AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Union College baseball team suffered an 11-3 loss to Augustana College Friday afternoon to close out the RussMatt Invitational.

Union opened the scoring in the first inning after back-to-back singles put runners on first and third with two outs. Junior Sebastian Pike reached first on an error and junior Kobe Mentzer raced home to put Union up 1-0.

Augustana was quick to respond in the bottom half of the frame with a pair of runs before adding three more in the bottom of the second.

Trailing 5-1 going into the fifth, Union found the scoreboard again. A single by sophomore Dan Sheeran put runners on first and third. First-year Cooper Ames hit an RBI single to bring senior Julian Lightburn home for the score. Augustana responded with three more runs in the fifth and an additional three runs in the seventh to take an 11-2 lead.

Union scored their final run in the top of the ninth inning. Senior Dan Choate made it first after being hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Senior Jack Milone entered the game as a pinch hitter and lined a RBI double into center field.

In his first start of the season, senior Harry Azadian suffered the loss. Azadian allowed eight runs on 12 hits and struck out four. First-year Matt Como made his collegiate debut in relief, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on two hits, while striking out two. Junior Thomas Parisi pitched the final 1.1 innings striking out three and walking one.

Union wraps up the southern trip with a doubleheader against Williams College on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis N.C.