baseman as the school's all-time hit leader with 207. Millen finished Game 2Â 2-for-4 with four RBI and had 208 hits to his name when the Mariners departed Purchase picking up his other hit on a two-run homer to left field for his third home run of the season.
The other story of today's doubleheader for USMMA was the big inning. Kings Point propelled themselves to victory in Game 1 with a three-run fourth inning. Sophomore Christian Gamez (Kent Island, Md.) hit a two-out two-run double, and then Millen followed with an RBI double of his own to open up a 4-1 Mariners lead.
Elsewhere for Merchant Marine, senior Danny Heck (Massillon, Ohio) continued his home-run-hitting rampage by hitting a long ball for the third straight contest in Game 1. Heck's fifth-inning solo shot was his team-leading fourth home run of the season and the sixth of his career to stretch the advantage to 5-1.
On the mound, junior Pierce became the Academy's all-time saves leader, passing Kyle Cunningham (' 19) with his 14th career save in Game 1. Pierce entered the bottom of the seventh with two men on for the Panthers and the tying run on deck. USMMA's closer made quick work of the only two batters he faced by striking out Myles Scarry and getting Panos Sinis to pop out to senior catcher Garrett Clapsaddle (Murphy, N.C.) to lock down his record-setting save and give KP a 6-2 victory.
Kings Point gained full control of Game 2 with a five-run second inning and a three-run fourth inning. Millen's aforementioned record-breaking two-run double capped the Mariners' five-run second inning after an RBI double from Heck and a sacrifice fly from freshman Braden Vazquez (Missouri City, Texas).
In the fourth inning, Millen's aforementioned two-run shot opened up a 7-2 Mariners lead before USMMA tacked on an unearned run to make it 8-2. On the day, Merchant Marine took full advantage of six Panthers errors by scoring nine unearned runs.
USMMA clicked on all cylinders this afternoon as starting pitchers freshman Cody White (San Diego, Calif.) and junior Ryan Felton (Granbury, Texas) combined to toss 11 innings and only allowed four runs while striking out seven Panthers combined. The freshman White notched his second career win, while Felton earned his third win of the season.
Next, the Mariners will travel to Newburgh, New York, on Tuesday, April 15, to take on Skyline Conference rival Mount Saint Mary.
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