AUBURNDALE, FL – With a come from behind win in game two, the Union College baseball team swept Westminster College (MO) to start the 2018 season with two wins on Friday.
 
In game one of the day, Union powered to an 8-5 victory in seven innings. In the second game, Union posted five runs in the top of the seventh of the second game to force extra innings, and put up four in the top of the ninth to secure an 11-7 win over the Blue Jays.
 
The Dutchmen wasted no time to start the new year, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning of game one. The Blue Jays got on the board with a lone run in the second, but Union responded with two runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the inning to stretch its lead to 5-1.
 
Union then extended its lead again, going up 7-1 in the fourth with two runs from Anthony Amoroso and Jake Vesling.
 
The Blue Jays then had their best offensive inning of the game with a three-run frame in the fifth, but after cutting their deficit to 7-4 after the fifth, the two teams traded runs in sixth as Union held on for the 8-5 win.
 
Nick Williams earned the win, throwing five innings, while Bill Christopher picked up the save throwing the final two innings.
 
The second game was a fairly low scoring affair in the early innings, but the two teams exploded for matching five-run innings.
 
With the score tied at 2-2 and the bases loaded, Westminster earned a base on balls to take a 3-2 lead and keep the bases juiced. Ryan Clavin then hit a grand slam to put the Blue Jays up 7-2.
 
With the game scheduled for seven innings and facing a five-run deficit with one inning left to play, all seemed lost. However, the Dutchmen put together a huge top of the seventh to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
 
The Dutchmen strung together four-consecutive singles to score a run and keep the bases loaded with no out. Andy Labeck then stepped up to the plate and hit a bases-clearing double. However, an error by the first basemen allowed Labeck to score on the play and tie the game up at 7-7.
 
As the game headed into extra innings, both teams traded scoreless outings in the eighth.
 
In the ninth, Vesling led off with a double. A hit by pitch and a single then loaded the bases for the Dutchmen. Colin Kelley then hit a sac-fly to left center which provided Vesling a safe path home for the go-ahead run.
 
With one out, Jack Koch hit a single to score Labeck from second and put Sean Cullen on third. After Koch stole second, Sam Kirschenbaum hit a single to clear the bases and put Union up 11-7.
 
Colin Nye closed out the final 2.1 innings and recorded the win for the Dutchmen.
 
Union returns to the diamond tomorrow for a single game against Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Auburndale, FL.