NEW LONDON, Conn.  -  Coast Guard baseball hosted the Mariners of Merchant Marine today in this season's annual showdown between service academies. The Bears earned a 10-3 win thanks to the hitters taking advantage of poor Kings Point defense throughout the day.

Coast Guard improves to 8-6 with their first win against Kings Point since 2020, while Merchant Marime moves to 6-8.  The Mariners will look to pick up a win tomorrow as they host the Gothic Knights of New Jersey City University (9-5-1).

Coast Guard benefited from sloppy fielding on Kings Points' part throughout the afternoon, which culminated in the visiting Mariners committing eight errors by the game's end. One such play happened in the bottom of the third inning while the Bears were up 2-1, which started with catcher Parker Madden (Sr. - Ruston, La.) hitting a comeback grounder to the Merchant Marine pitcher with runners on first and second. Looking to turn two, the hurler turned to second base to get the first out but missed his covering teammate on the throw. The Mariners' center fielder, who had already been rushing in to back up the play, bent down to pick up the ball with his glove but completely missed it, allowing both runners to score to give Coast Guard a 4-1 lead.

The Bears scored three more in the inning, two of which crossed on a double by center fielder Kael Godshalk (Jr. - Bangor, Pa.). The outfielder went 2-for-4 and reached on a hit-by-pitch while being Coast Guard's biggest run producer on the afternoon. Madden was another Bear to earn an RBI, bringing in the first run of the game with his double in the first inning, while right fielder Jack Steel (Sr. - Medford Lakes, N.J.) picked one up with a third inning liner down the right field line to make up the rest of that big inning. First baseman Nathan Stafford (So. - Jupiter, Fla.) reached base in each of his at-bats with a 3-for-3 day alongside a walk and a hit-by-pitch, which he turned into three runs. Also tallying multi-hit days for Coast Guard were shortstop Rick Barkley (Jr. - Bellevue, Wash.) and third baseman Luke Percifield (Jr. - Pinellas Park, Fla.), both of whom went 2-for-4.

Coast Guard added three more in the eighth inning thanks to more Kings Point mishaps. Stafford scored the first by crossing the plate on a wild pitch, while two more score later-on after a Godshalk fly ball down the right field line was missed by a diving Mariners right fielder. The Bears also had the advantage of solid pitching throughout the contest. Rookie southpaw John DiMarsico (Severna Park, Md.) opened and pitched two innings of no-run ball, allowing two hits and striking out two in the process; he was followed by Harrison Milbert (Jr. - Kingston, Mass.), who allowed two runs with one earned and three hits and a strikeout in two and two-thirds innings of work; hard-throwing Tyler Michalek (Jr. - Haslet, Tex.) pitched the remaining four and a third, allowing one run and four hits while sending down three. Milbert was credited with his first win of the season to improve to 1-2.

Bears baseball is back at Nitchman tomorrow as they look to start a winning streak with a victory over Albertus Magnus College (3-8). Coast Guard won last year's match-up with a hefty 15-9 decision that saw the Bears score 13 between the fourth and seventh innings.