SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The third-seeded Union College baseball team heads across the river to Troy to face the second seed, Ithaca College, on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the opening game of the Liberty League Tournament on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Robison Field at Karl Steffen Ballpark.
HOW WE GOT HERE: Union defeated the Rochester Institute of Technology in the best-of-three Liberty League Crossover Series to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. Union finished the regular 28-10 overall with a 12-5 record in conference play.
FIRST TIME: Union qualified for the Liberty League Tournament for the first time since 2021 and the first under head coach
John Muller.
LIBERTY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Union is 14-8 in the Liberty League Tournament dating back to 2005. Union reached the championship game five times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021) and captured the conference title three times (2014, 2016, 2018).
TOURNAMENT HISTORY VS ITHACA: Union and Ithaca met for the first time in the conference tournament in 2021 in the semifinal game. Union defeated the visiting Bombers 18-9 in Amsterdam to advance to the title game.
AGAINST THE BOMBERS: The Garnet Chargers have not faced Ithaca yet this season. Union is 5-3 overall against Ithaca dating back to the first meeting in 1946. The last victory against Ithaca was a walkoff win last season as the teams split the season series.
REACHING BASE: Senior
Thomas Parisi is on a 43-game reached base streak dating back to last season. Parisi has reached base safely in all 37 games he played this season.
GONE STREAKING: Parisi currently holds the longest active hit streak on the team at 19 games. Parisi is hitting .452 in that span with 38 hits, 31 runs scored, five doubles, a triple, 19 RBIs, and eight stolen bases. Sophomore
Caleb Miller registered a hit in 24 straight games this season, but saw his streak snapped this past Saturday. Miller's streak was the longest hit streak for Union dating back to at least 2013.
GOING, GOING, GONE: Sophomore
Liam McIlroy has hit 11 homeruns this season, the most in the Liberty League. His 11 home runs are tied for second in Union's single-season history, one off from the single season record. In his career, he has 13 homers, which puts him in fifth place in Union's record book.
AT THE TOP: Union boasts the highest on base percentage in the country at .457 as well as one of the top offenses in the country with 10.3 runs per game, which is third in the nation. Union also comes in third with a .350 batting average and is fifth in runs scored with 393.
TURN 'EM: The Garnet Chargers have turned 35 double-plays this season to lead the Liberty League and they average almost a double-play per game. Nationally, they're 25
th in double plays and 21
st in double plays per game.
WALK IT OUT: Senior
Kobe Mentzer has drawn 28 walks this season, breaking his own single-season walks record. Mentzer has 79 walks in his career, making him the career record holder for Union.
ROOKIE MAGIC: First-year
Jack Collins leads the pitching staff with a 6-1 record and two complete games. The rookie has 26 strikeouts in 50.0 innings of work, a 4.14 ERA and is holding opposing batters to a .254 average.
ANSWERING THE CALL: Junior
Alex Erickson and senior
Kyle Patlove have been staples out of the pen for Union this season. Erickson has 34 strikeouts in only 19 innings, the second most strikeouts on the team while holding opposing hitters to a .200 average in his 16 appearances. Patlove is having a career year as a senior with a 4-0 record along with a team-best 2.55 ERA. Patlove has appeared in 15 games and 24.2 total innings with 14 strikeouts and is holding the opposition to a .239 average.
ABOUT THE BOMBERS: Ithaca has claimed the Liberty League title the last two seasons and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers are 28-9 going into the weekend. Collin Feeney leads the way offensively for Ithaca with a .355 batting average, 37 runs, 28 walks, 17 stolen bases, and a .490 on-base percentage.
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of the game between Union and Ithaca will face the winner RPI and Rochester in the double-elimination tournament.
