Coast Guard Takes Three Games In Florida

The Coast Guard Academy baseball and softball teams took three of four games in Sunday doubleheaders in Florida. The softball team defeated Methodist University and SUNY Cortland, while the baseball team split a pair of games with the Merchant Marine Academy. The following information was provided by Jason Southard, sports information director at the Coast Guard Academy:

Softball: Coast Guard 9, Methodist 0; Coast Guard 4, Cortland State 3

Junior Megan Cook’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the game winner as #13 Coast Guard beat #6 Cortland State 4-3 in the battle of Top 20 teams after the Bears had opened the season with a 9-0 win in five innings over Methodist at the Rebel Games.

Junior Holli Bastinck was 4 for 4 with two homers and six RBI’s in the win over Methodist while she also had a single and two RBI’s in the big win over Cortland State.

Senior All-American Hayley Feindel fired a one-hit shutout with two walks and 10 strikeouts in the opener.

In the top of the first of the opener, senior Maddie Buchert was hit by a pitch, freshman Jesse Richardson singled in her first collegiate at bat and Bastinck followed with a three-run home run.

In the 4th inning, Buchert singled, followed by a Richardson double. Bastinck then delivered a two-run single. Later in the fourth, junior Kaitlin Ward's double had a two-run double for an 8-0 lead.

Bastinck hit a solo home run in the fifth to close the scoring.

In the win over #6 Cortland State, the Bears got on the board in the top of the first as freshman Erin Lisko, who was hit by the first pitch of the game and scored on Bastinck's infield single.

After Cortland scored in the top of the 3rd to tie the game 1-1, Buchert reached on an error in the bottom of the frame and scored on another RBI single by Bastinck. Sophomore Devin Fellman's single to right plated Bastinck to increase the Bears lead to 3-1.

Cortland plated two runs in the top of the 6th on a bases loaded double which knotted the game 3-3.

Coast Guard answered in the bottom of the frame, utilizing walks to Stacia Sarwinski and Ward, before Sarwinski scored on Cook's RBI single.

Feindel shut the door on the Dragons in the top of the 7th with a strikeout and two ground outs to second base. Feindel allowed four hits, three runs while fanning nine in the win.

Baseball: Coast Guard 8, Merchant Marine 5; Merchant Marine 9, Coast Guard 8

Junior Tyler Babkiewich’s three-run triple highlighted a six run explosion in the seventh and final inning of the opener as Coast Guard split with rival Merchant Marine winning the opener 8-5 before falling 9-8 in the nightcap at the Gene Cusic Classic.

Merchant Marine led 5-2 going to the seventh inning of the opener. Junior Joe Petry delivered an RBI single and classmate Cameron Carroll, who earlier walked scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 5-4. With the bases loaded two outs and two strikes, Babkiewich tripled to right field to clear the bases and give Coast Guard a 7-5 lead. Junior Nolan Gallagher’s RBI single scored Babkiewich with an insurance run.

Junior Tyler Vieira, the Bears’ all-time saves leader, came on in the bottom of the inning following a leadoff walk and allowed a double and struck out two for the save. Junior Curt Barrett, who came on for starter Derek Petty, got the final out of the bottom of the sixth with a strikeout and picked up the win.

Petty worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed nine hits and five runs, three earned while walking four.

Gallagher, senior Mike Salerno and juniors Eric Gerken and Joe Petry each had two hits in the game one win while Babkiewich drove in four runs in the opener.

In game two, Merchant Marine led 8-2 in the third inning and had to hold off a ferocious Coast Guard rally to salvage the split.

Junior Nate Toll started and lasted just two innings allowing eight hits and eight runs, five earned to take the loss. Barrett was brilliant in relief allowing just three hits and one run in five innings work with walking one and striking out four.

Barrett kept the Bears in the game and the offensive chipped away at the 8-2 deficit with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth on an RBI single by Gerken and a bases loaded walk to Babkiewich to make the score 9-6, but the Bears had the bases loaded with one out and didn’t score again in the inning.

In the fifth, and RBI single by freshman Blake Thompson, his first career hit and an RBI ground out by Gerken pulled the Bears to within 9-8.

Coast Guard had runners on first and second in the ninth, but Gerken was called out a close play at first to end the game.

Babkiewich and junior Mike Massaro each had two hits and an RBI in the second game for Coast Guard.