WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Coast Guard baseball kicked off their spring break with a split vs Catholic University. CGA won game one 7-2 with Catholic evening out the day with a 5-0 victory in game two. The split moves Catholic to 4-4 on the season.
In game one, Coast Guard got their bats going early.
Rick Barkley(Bellevue, WA) hit a solo home run in the 2nd with
Carson Cho(Haymarket, VA) hitting a two run shot in the 2nd to make the score 3-0. For Barkley, it was a historic bomb. It was the 18th home run of the junior shortstop's career, which ties a Coast Guard Academy all-time record.
Catholic would chip away with an RBI single in the 3rd but the Bears would punch right back in the 4th when
Luke Percifield(Pinellas Park, FL) hit a two strike, two RBI single to score
Blake George(Bethlehem, PA) and
Ayden Gurevich(Lake Worth, FL).
On the mound for CGA was
Vito Giordano(Scarsdale, NY) who was masterful in his second outing of the season earning his second win(2-0). The sophomore threw six innings, allowing just one run, and striking out eight. The biggest of those K's came in the bottom of the 5th when Catholic; trailing by five, appeared to be gaining momentum. With two men on and just one out, Giordano beared down and forced a flyout to George and then a clutch strikeout looking to the Cardinals cleanup hitter to end the threat. He would keep the momentum on his side by striking out the side in the 6th.
Coast Guard would add some insurance in the 9th with a two out
Parker Madden(Ruston, LA) double to score
Carson Cho and
Nathan Stafford(Jupiter, FL). Cho reached by single and would finish the day 4-5, just a triple away from the cycle while also making a diving play to steal a hit and end the first inning.
Coming in relief for the victor Giordano was freshman
John DiMarsico(Severna Park, MD). The southpaw earned his first career save with three excellent innings in relief to seal the 7-2 Bear victory.
In game two, Coast Guard was unable to get their bats going against amidst a stellar outing by Catholic starter Cody Bosak(Woodbridge, VA). The Cardinals on the other hand had one big inning(a four run 3rd) to defeat CGA, the only inning in which an earned run was scored. Coast Guard had just three hits in game two:
Rick Barkley,
Carson Cho, and
Kael Godshalk(Bangor, PA).
The Coast Guard bullpen was the bright point of game two, holding the Cardinals scoreless for the last five innings of the game. Sophomore
Jackson Dorsey(Newark, DE) threw four scoreless innings, striking out two and allowing just three baserunners. In the eighth,
Tyler Michalek(Haslet, TX) struck out one and needed just nine pitches to dispose of three Cardinals batters.
The split moves Coast Guard to 3-1 early on in the 2025 campaign. They will face Catholic again tomorrow at 12:00 PM in the series rubber match.
