AUBURNDALE, FLA. -- On the final day of the RussMatt Invitational, the Union College baseball team dropped a 15-11 game to Franklin and a 9-3 decision to Middlebury on Thursday to wrap up the team's spring break trip.

After the eight games to begin the season, Union will return home with a 2-6 overall record.

The early innings against Franklin cost the Dutchmen, as the Grizzlies jumped out to an 11-1 lead after the top of the fourth. Union responded in the bottom of the fourth with four runs, highlighted by a two-run triple from Joe Ganim. Franklin added one run in the seventh, but Union brought the score within three runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to a three run bomb by Andy Labeck to make it 12-9. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies would add three more runs in the eighth, and Union could only score one more in both the eighth and ninth innings to bring the final score to a 15-11 win for the Grizzlies.

In game two, Union held a brief 2-1 lead in the middle of the fourth, but a two-run inning by the Panthers in the bottom of the frame would give them a 3-2 lead. A second home run on the day by Labeck would tie the game back up at 3-3 in the fifth. However, this time the Panthers would take the lead in the bottom of the fifth and hold onto it for the remainder of the game.

Overall, Jack Koch led the Dutchmen through the eight games on the week with a .481 batting average, recording 13 hits in 27 at-bats, with seven runs, two doubles, two triples and two RBI's.

Union hosts its home opener this weekend, March 30-31, with a Liberty League series against St. Lawrence. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET), and first pitch on Sunday is set for noon.