CASTLETON, Vt. – The Union College baseball team erupted for a season-high 24 runs to defeat VTSU Castleton 24-13 on Wednesday evening at Spartan Field.

The 24 runs are the most for the program since Union defeated Bard 23-11 on April 26, 2022. The last time Union scored 24 runs was on April 23, 2008, a 24-20 win over SUNYIT.  

Union (18-6, 5-3 Liberty League) is on a five-game win streak and has outscored opponents 72-27 in that span.

Four Union players recorded three or more hits in the win. Sophomore Caleb Miller extended his hit streak to 13 games with a 4-for-4 effort including two doubles, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Senior Thomas Parisi crossed home four times to go along with his four hits and an RBI. Sophomore Liam McIlroy registered his seventh homerun of the season which moves him up to a tie for fifth-place in Union's single season home run records.

Union jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. The first three batters all singled to load the bases and a wild pitch saw McIlroy race home. A groundout to the pitcher saw Parisi score and an RBI single by Miller capped the scoring in the first inning.

The Garnet Chargers loaded the bases in the top of the third and drew a bases-loaded walk to take a 4-0 lead. Senior Ryan Cowles reached on a fielder's choice one batter later to put runners on the corners and McIlroy hit a three-run homerun to give Union an 8-0 lead.

The fourth inning saw Union almost bat around twice as the team scored 12 runs in the frame. Senior Kobe Mentzer hit a leadoff single before advancing on a passed ball. Sophomore Andrew Keaveney drew a walk and Mentzer made it to third on a wild pitch. Miller sent an RBI single to left field. Junior Kyle Zaslaw was hit by a pitch to load the bases and classmate Sam Strazza hit a two-run single into right field to put Union into double-digit scoring. Union loaded the bases and Mentzer lined a two-run single into center field. Keaveney and Miller went back-to-back with a pair of doubles to put three more runs on the board. Miller scored on a groundout and junior Dan Sheeran hit an RBI single up the middle for Union's 20th run.

The Spartans struck back in the bottom of the fourth with six runs highlighted by a pair of two-run RBI singles. Union added another run in the top of the fifth. First-year Brody McCabe hit a sac fly to left field with the bases loaded to bring Parisi home.

The bottom of the sixth saw the Spartans reach double-digits. Two RBI singles brought the Spartans to eight runs before Jack Boyle hit a three-run homerun to make it a 21-11 after five innings.

Parisi opened the sixth inning with a bunt single and advanced on a wild pitch. Senior Anthony Ruzzo drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Sophomore Cooper Ames drove a triple into right field to clear the bases. The Spartans plated two in the bottom of the frame to make it 23-13.

Union capped off the scoring in the top of the eighth. Sophomore JT Psirogianes was hit by a put and Parisi hit an RBI double to finish off the scoring for the Garnet Chargers.

Junior Aidan McGee picked up his second win of the season to improve to 2-1. McGee struck out three in 3.2 innings of work and gave up five runs on three hits. Junior Cal Place, sophomore Jack Klein, and junior Alex Erickson each pitch a scoreless inning to close out the game.

Union continues the road trip on Friday with a contest at Bard College. First pitch for Friday's Liberty League matchup is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.