Four games, one weekend; three wins, one loss brings Rensselaer’s softball team to a 25-7 overall record.
On Saturday, the Engineers had a doubleheader against Clarkson University, winning the first game 13-4 while dropping the second 10-5.
Sunday’s doubleheader had the Engineers winning two games 3-0 against rival school Union College.
Scoring seven runs in the first inning, the efforts of junior pitcher Stephanie Caudle contributed greatly to the first win for the Engineers. Some notable players of the first include senior first baseman Morgan Ten Eyck, sophomore shortstop Kacie Herity, junior left fielder Morgan Kollmeier, and sophomore right fielder Devan Puhl, all singling and earning at least one RBI for the team.
As for Caudle, she allowed no hits in facing 16 batters over four innings and she also had four hits, one of which—as fans were shouting “make it out”—did make it out and over the yellow cap in left field. This home run marks her fourth of the season.
Freshman Stephanie Debb moved to the mound from playing as third baseman in the fifth inning of what turned out to be the last inning of the game, as she allowed four hits and four runs.
As for the second game, the Knights had twice the number of hits and runs as Rensselaer, 16 and 10, respectively. Senior pitcher Victoria Hepworth started for the Engineers, allowing four runs off of seven hits.
Caudle came in for the relief at the top of the fourth and allowed six runs off of nine hits. Ten Eyck earned three RBIs with her left field homer.
For Sunday’s first game, the Engineers scored three in the first, putting them ahead to hold the lead for the entire game. Caudle pitched all seven innings with nine strikeouts for her 10th shut-out this season.
The bottom of the first is when all runs of the game were scored, starting with Kollmeier getting on base from an error by the second baseman.
A solid bunt from Puhl advanced Kollmeier to second, followed by a fielder’s choice for senior catcher Taylor Ten Eyck having Kollmeier go to third, all for Caudle to wrap it up to bring in Kollmeier off her single to right field.
The second game saw the opposite—the Engineers not scoring until the bottom of the ninth with a game-winning, three-run home run to left field from third baseman junior Courtney McArthur. This is her third homer of the season, but her first walk-off home run.
A combination of aggressive defense along with Hepworth’s striking efforts of seven strikeouts, six hits, and no runs to earn the shut-out in nine innings, brought the Engineers’ record to a stunning 24-7.
The Engineers will face the 21-13 Utica College Moose at home this Wednesday at 3:30 pm.