Steffen, in his 21st year as the baseball coach at RPI, won his 500th game on Sunday, in a dramatic come-from-behind victory. It took extra innings for the team to finally pull out the win.

“It’s a tribute to our players and my coaching staff,” Steffen said humbly. He said that he didn’t have as much to do with the wins as they did, and admits freely that they “put [the team] into position” to win games.

RPI fell behind early, as Vassar manufactured three runs in the first inning with two outs. Three straight singles by Kristaps Aldins, Paul Noonan, and Marc Ramos, and a wild pitch from junior starter Charlie Yarnold got the Brewers on the board. The same three Brewers helped Vassar pick up its fourth run later in the game.

Vassar starting pitcher Brian Sciubba cruised through five innings, leaving with a 5-2 advantage, but RPI’s bats came alive once his replacement entered the game. Adam Lasek got it started with a leadoff triple, and scored on a fielder’s choice by Rich Mundy. Pinch runner Ryan Devito then stole second base, and scored on pinch hitter Shane Griffin’s single, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

The next inning, Ryan Meron singled to right with two outs, and came around to tie the score with the help of poor defense by the Brewers.

Both RPI and Vassar had chances to win it in extra innings. Vassar had the bases loaded in the ninth, but Tim Klein came into the game in relief and struck out two men back-to-back to keep the game knotted up.

The Red Hawks finally came through in the top of the eleventh, earning a free run due to pitching mistakes by Vassar. Lasek was hit by a pitch to get on, moved to second on a balk, advanced to third on a pass ball, and then scored on a wild pitch. Klein pitched a perfect inning after that to secure the win.

“I’m hoping this is a turning point for the team, and will get us on a streak,” Steffen said enthusiastically about the dramatic win.

Steffen got win 501 in the nightcap when RPI destroyed Vassar 23-2.

RPI got 11 runs in the first inning as eight different men crossed the plate. Rich Mundy scored in the second, and by that point all Red Hawk starters had scored.

Offensively, Ryan Meron led RPI, going 5-5 with five RBIs and five runs scored. Dan Quinn added four RBIs, going 4-4 in the game.

Steffen acknowledged that his team was “nice and relaxed” going into the second game, as he switched up the lineup to give some guys a rest and to get fresh legs in the game. He then accurately added, “Hitting is a contagious thing.”

Chris Sullivan picked up his second win of the week with a six inning performance in which he allowed only one run. Sullivan has improved since the beginning of the season, and in his two starts last week, he had a 0.82 earned run average. He was named co-Pitcher of the Week by the Liberty League for his efforts.

“His velocity is up,” Steffen said about his ace. He then added that Sullivan was “locating the ball much better” than he had been.

With Steffen at the helm, the Red Hawks have compiled a record of 501-253-3. They have advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament 14 of the last 15 years, including a current stretch of 13 in a row—the longest streak in the nation. RPI has won their league championship nine years in a row, and have gone to the Division III World Series twice.

Prior to Sunday, the Red Hawks hadn’t played a game since last Tuesday. Their games against Rochester, originally scheduled for Saturday, were postponed due to weather. Last Tuesday, RPI hosted Montclair State to Robison Field.

In the opener, RPI avenged a loss that they suffered against a visiting Montclair State earlier in the year. Chris Sullivan went five strong innings in picking up the victory, and BG Porter added a timely hit to knock in two runs, as RPI went on to win 6-1.

Montclair State’s only run was an unearned run it picked up in the first when Sullivan tried to pick off a runner at first and threw it away. That runner advanced to third and scored on a fielder’s choice.

Game two was another story. Five Montclair pitchers combined in shutting out RPI, as they could only manage to scatter four hits in a 7-0 loss.

RPI had chances, including a bases-loaded opportunity in the seventh down 1-0, but couldn’t convert. Montclair blew the game open with six more runs over the next two innings.

Yarnold picked up the loss despite only allowing one run through six innings.