Union baseball falls short in doubleheader against No. 11 Reinhardt

Barbourville, Ky. – The Union College baseball team played game one and two of a three-game conference series against Reinhardt on Thursday. The Bulldogs fell in both matchups as they lost the first game 8-5 and the second game 6-1.

Game One:

In the bottom of the first inning, Diego Clariot, Colton Stegman, and Sebastian Flores were each walked, which loaded the bases. A lineout and a double play prevented the Bulldogs from seizing the opportunity.

The game remained deadlocked until the top of the fifth inning when Reinhardt surged ahead with a four-run homer. Building on their momentum, the Eagles added another two runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 6-0.

Flores followed in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer that narrowed the gap to 6-2. In the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, Aaron Barrera was walked. Jonathan Miles stepped in as the pinch runner.

Miles got to second on a passed ball, while Logan Romasanta drew another walk. On the next at bat, Mason Kelley stepped up to the plate and delivered a two-RBI double. The Bulldogs now trailed 6-4.

The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the ninth inning as they extended their lead to 8-4. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Clariot ignited a late rally with a single. Clariot advanced to third base when Stegman hit a single.

On the ensuing at bat, Flores capitalized on an error to reach first and score Clariot. Despite the Bulldogs' valiant effort, Reinhardt ultimately won with a final score of 8-5 in nine innings.

Dalton Kottmer, Nathan Van Beek, Grayson Makranyi, and Braylon Greene all made an appearance on the mound. Kottmer collected three strikeouts, while Makranyi had two and Van Beek had one.

Offensively, Clariot, Stegman, and Kelley each went two-for-four. Clariot and Stegman collected one run each while Kelley had two RBIs. Flores also collected three RBIs and one run scored.

Game Two: 

The game went scoreless until the top of the fifth inning. Reinhardt went ahead by scoring four runs. In the bottom of the inning with one out, Ernesto Moreno hit a single with one out. On the next at bat, Tyler Bean's RBI double scored Moreno. This brought the score to 4-1 with Reinhardt having the lead.

The Eagles tacked on one run in each of the final two innings. The Bulldogs were unable to score as Reinhardt ultimately won 6-1 in seven innings.

Carter Finlay, Jackson Clark, Christian McCollough, and Ethan Warren all made an appearance on the mound. Finlay collected three strikeouts, while Clark had two.

Offensively, Flores, Romasanta, Moreno, Bean, and Serrano each collected a hit for the Bulldogs.

Union is now 10-14 (4-7 AAC) this season, while No. 11 Reinhardt is 17-9 (12-2 AAC). The final game of this series is expected to be played on Friday or Saturday, but an exact time for the matchup is currently TBD.