KINGS POINT, NY – The Maritime College baseball team concluded the regular season by visiting Merchant Marine on Sunday.  The Mariners (26-13, 16-4 Skyline) took both ends of the doubleheader, earning a 5-1 victory in the opener before rallying for a 9-7 triumph over the Privateers (22-17, 13-7 Skyline) in Game 2 at Bartoszek Field.

Merchant Marine got on the board in the second inning of Game 1 when Danny Heck hit a leadoff double and Luke Kruer followed with a two-run homer to left field.  The Mariners then increased their lead to 5-0 in the fifth.  After Jack Millen started the inning with an inside-the-park homer, Garrett Clapsaddle drove in a run on a groundout and Heck scored on an error.

That was more than enough offense for Ryan Felton.  He gave up a leadoff single to Owen Weber (Kings Park, NY), who was immediately erased on a double play to start a string of 13 consecutive Maritime batters retired before a one-out single by David Granucci (Medford, NY) in the fifth.  The Privateers finally broke through in the seventh when Harry Leipold (Thornwood, NJ) drew a one-out walk and Logan Martinson (Sumner, WA) knocked him in with a double to right center.  Randy Ventura (Syosset, NY) grounded out to end the game, however, Merchant Marine notched a 5-1 victory.

Felton (5-4) allowed one run on three hits, struck out three and walked three in a complete game effort.  Heck finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored at the plate, while Braden Vazquez had a double in three at-bats.  Four of the Mariners' eight hits went for extra bases (two home runs and two doubles).

Frank Santeramo (Garden City, NY) (1-3) started on the mound for Maritime and took the loss.  He surrendered five runs (four earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings of work.  Haydn Strycharz (Pittstown, NJ) pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up one hit and recording one strikeout.

In Game 2, the Privateers jumped out to a 5-0 lead.  Michael Frazzetta (Howard Beach, NY) crushed a solo homer to left in the top of the first, then ripped an RBI single in the third.  Leipold followed with a two-run triple to right center before scoring on Granucci's sacrifice fly.  Maritime then made it 6-0 when Joey Goodman (Merrick, NY) came across on a Weber sacrifice fly in the seventh.

After Heck brought Merchant Marine within 6-2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, Martinson delivered an RBI single in the top of the eighth.  However, the Mariners responded with a seven-spot in the bottom half of the inning.  A two-run single by Christian Gamez gave Merchant Marine the lead, and he scored on Millen's single.  Caden Pierce then worked around a Chris Picarella (Levittown, NY) single in the top of the ninth to finish off the 9-7 win and clinch the No. 1 seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament for the Mariners.

Frazzetta ended up 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored for the Privateers.  Leipold was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Weber went 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. 

Joe Sorge (Montgomery, NY) made the start on the mound and lasted seven innings.  He gave up two runs on three hits, struck out five and walked two.  Colin McKeon (Mullica Hill, NJ) pitched 0.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing five runs on four hits, before giving way to Jared Kay (Lewes, DE) (0-3).  He suffered the loss after yielding two runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout over 0.1 innings.

Millen, Clapsaddle and Vazquez all had two hits for Merchant Marine in Game 2.  Heck, meanwhile, was 1-for-3 with a homer, a run scored and three RBIs.  Starting pitcher David Cherwonuk went 2.1 innings on the mound.  He yielded five runs (three earned) on five hits and notched three strikeouts.  Four relievers followed, with Kruer receiving credit for the win.  Pierce tallied one strikeout during a scoreless ninth to pick up his seventh save of the season.

As a result of the two losses, Maritime fell to the No. 5 seed in the Skyline Tournament.  The Privateers will visit fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary (20-16-1, 13-6 Skyline) in the single-elimination first round on Wednesday.