ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Union College baseball team scored 10 unanswered runs over the final three innings to erase a seven-run deficit and pick up a two-game sweep of Saturday's Liberty League doubleheader with Bard College at Honey Field. The Dutchmen took the first game by an 8-4 score and came back to win the second game 10-7.
 
Senior Colin Kelly led the Union offense with a 4-for-9 effort at the plate that included two homers, five runs batted in and four runs scored. Classmate Jack Koch also had three hits, drove in a pair and scored four times for Union (9-7, 7-5 Liberty League).
 
Game 1: Union 8, Bard 4
 
The top of the order did much of the damage for the Dutchmen in game one, as the top-four batters combined to go 7-for-13 with seven RBIs in the 8-4 win. Kelly had two hits, drove in two and scored twice, while classmates Joey Palko and Kevin Chaimowitz both drove in two runs each and Koch got on base four times and scored twice from the leadoff spot.
 
After Bard got two runs in the bottom of the first, the visitors came back with four in the third to take back the lead. Palko evened the score with a two-run double that plated Koch and first-year Noah Schott, and Kelly followed that up with a two-run homer to put the Dutchmen in front.
 
The Raptors tied the game again in the bottom half of the inning, but Union went ahead for good with three runs in the fifth. Chaimowitz singled home a pair of runs to break the stalemate, and senior Matt Toy added a sacrifice fly to provide some more insurance. Koch added one more run in the sixth with an RBI triple.
 
Junior James Salemme (4-1) earned the win for the Dutchmen, tossing four innings and allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out seven. First-year Kyle Patlove tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save, scattering two hits.
 
Game 2: Union 10, Bard 7
 
The Union offense was sleepy for the first six innings of game two, but awakened with 10 unanswered runs – including seven in the decisive ninth inning – to complete the sweep with a 10-7 win.
 
Kelly had another big game, going 2-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored, while senior Chris O'Brien also drove in a pair and both Koch and Toy scored twice.
 
The game remained scoreless through the first four innings as first-year Bryce Fournier and Elliott Goldstein traded zeros on the scoreboard. An error led to a pair of unearned runs crossing the plate for the Raptors in the fifth inning, and the home team tacked on five more in the sixth inning to take a seemingly commanding 7-0 lead.
 
However, Union attempted a comeback in the final three frames. Kelly led off the seventh with a solo homer, and the Dutchmen got one more in the inning when first-year Sebastian Pike was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Toy added another tally to the scoreboard in the eighth with an RBI groundout, putting Union within striking distance in the ninth.
 
Luke Klatke came on to close out the game for Bard, but three walks and a single by sophomore Dan Choate scored one run and gave the Dutchmen further momentum. Kevin Lee replaced Klatke after the bases-loaded walk to Koch, but he subsequently walked Palko and allowed sophomore pinch-runner Brody Dupuis to come home on a wild pitch. Still down a run, Kelly delivered a two-run single up the middle to give Union its first lead. O'Brien followed with a two-run double to give the visitors some insurance, providing for the final score.
 
Fournier allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 5.1 innings, receiving a no-decision. Sophomore Zack Lerner earned his first collegiate victory by allowing two runs in 2.2 innings of relief, while classmate Jason Goldblum pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
 
Union and Bard will complete their four-game series tomorrow with two games at Shuttleworth Park beginning at 1 p.m.