AUBURNDAL, Fla. – The Union College baseball team opened the 2019 season with a 4-3 walk-off win against DePauw on Sunday afternoon at the RussMatt Invitational. However, the Tigers rebounded in the second game of the doubleheader to defeat the Dutchmen, 5-1, to force a split on the day.
 
With the split, Union will head into the second day of the invitational with a 1-1 record, while DePauw sits with an 8-6 record.
 
The Tigers opened the scoring first, using a double to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the first game. DePauw's lead wouldn't last long, however, as Union's leading home run hitter from 2018, Colin Kelly hit the first dinger of the year to put Union up 2-1 in the third.
 
DePauw then slowly worked back into the lead, tying the game in the fifth, before taking a 3-2 lead off an RBI single in the seventh.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, things looked bleak as Union was one out away from a loss after grounding into a double play. Fortunately, the Dutchmen strung together four straight singles, from Kelly, Sean Cullen, Kevin Chaimowitz and Andy Labeck, to clinch the walk-off win.
 
The second game didn't go as well for the Dutchmen, as DePauw kept Union to just four hits and one run. The Tigers scored two runs in the second and three in the fifth en route to a 5-1 win. Union's lone run in the game came in the sixth inning when Kelly reached on a fielder's choice which allowed Jack Myers to score from third.
 
Union returns to the diamond in Auburndale, Fla., tomorrow morning for a doubleheader against St. Olaf. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. (ET).