First Game Box Score

Second Game Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 3, 2008) -– Union College spoiled Senior Day for the Vassar College baseball team, using high-scoring big innings in each game of a Liberty League doubleheader to defeat the Brewers 9-4 and 12-5 at Prentiss Field. The first game saw Union jump out to a 7-0 lead before Vassar made a sixth inning push with four runs to make the game exciting. The second game was a comeback effort for the Dutchmen, who trailed 3-1 after two innings, but tallied 11 runs over the next four innings to earn the victory.

Vassar, which concluded the home portion of the 2008 season, drops to 8-22, 3-17. Union improves to 8-19, 3-16. The two teams will conclude their respective seasons with a doubleheader in Schenectady on Sunday.

In the doubleheader, Union pounded out a total of 24 hits compared to Vassar's 15 and was able to put runners into scoring positions with 10 stolen bases, five in each game. While the Union pitching didn't overpower Vassar hitters with a mass of strikeouts, the Brewers only had one extra base hit in the two games, a triple by sophomore Ari Glantz (Cambridge, MA/Cambridge Rindge & Latin) in the second game. Two Union hurlers earned their first wins of the season, junior Brian McLaughlin (Norwood, NJ/Old Tappan) in the first game and freshman Gregory Wyman (Wilton, CT/Brunswick School) in the second game.

First Game
With runs in the first, third and fourth innings, Union built a comfortable 7-0 lead. The game started with a double by sophomore Andy Brown (Sarasota Springs, NY/Sarasota Springs) on the game's first pitch against Vassar senior starter Alex Tanskey (Bedford, NY/Fox Lane), who took the loss. Union capitalized on two Vassar errors in jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead. A total of five runs in third and fourth innings of the seven inning game put Vassar in a hole. The key blow for Union in the third inning came off the bat of junior Shawn Johnson (Hamilton, NY/The Peddie School), whose double to left brought home two runs after Union's senior Zach Tillo (Lancaster, MA/Exeter) and junior Pat Wilson (Cos Cob, CT/Greenwich) reached base on a single and walk respectively and later scored. In the fourth inning, Union posted three runs to pad its lead, capitalizing on a run scoring triple by Brown – who subsequently scored on a wild pitch – and an RBI to right field by Trillo.

The Brewers went scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings, but their bats came alive in the sixth inning, and came within having the tying run at bat before McLaughlin was able to get out of the inning. The Brewers pounded out six of their nine hits in the sixth, getting five straight singles in a rally that was initiated by freshman David Ringold (Seattle, WA/Ballard), and kept alive by freshman Mike Plude (Shelton, CT/Notre Dame Catholic), senior Mike Murn (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), Glantz, senior Clancy Philbrook (Stonington, CT/The Williams School) and senior Stephen Evans (Columbus, OH/St. Charles Preparatory).

Union was able to adds two important insurance runs in the top of the seventh, with Tillo getting aboard after being hit by a pitch. McKelligan aided his own winning effort with a RBI triple and Johnson notched his third RBI of the game with a single to left field that accounted for the two runs.

Vassar's Evans highlighted his senior day starting effort with three hits. Brown, Tilo and Johnson each had a pair of hits for Union. McKelligan scattered nine hits in the complete game victory while Tanskey also allowed nine hits in his complete game loss.

Second Game
After Union senior Scott Carroll (Scituate, MA/Sciuate) drove home Brown for the game's initial run in the top of the first, the Brewers looked to make the doubleheader a spilt, jumping ahead 3-1 after two innings. Glantz' blasted a triple into right center, bringing home freshman Joe Castilla (Weston, FL/Archbishop McCarthy) who reached base via a walk. Murn brought home Glantz with a single to right field and the Brewers held a 2-1 lead off Union starter Gregory Wyman. Vassar added another run in the second inning for a 3-1 lead following an RBI single from junior Zack Miller (San Francisco, CA/Lick-Wilmerding) who brought home freshman Charlie Gray (Upper Montclair, NJ/Montclair Kimberly).

But from that point, Vassar starter Brian Scuibba (Wantagh, NY/General Douglas McCarther) ran into trouble, in the third, fifth and sixth innings, allowing 10 runs on eight hits. The four runs scored in the third inning were manufactured by four hits and a Vassar error, two RBI coming from sophomore Paul Mene (Falls Church, VA/George Mason). Union added four runs in the fifth on three hits and three runs in the sixth on another three hit inning. The major offensive players in this stretch were Carroll and Tillo who each had three RBI in the game, along with Brown and freshman Dane Flavin (Schenectady, NY/Hofstra University), who each had two. Union went scoreless in the following three innings, but had built a 15 hit attack, led by Tillo and Johnson who each had three.

Vassar scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, orchestrated by a single and stolen base by Glantz and a walk to Murn. Both runners scored off an RBI by Plude (sacrifice fly) and Gray.

Wyman allowed six Vassar hits in his first victory of the season. Besides Scibubba, Vassar used freshman pitcher Joe Bubar (Washington, DC/Georgetown Day) and junior Tyler Bellstrom (Townshend, VT/Leland & Gray Union).