Union College Athletics

Salvatore (Sal) Pezzolla completed his first season as assistant coach of the Union College baseball team in 2023-24. Pezzolla serves as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the Garnet Chargers.

Pezzolla helped the program to a 29-12 record, the best finish for the team since 2018. Union clinched the second seed in the Liberty League Crossover Series and dispatched RIT in three games to earn a spot in the Liberty League Tournament. Union went 1-2 in the conference tournament with a win over Rensselear. Union finished in the top five nationally in on base percentage (1st), scoring (t-1st), and batting average (5th). Sophomore Caleb Miller was named the Liberty League Player of the Year, first-year Jack Collins was the conference's Rookie of the Year, and the coaching staff earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year along with eight All-Conference players. Five players earned All-Region honors from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association.  

Pezzolla comes to Union after serving as an assistant coach with the Albany Dutchmen summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. In addition to coaching with the Dutchmen, Pezzolla is the head hitting instructor at Top Level Athletics in North Greenbush, New York where he trains high school, college and professional hitters.

Pezzolla, a graduate of Division II Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, played six years of college baseball while earning a Master’s Degree in Criminology and Sociology and two Bachelor's Degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology. He also attended Hudson Valley Community College, Florida Southern and IMG Academy.

A four year starter at Saint Anselm, Pezzolla played first and third base as well as designated hitter. He earned conference honors and was a three-time member of the NE-10 Honor Roll. During his final season, he was one of two players to start all 45 games batting .283 with a .354 on base percentage and .462 slugging percentage. He recorded 49 hits with a team leading 13 doubles which is tied for third in program history in a single season. He also slugged six home runs while scoring 39 times and driving in 35 runs.

During his one season at Hudson Valley Community College, Pezzolla earned first-team All-Region honors for his play during the regular season and All-Tournament Team for his play during the postseason. During his campaign with HVCC, Pezzolla played in 35 games picking up 47 hits in 107 at bats, good for a .383 batting average. He hit six home runs, seven doubles and tallied 33 runs batted in while scoring 28 times for the Vikings.