Baseball climbs in AAC standings with blowout of Point

WEST POINT, Ga. - Though the second and second-to-last hitters he faced got to Union starter Ethan Warren, few others in the Point lineup found success against the left-hander Thursday night.

In the first game of a series that could have major seeding implications at the upcoming Appalachian Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, Warren scattered six hits in a complete game effort and got plenty of support from his offense, as the Bulldogs leapfrogged the Skyhawks in the standings with an 11-2 road win.

Though not overpowering and finishing with the same number of walks as strikeouts (five), Powell gutted out a 127-pitch, nine-inning effort, surrendering just one unearned run in the first inning and an RBI double with two outs in the ninth when he had a 10-run lead.

In the process, he became the first Union starter to throw a nine-inning complete game since AJ Villa did so against Truett McConnell on May 1, 2019. Ben Cornelius (three in 2022) and Matthew Green (two in 2021) both had multiple complete games in the previous two seasons, but all of them came in seven-inning games.

Offensively, the Bulldogs belted out 16 hits and quickly got on top for good on a second-inning, two-run double by Nick Seelman. Seelman, who also scored a run in the fourth inning, has now driven in six runs in his last six games after batting in just three on the season prior to that.

David Mitchell was one of three Bulldogs with three hits and led the team with three RBIs, two of which came on a two-run home run in the fifth.

Reigning NAIA Player of the Week Luke Powell continued his hot streak with an RBI double in the third inning, while Angel Mendoza moved one step closer to the Union single-season home run record with a solo shot in the eighth. It was the 21st homer of the year for Mendoza, who is two short of equaling the record 23 hit by Rick White in 2002.

Hazel Martinez and Sammy Serrano both had three hits and two runs scored, while Luke Pell also had an RBI for Union, which has now won four consecutive AAC games.

AAC SEEDING UPDATE

Not only did the win move the Bulldogs back above .500 in the AAC at 12-11, it allowed them to leapfrog the 12-12 Skyhawks into seventh place in the conference standings, with the two teams set to play two more games Friday. Union also moved within a half game of sixth place St. Andrews (13-11), after the Knights split a Thursday doubleheader at Kentucky Christian.

The first game of Friday's doubleheader between the Bulldogs and Skyhawks at Point begins at 1 p.m.