SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College baseball team came up short against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7-4 in Liberty League action on Friday afternoon at Central Park "A" Diamond.

After senior Caleb Miller drew Union (6-12, 1-3 Liberty League) within three in the bottom of the eighth on a bases-loaded walk, sophomore Dylan Swarts stepped to the plate as the go-ahead run. He flew out against RPI's (16-6, 7-0 Liberty League) closer, Zac Zajac, to end the late-inning threat. Zajac then retired Union in the ninth to earn a four-out save and keep his squad undefeated in conference play.
 
The Engineers got to Union's starter senior Alex Oppenheimer early, but the righty settled in and retired eight of the next 12 batters he faced. He finished the day with 100 pitches, reaching triple-digit offerings for the first time in his career. In the meantime, the Garnet Chargers rallied to tie the game up 3-3 by the end of the third inning. 

Sophomore Michael Del produced the first run of the game for the home team with his first collegiate home run. He smacked a ball the other way over the right-field fence for his third hit of the season and finished the day 2-4. He is 4-8 on the season after making his first start as a sophomore. 

Senior Jack Klein entered the game with one out in the sixth as Union trailed 7-3. A double play got him out of that inning, then he coasted through three more scoreless frames for his longest outing of the season. His 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief work represented his longest outing ever without allowing a run. He had 3 2/3 innings of relief work in 2024 where he allowed one unearned run. 

Junior Ryan Kolodziejczyk led off the seventh with a walk, marking one of Union's three free passes in the inning. First-year Jack McKillop worked the bases loaded thanks to an error before Miller drove home his 16th run of the year on a bases-loaded walk. 

While the Garnet Chargers were unable to complete a comeback against RPI at home, they will have two chances to exact revenge on Saturday, April 4 against the Engineers in Troy, beginning at 12 p.m.