BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The United States Merchant Marine Academy baseball team earned a pair of victories, 8-1 and 6-3, to sweep a Landmark Conference doubleheader from host Moravian College at Blue & Grey Field Saturday.
The Mariners opened the scoring in the first game with seven runs in the fourth inning. The first two runs of the inning scored on an error by the Greyhounds while senior outfielder Nicholas Kopacka had an RBI infield sing. Sophomore outfielder Keil Silva added an RBI bunt single before sophomore third baseman Joseph Policastro connected on a two-RBI double. Junior second baseman Warren Hartmann finished off the inning with an RBI single.
USMMA added a run in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI double from Hartmann.
Moravian scored its run in the bottom half of the seventh when sophomore outfielder Matt Hanson led off with a walk and scored on an RBI single by junior outfielder Joseph Connell.
The Mariners had a 10-4 advantage in hits in the opening game with Hartmann going three-for-four and Kopacka going two-for-two.
Freshman Anthony Zaloga took the loss on the mound for the Greyhounds, allowing seven runs, five earned, on six hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts in four innings of action. Freshman Brett Wagner tossed two innings with a run, four hits and a walk while freshman Charles Savite pitched the final inning. USMMA junior Timothy Arner tossed a complete game with five strikeouts.
The Greyhounds opened the scoring in the second game with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Sophomore shortstop Colin Case reached on an error and scored on an RBI triple from Savite. Sophomore third baseman Ryan Luke followed with an RBI single scoring Savite.
Moravian extended its lead to 3-0 with a run in the third inning. Hanson singled with one out and scored on an RBI double by Luke.
The Mariners scored a run in the top of the fourth to cut the Greyhounds lead to 3-1 on an RBI single from Kopacka. USMMA then scored five times in the fifth inning for a 6-3 lead. Junior outfielder Andrew MacKinnon had an RBI single in the inning before Hartmann tied the game with an RBI double. Sophomore pitcher Cameron Stadele put the Mariners in front with an RBI sacrifice fly before junior first baseman Jake Martin had a two-RBI double.
USMMA had a 7-5 edge in hits in the second contest. Luke was the only player from either team with multiple hits as he went two-for-three for the Greyhounds.
Sophomore Chris Lansberry took the loss on the mound for Moravian, allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits and two walks while striking out three batters in 4 1/3 innings. Junior Ben Hammel tossed the final 2 2/3 innings with two unearned runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout. Stadele pitched a complete game for the Mariners.
The Greyhounds and the Mariners will close out their three-game Landmark Conference series with a single, nine-inning game on Sunday, April 7th starting at 12:00 p.m. at Gillespie Field.
