Baseball captures AAC 5 seed as Mendoza ties home run record

MONTREAT, N.C. - With a potentially exhaustive postseason tournament ahead, the Union baseball team secured itself a needed early week day off.

Needing one win to guarantee a top-six spot in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament, the Bulldogs did one better, earning an 8-6 win in the opening game, then leap-frogging Montreat for the fifth spot, jumping all over the Cavaliers in a 17-2 blowout in the finale of a doubleheader.

Union finishes the year 15-12 in the AAC, a game-and-a-half better than the sixth-seeded Cavaliers. Had the Bulldogs lost both games Saturday, they would have fallen to the seventh seed, which would have sent them into a single-elimination play-in game on Tuesday.

That wasn't the only great news Union got Saturday. With a home run in each game, Angel Mendoza tied the program's single-season record of 23, set by Rick White back in 2002.

GAME ONE

A balanced offensive attack led by Logan Romasanta and Colton Stegman helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 7-1 lead. Romasanta finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs, including a solo home run in the fifth inning, while Stegman was 3-for-4 with a homer of his own in the sixth.

The Cavaliers cut into the lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth before Mendoza gave the Bulldogs a needed insurance run in the ninth with a solo home run to center.

Trailing 8-5 going into its last at-bat, Montreat made things very interesting, scoring a run and loading the bases with one out. But Bulldog reliever Evan Hiatt finished things off, recording a flyout and a strikeout for his first save of the year, ensuring the Bulldogs would bypass the play-in portion of the conference tournament.

GAME TWO

With Union already leading 7-1, Mendoza blasted his way into the record books with his second solo shot over the centerfield wall on the day. Mendoza has been the top home run hitter in the AAC for most of the season and has the fourth most in the NAIA as of this writing.

Despite going 4-for-4 and reaching base in all five of his at-bats, Mendoza wasn't even the most dominant Bulldog batter in the season finale. That honor went to Luke Powell, who went 4-for-5 with two homers five RBIs and four runs scored.

Powell started the scoring by blasting a three-run home run in the first inning, then added a two-run shot in the fifth. It marked the third time this season Powell had multiple home runs and at least five RBIs in a game.

Stegman had three more hits while adding three RBIs, three runs scored and a two-run home run in the third inning. All told, the Bulldogs had a season-best 20 hits while scoring their second most runs in a game in 2023.

On the mound, five pitchers scattered six hits and two runs as Union closes the regular season with an overall record of 26-17-1.

The full AAC Baseball Tournament bracket will be released either Saturday or Sunday. A full schedule will be posted to gounionbulldogs.com when it's revealed.