PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Union College baseball team improved to 3-1 on the season with a doubleheader sweep of SUNY Purchase on Saturday at PC Baseball Field. Union won game one 8-1 and outscored Purchase 11-3 in game two in the pair of seven inning games.
 
Junior Cooper Ames went 5-for-8 at the plate with a homerun, a double, five RBI, and two runs scored. Senior Sam Strazza also had a strong day at the plate going 4-for-7, with four runs scored and an RBI.
 
Game One: Union 8, Purchase 1
 
Senior Chris Suter picked up his second win of the season in the opening game of the doubleheader. Suter pitched five scoreless innings and only allowed two hits while striking out six.
 
Union opened the scoring in the first inning with a run. Senior Sam Strazza reached first on an error and Ames followed it up with a walk. Junior Caleb Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases and senior Kyle Zaslaw drew a walk in the next at-bat to walk in a run.
 
Strazza hit a leadoff double into left field to start the third inning and rounded home after Ames hit an RBI single. Two batters later, Zaslaw drove a homerun into left field to put Union up 4-0. Suter struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the frame and forced a groundout to keep Purchase off the board.
 
Junior JT Psirogianes opened the top of the fourth with a double into left field. A throwing error allowed junior Nico Lambros to reach first and Psirogianes advanced to third. Ames hit a double into right center to drive in a pair of runs and extend Union's lead to six.
 
After a scoreless fifth inning, Union added two more runs in the sixth. Back-to-back walks put runners on and prompted a pitching change for the hosts. Ames ground out to first, but Lambros and Strazza advanced a base to set up Miller for the sac fly one batter later. A wild pitch gave Strazza time to race home to give Union an 8-0 lead.
 
Purchase scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. A single and a walk put two runners on with two outs. Liam Daly hit an RBI single into right field to break the shutout bid.
 
Senior Cal Place pitched one inning and allowed one run on one hit with a strikeout. First-year Will Nardella pitched a scoreless seventh inning and did not surrender a hit.
 
 
Game Two: Union 11, Purchase 3
 
The bats came alive in game two of the doubleheader with seven extra-base hits. Strazza and Ames recorded three hits each while four other teammates had a multi-hit game.
 
The Garnet Chargers got on the board in the second inning. Sophomore Noah DiCaprio hit a leadoff double down the left field line and advanced to third after first-year Dylan Swarts flew out to center. Sophomore Ben Raphael hit a single into right center to drive DiCaprio home.
 
Union extended the lead in the third with four straight extra-base hits. Strazza hit a ground-rule double to center to leadoff the inning and Ames followed up with a homerun into left field. Back-to-back doubles by Miller and Zaslaw saw Union take a four-run lead.
 
The Garnet Chargers exploded in the sixth inning for seven runs to take an 11-1 lead. With runners on the corners, Raphael hit his second RBI single of the game and prompted a pitching change. A bunt single by Lambros loaded the bases and Strazza added another RBI with a single into center field. Lambros crossed home later in the frame when Miller hit a two-out triple into center field. Zaslaw hit his second double of the game to bring Miller home. DiCaprio and first-year Will Kelly added RBI singles later in the frame to close out the scoring.
 
The Panthers responded in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs on the board, Purchase recorded three straight hits. An RBI double followed by an RBI single cut into Union's lead, but a pop up ended the inning.
 
Junior Alex Oppenheimer earned his first win of the season with four innings of work. Oppenheimer struck out four and allowed one run, unearned, on three hits. Senior Nick Hiltsley struck out two in a scoreless inning. Senior Aidan McGee surrendered two runs on three hits with a one strikeout in the sixth inning. Senior Alex Erickson pitched a scoreless seventh inning with three strikeouts and two walks.
 
Union opens the home portion of the schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader against SUNY Cobleskill. First pitch for game one is slated for noon at Central Park "A" Diamond.