Champs! Union captures first AAC baseball championship since 06

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - It was hard to imagine the Union baseball team's week in Kingsport, Tenn. getting any better, but the Bulldogs found a way to make it so Saturday.

Union broke open a 2-2 tie by scoring nine runs over the fifth and sixth innings, finishing with 20 hits to secure its first Appalachian Athletic Conference championship since 2006 with a 12-7 win over Bryan in the championship game Saturday.

Just like he did the night before in a semifinal win over Tennessee Wesleyan, Hazel Martinez broke a tie, this time with an RBI single to put Union ahead 3-2 in the fifth. It was the ninth RBI of the week for Martinez, who was named tournament MVP.

The Bulldogs added two more runs in the inning on RBIs by David Mitchell and Colton Stegman.

Things really erupted in the sixth and it began with a record-breaking blast by Angel Mendoza. The AAC Player of the Year etched his name in the record books, breaking a program record that has stood since 2002 with his 24th home run on a two-run blast to left field. The homer kick-started a six-run inning in which the Bulldogs batted around.

Mendoza said he didn't put much emphasis on the record after the game, saying it was just nice to have it happen on a day where a program that won just 10 games a season ago put a cap on a major turnaround.

"Records don't really mean (anything)," he said. "We went from a losing record to conference tournament champions. Anything can happen. It's baseball. That's what's cool about it."

While all phases have been strong this season, offense has been the driving force for a Bulldog team that on Saturday, completed its first 30-win season since 2015. All nine starters had at least one hit, with Mendoza, Logan Romasanta, Luke Powell and David Mitchell all finishing with three, an output Bulldog players expect to continue at the national tournament.

"We're playing like we should be playing right now," said Mitchell, who tied Mendoza with a team-best three RBIs Saturday. "We've got a really solid group of guys and I think we have a really solid chance (at nationals)."

Who and where the Bulldogs will play next remains a mystery. Though also optimistic about his group's chances, head coach Chris Lewis says he isn't ready to set his expectations for the rest of the season.

"(Winning a conference title is) a great culmination to the season," Lewis said. "It's how you want to cap it. But for everybody who knows baseball, it's a new season come next weekend. It's a restart and it's just about execution. I certainly like where we finished but guys have the expectations that we're not done and we'll go in and give everything we have wherever we wind up."

The Bulldogs will find out what's next for them when the NAIA reveals its national bracket on Thursday.