SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College baseball team swept Bard College in a pair of pivotal Liberty League contests, winning the series against the Raptors and moving all the way up from last place in the East Division to a tie for second place thanks to 15-11 and 11-1 victories at Central Park "A" Diamond Saturday afternoon. 

Game 1: Union 15, Bard 11
Union (13-16, 5-7 Liberty League) and Bard (10-16, 4-8 Liberty League) combined to score in 13 of the 17 half innings in a wild opening game. Despite constant offense from both teams, Bard only led for one half inning. 

Junior Jacob Skarlis got into trouble at the start of the day. Bard got the ball out of the infield once in its first five at-bats, but the Raptors were able to score and have the bases loaded with the team's leader in home runs, Jamie Fryer, at the plate. Skarlis got Fryer to pop out and then struck out Jack Rivlin to strand three runners and escape the jam with just one unearned run.

After first-year Jack McKillop walked on four pitches, sophomore Dylan Swarts erased Bard's lead by smashing his fifth home run of the season on the first pitch he saw. 

Beginning with the strikeout against Fryer in the top of the first, Skarlis retired seven consecutive batters as he settled into the game, and he left after pitching six innings with four strikeouts, five earned runs, and his team leading 13-7. 

Union had plenty of sources of offense throughout its lineup with six players recording multiple hits. Swarts led the way with a 5-5 performance, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Senior Caleb Miller, senior Cooper Ames, first-year Dennis Mulhearn, sophomore Michael Del, and senior Nico Lambros all had at least two hits. Ames, Del, and Mulhearn combined to drive in six runs, and Mulhearn also collected a pair of doubles.

Senior Anthony Izzo was the only reliever to hold Bard scoreless, going 1 1/13 innings with only one hit and two Ks. 

Game 2: Union 11, Bard 1 (8 inn.)
Del and senior Andrew Keaveney both went 4-5 in the second game, combining for four RBIs and providing ample run support for first-year Alex Casey. The rookie pitcher earned his second win of the season, fanned three Raptors, and allowed six hits. 

Swarts reached base safely for the seventh straight time on an RBI single in the second, putting Union up 2-0. 

Lambros started a six-run fourth inning for Union with a single to right. He later scored when Miller was hit by a pitch, opening the flood gates. After Miller scored thanks to a throwing error from Bard's catcher, Mulhearn drove in Keaveney, followed by an RBI single from Lambros. 

The Garnet Chargers went on to score three more times in the final four innings before the 10-run rule went into effect. 

First-year Evan Byrnes tallied a scoreless eighth inning, and McKillop walked it off by driving in Del for Union's 11th run. 

The Garnet Chargers hope to finally host Russell Sage College on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. after their date with Gators has already been rescheduled twice.