The USMMA baseball team dropped back-to-back games Sunday afternoon, eliminating them from the 2014 Landmark Conference Tournament. The Mariners had a chance to advance to the Landmark Championship in their first game of the day but fell to second-seed Susquehanna, 6-5, in 11 innings. Top-seeded Moravian avenged their opening game loss to USMMA by eliminating the Mariners, 7-4, in Sunday’s nightcap.
In the Mariners’ first tournament game, Susquehanna (27-12) advanced to its first Landmark Conference Championship with a 6-5 victory in 11 innings. The Crusaders pushed across the game-winning run on a bases loaded walk drawn by Dylan Glassmire. The inning started with a lead-off single followed by back-to-back fielder’s choices that loaded the bases with no outs. The Crusaders had jumped out to a 4-1 edge to start the game over the first two innings.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (21-13-1) got on the board in the top of the second inning with the aid of a Susquehanna throwing error. The middle of the Mariners lineup produced two more runs in the top of the third as Warren Hartmann and Danny Collins each delivered a RBI single. The Crusaders tallied one run in the bottom of the third but Richard Kernan answered for USMMA with a RBI that brought the Mariners to within one at 5-4.
Hartmann provided the solo shot that would send the game to extra innings in the top of the eighth. The senior second baseman put his sixth homer of the season over the left field wall to tie the game, 5-5. USMMA would strand runners at the corners in the top of the 11th inning before the Crusaders won it in the bottom half of the frame.
In USMMA’s second game, Moravian (31-9) also jumped out to an early advantage only to see the Mariners come back to tie the game. The Greyhounds opened up their lead with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Andrew MacKinnon doubled home the first USMMA run in the top of the third to make it 3-1.
Cameron Stadele came up with a long two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning to square the game at 3-3. Stadele’s long ball was also his sixth of the year as he also chased in Collins, who started the inning with a double down the right field line. Colin Case beat out a potential double play ball for the Greyhounds in the sixth inning that allowed the go-ahead run to cross the plate.
Quinn Flemin led-off the top of the eighth with a single to put the tying run on base. Two batters later, Hartmann came up with another game-tying hit as he knocked a single through the left side that evened the score at 4-4. However, Moravian used a squeeze play as well as a USMMA error to push across three runs, two unearned, in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Mariners were unable to make a third comeback as the Greyhounds eliminated USMMA from the Landmark Conference Tournament with the 7-4 decision.
Track & Field
The USMMA track & field program wrapped up its host duties of the 2014 Landmark Conference Outdoor Championships Sunday afternoon as the men finished fourth while the women earned sixth at Brooks Stadium. The men’s 4×400 team finished the day strong as the Mariners earned second-place in the final event of the championships. Mary Zehnder, of Carle Place, earned USMMA’s points on the women’s side with a sixth-place outing in the 5,000-meter run, clocking in at 2:34.49 to win her heat.
Kenneth Pressey cleared 1.83 meters in the high jump as the sophomore finished tied for third. Brendan Dooley earned a bronze medal of his own by crossing the finish line in 10:11.25 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The USMMA 4×100 relay squad of Mickel McGann, Tyler Washington, Cameron Green and Nathan Rogers claimed a silver medal with a mark of 44.00 seconds. Washington secured a bronze in the 400-meter hurdles with a 58.38 seconds performance.
He placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles final as he crossed the tape in 15.79 seconds, just .20 seconds away from earning another medal.
Rogers also scored points for the Mariners in the triple jump as he earned seventh-place with a mark of 11.57 meters. Giovanni Sessoms took eighth-place for one team point in the men’s discus as he posted a throw of 35.63 meters. The 4×400 team that ended the day with silver for the Mariners was comprised of Thomas Routt, Washington, Green, and Rogers.
The Mariners finished fourth at the meet while Susquehanna captured its first-ever Landmark Conference Championship on the men’s side. Moravian won its seventh straight Landmark title on the women’s side.
