BASEBALL: Dutchmen struggle

This past weekend proved to be a tough one for the Dutchmen, who dropped three out of four in a series of two doubleheaders against Skidmore College. In Game 1 of the doubleheader on Saturday, the Dutchmen fell to Skidmore by score of 9-4. The Dutchman would strike first, in the bottom of the 1st inning when sophomore Matt Barreto was driven in by sophomore Tyler Heck. Skidmore answered back quickly in the second however, making the score 1-1.  Union tallied another run in the third when freshman Joe Bradley knocked in freshman Vincent Esposito and another in the fifth when Esposito singled to right field bringing in  freshman David Peretti. In the sixth inning the Skidmore bats came alive however, knocking in seven runs and taking the lead for the first time in the ball game. Union would eventually add another run in the bottom of the sixth but the damage was too great and the Dutchmen ended up bowing to the Thoroughbreds by a score of 9-4. Union would drop Game 2 of the Saturday Doubleheader by a score of 9-4 as well.

Sunday, in the second round of doubleheaders the Dutchmen split the games, dropping Game 1 and coming out victorious in Game 2. In Game 1, freshman pitcher Andrew Beaule went all seven innnings while only letting up one run in the bottom of the sixth. The Dutchmen were unable to prevail in the seventh and ended up losing 1-0. In Game 2 the Dutchmen overcame the three previous losses by winning the final game of the series by a score of 8-5. Skidmore got on the board first in the second inning with a solo home run.

The Dutchmen answered quickly with a very productive three run third inning.  Esposito drove the first run in with a single to right knocking in  freshman Dan Minnes for the Dutchmen’s first run of the game. Barreto and Esposito would later score after a suicide squeeze from Bradlee. Union would follow up with another big inning in the fourth adding four runs to their lead. Skidmore would add two runs in the sixth and the eighth but it would not be enough and Union ended up coming away with an 8-5 victory. Barreto, Esposito, and  Heck all ended up going 3-for-5 in the win. Also, sophomore pitcher Phil Kemp ended up going seven innings, letting up nine hits for his third victory of the season. The results of this weekend leave Union with an 8-12 overall record and a 4-8 Liberty League record. Union’s next game will be a non-conference game on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Cobleskill, NY where the Dutchmen take on SUNY Cobleskill.