SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College baseball team will play for a conference title for the fifth time in program history on Saturday as the second-seeded Dutchmen head to Rochester to take on the top-seeded University of Rochester Yellow Jackets in the 2021 Liberty League Tournament championship game.
 
GAME DETAILS: First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. at Towers Field in Rochester. Per Liberty League policies, no outside spectators are allowed in the stadium.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Fans can follow the action with live stats and live video, or by following @unionathletics on Twitter. Links for video and stats are available on the Union baseball schedule page or by visiting https://www.unionathletics.com/coverage.
 
THE TEAMS: Union (12-7, 9-5 Liberty League) scored a season-high 19 runs to roll past third-seeded Ithaca College in the semifinal round on Wednesday. Top-seeded University of Rochester (23-8, 16-2 Liberty League) defeated fourth-seeded Clarkson University in another slugfest, 13-8, on Wednesday to earn hosting rights for the title bout.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: After making the conference tournament just one time in its first 10 seasons, Union is in the postseason for the seventh time in the last eight seasons under 11th-year head coach Paul Mound. The Dutchmen are 15-9 all-time in Liberty League Tournament action and 3-1 in conference championship games, taking home the title in 2014, 2016 and 2018 but falling short in 2013.
 
ALL-TIME VS. ROCHESTER: Coming off an opponent it hadn't played since 1947, Union is much more familiar with Rochester: Saturday's game will be the 198th all-time meeting between the teams in a series that dates back to 1880, with UR holding a 106-91 edge. The teams did not play this season and have not met since the Yellow Jackets swept a four-game series on April 27-28, 2019. The Dutchmen are 5-2 against the Yellow Jackets in the postseason, including championship round wins for Union in 2014 and 2018.
 
TOYING WITH 'EM: Senior Matt Toy went 4-for-6 on Wednesday to lift his batting average 26 points and take over the team lead at .433 for the season. The senior ranks third in the Liberty League in batting average and has put together an incredible season after entering 2021 as a career .210 hitter.
 
BIG-TIME HOMERS: The Dutchmen rank 14th in Division III in home runs per game this season, having hit 23 four-baggers in 19 games. This season Union is 11-1 in games in which the team hits at least one home run, and 1-6 in games in which the team goes homerless.
 
ALL ABOUT THE ON-BASE: Senior Jack Koch has reached base in all 19 games this season and 102 of his 104 career games at Union. Koch ranks second in the Liberty League with a .554 on-base percentage this season in addition to fourth in stolen bases (10), fifth in walks (20), seventh in batting average (.393), and eighth in runs scored (28). He enters Saturday's game as Union's all-time leader in runs scored (109) and also ranks second in stolen bases (58) and walks (59), third in on-base percentage (.478), fourth in doubles (29) and triples (9), sixth in total bases (206), and 10th in hits (141)
 
NO TROUBLE: Senior Colin Kelly hasn't had any trouble seeing the ball well this season, as he leads the Liberty League and ranks second in Division III in homers per game with 10 long balls in 19 contests. The senior also ranks third in the country in slugging percentage (.969) and fourth in the Liberty League in batting average (.422). Kelly enters the weekend as Union's all-time leader in homers (25), RBIs (120) and total bases (265), and also ranks second in runs scored (106), doubles (34) and slugging percentage (.671); fourth in walks (54); seventh in triples (7); and ninth in hits (142).
 
BIG BEN: Sophomore Ben Mlavsky tossed four innings of relief to earn the win in Wednesday's semifinal versus Ithaca, allowing two runs on five hits. Mlavsky leads all eligible Liberty League pitchers with his 3.13 earned run average and has a 4-0 record with 19 strikeouts over five appearances. He also ranks 18th in D-III in walks per nine innings with just two walks in 23.0 innings.
 
HE'S 'LOVIN IT: First-year Kyle Patlove has been the Dutchmen's top reliever out of the bullpen this year, appearing in six games with a 3.65 ERA. The rookie has not allowed a run in five of his six appearances and has a team-leading two saves in his 12.1 innings of work.
 
ABOUT THE YELLOW JACKETS: Rochester is the reigning Liberty League Tournament champions after winning the program's first Liberty League title in 2019. The Yellow Jackets lead the Liberty League in most offensive categories, hitting .352 as a team with 25 home runs and outscoring their opponents 294-207 this year. Aaron Whitley is one of the top offensive threats in the conference, hitting a league-best .457 with a league-leading 17 doubles, 42 runs scored and 27 stolen bases to go with 33 RBIs. John Moses is right behind him with a .451 batting average, 34 RBIs, 15 doubles and 30 runs scored.
 
As a staff, Rochester pitches to a 6.23 team ERA, which ranks fourth in the Liberty League. Jon Turk (3-0, 5.54 ERA) was the team's game-one conference starter this year and received a no-decision on Wednesday against Clarkson, while Dillon Bevan emerged as the team's number-two conference starter and leads the team with a 2.39 ERA and 2-1 record in seven appearances (four starts). Thomas Karpishin (3-1, 3.52 ERA) and Spencer Rojahn (2-0, 4.60 ERA) were the team's two most-utilized arms out of the bullpen, with Karpishin tossing 4.2 innings of two-run relief to earn the win in Wednesday's semifinal.