Saratoga Springs, NY – Union (9-25, 8-16 Liberty) closed out its season with another Liberty League doubleheader split against Skidmore at Castle Diamond. In the opener the Dutchmen were edged by the Thoroughbreds 5-4 before bouncing back for an 8-7 win.
Zach Tillo (Lancaster, MA/Exeter) went two-for-five at the plate with two runs scored while pitcher
Matt Sheehan (Lexington, MA/Belmont Hill) lasted seven innings allowing just two earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and a walk in the game two win.
In the first game, Skidmore pitcher Brian Naslund earned his second win of the season, scattering five hits and surrendering two runs while striking out two. The Thoroughbreds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second and added a run in the third inning when Mike Salamone and Tim Ryan hit back-to-back doubles increasing the lead to 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Skidmore added two more runs, highlighted by a Rob Hutchison run scoring double for a 5-0 advantage. In the fifth inning Union's
Adam Chused (Concord, MA/Concord-Carlisle) drove in two runs cutting the lead to 5-2. Chused finished 1-3 at the plate with two RBIs, while
Shawn Johnston (Hamilton, NJ/The Peddie School) was 2-4.
The Dutchmen picked up two runs in the seventh, highlighted by a
Jeff Viamari (Longmeadow, MA/Tabor Academy) RBI double. However, James Melillo retired the final Union batter for the save.
Hutchison was 2-3 with an RBI, while Marty Levison finished 1-2 with a double and a run. Ryan was 1-3 with a double and a RBI for the Thoroughbreds.
In the second game, Union scored five runs in the third inning. The Thoroughbreds kept it close scoring four runs in the seventh inning capped off by an Evan McNamara two-run double, cutting the Dutchmen lead to 8-6. McNamara finished 2-4 with a run and two RBIs.
Skidmore added another run in the eighth inning and threatened in the ninth with the bases loaded, however Dutchmen reliever
John Moore (Westport, MA/Moses Brown) retired the final Skidmore batter to secure the victory.
Tillo and Johnston were both 2-5 with two runs, while
Brian Hurley (Greece, NY/Greece Athena) was 1-3 with two RBIs and a run for Union. For the Thoroughbreds, Ryan finished 2-4 with three RBIs, while Adam Brown was 2-4.
