AMSTERDAM, NY – The Union College baseball team picked up 4-1 and 9-8 wins in a doubleheader against Clarkson on Saturday afternoon at Shuttleworth Park.
 
The Trio of Sam Kirschenbaum, Sean Cullen and Andy Labeck continued to lead the Dutchmen, as all three batted .500 or better on the day, while captain Jake Vesling hit .750 in the game two after pitching in game one.
 
Vesling recorded the seven-inning complete-game win in the first outing, conceding just one run on five hits while striking out seven.
 
Union got on the board in the first inning of the day, taking a 2-0 lead over the Golden Knights thanks to Colin Kelly's fourth home run of the season. With Kirschenbaum on first, Kelly put one over the center field wall for the two-run dinger. The Dutchmen then added solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings, before closing out for the 4-1 win.
 
Game two played out much differently as Clarkson's bats came alive. Both teams got on the board in the first inning, but Clarkson would hold a 3-2 advantage before extending its lead to 5-2 by the middle of the fourth.
 
The Dutchmen started to battle back in the sixth, as singles from Vesling and Labeck whittled their deficit down to one. In the eighth, Union jumped back into the driver's seat, scoring five runs on five hits and one error. Kirschenbaum and Vesling led off with back-to-back hits before a Labeck single would drive them both home. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Joe Ganim hit a triple to give the Dutchmen a 9-5 lead.
 
Clarkson wasn't going down without a fight, and scored three runs to pull back within one. However, reliever Nick Williams earned the save as he struck out the final Golden Knight, stranding their go-ahead run on second.
 
Union and Clarkson return to Shuttleworth Park to close out the weekend series tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at noon (ET).