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(From libertyleagueathletics.com)

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.--After capturing the Liberty League regular-season title for the third time in four years, Union College, will host the 2016 Liberty League Baseball Championship. Games for the double elimination tournament are scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 12 at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam, N.Y. Shuttleworth has served as the Dutchmen's home field this season. The winner of the four-team tournament earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
The Dutchmen will face fourth-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in game two of Thursday's double header at 3:30 p.m. Game one will feature second-seeded Clarkson University and third-seeded University of Rochester with the first pitch schedule for noon.
 
Union finished its season 23-12 and 15-7 in Liberty League play to earn the tournament's top seed and hosting rights. The Dutchmen have one of the league's top offenses with a .301 batting average as their lineup boasts six players hitting above .300. Kent Curran is ranked third among league leaders in batting average (.398) as he paces the team from the plate with a team-best 12 doubles. Eric Egan (.336) leads the team in runs batted in (25), home runs (4) and total bases (62) while Jake Fishman has a team-high 41 hits to go along with his .363 batting average. Fishman is also Union's top pitcher, with a 6-0 record, a 0.37 earned run average and a team-high 63 strikeouts. He headlines a pitching staff that has the league's lowest ERA at 3.53. Jake Vesling (3.05 ERA) logged 41.1 innings to lead the Dutchmen and Adam Asenfarb (3.00 ERA) was not far behind with 39.0 innings pitched.
 
Clarkson comes into the tournament as the second seed after closing the regular season with a 19-16 overall record and 14-8 mark in the Liberty League. The Golden Knights sit atop the league in both hitting and fielding with a team batting average of .323 and a .970 fielding percentage. Chris Miller is Clarkson's top offensive weapon as he leads the league in batting average (.441), slugging percentage (.646) and on-base percentage (.507). Other key offensive contributors include Greg Jasek (.380) and Brad Pearson (.350), who have combined for 23 doubles, 71 RBIs and 128 total bases this season. Clarkson's pitching has been led by Ian Castle and Ted Wilson. Castle has posted an ERA of 1.64, good for third among league leaders and opponents are only hitting .212 against him. Wilson posted a team-high 11 appearances in 57.1 innings of work, compiling a 6-3 record with a 2.51 ERA and 28 strikeouts.
 
Rochester earned the third seed of the tournament for the second straight year with an overall record of 22-17 and a 15-9 slate in league play. The Yellowjackets have a 1-2 punch from the pitching mound in John Ghyzel and Evan Janifer. Ghyzel is the team's ace as he is unbeaten this season with a 7-0 record and a 2.26 ERA while Janifer is 4-4, tossing 49.2 innings with 41 strikeouts and a 1.63 ERA. From the bullpen, Rochester typically relies on Luke Meyerson, who has made 14 appearances and leads the league with four saves. As a team, the Yellowjackets are second among league leaders in hitting with a .304 batting average, including four that are hitting above .330. From the plate, Steve Eychner (.421) leads the team with 12 doubles and 56 hits. Nolan Schultz (.386) is not far behind with 12 doubles of his own and 25 runs batted in.
 
RPI is the league's defending champions as they return to the tournament as the fourth seed after posting an overall record of 14-25 (13-11 Liberty League). The Engineers are hitting .264 as a team and they are led by Thomas Desmond who boasts a team-high .327 batting average with seven doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI. Sam Lawrence (.312) is also one of RPI's top hitters as he paces the team with 12 doubles and 28 RBIs. The Engineers pitching staff is led by Brendan McNerney who has put together a 6-2 record with a 2.03 ERA in his rookie campaign. In 53.1 innings pitched, he has struck out 43 and allowed 44 hits. Greg Echeverria and Stephen Schiavone round out the team's top pitchers with a 3.35 and 3.88 ERA, respectively. The duo have combined for 98 strikeouts and 25 walks.
 
Schedule (double elimination format):
 
Thursday, May 11
Game 1 – #2 Clarkson vs. #3 Rochester, 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 – #1 Union vs. #4 RPI, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, May 12
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 10:00 a.m.
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 1:00 p.m.
Game 5 – Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3, 4:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 13
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 – (If necessary) Same teams as Game 6 - 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 6