“We keep getting better every week,” Head Coach Karl Steffen said Tuesday, “and that’s the most important thing.”

Plattsburgh came to Troy sporting an 8-4 record, and looked to be en route to a ninth victory up 2-1 in the eighth inning, but sophomore Shane Griffin’s late inning heroics propelled Rensselaer to a 4-2 victory.

In to pinch hit with the bases loaded, Griffin singled home two runs to grab the lead from the Cardinals. The ball took a hard bounce and went right over the head of Cardinal second baseman John Coleman. Freshman Jim Devine and junior Adam Lasek scored for the Red Hawks and junior Jason Pollard scored later in the inning as well. Only one of the runs was earned, however, as Rensselaer took advantage of a miscue by Coleman early in the inning that allowed Devine to reach base.

Freshman Andy Opperman picked up the win out of the bullpen for Rensselaer, pitching two innings and allowing a run. He took over for starter Andrew Novick, also a freshman, who only allowed one run in his six innings of work.

Plattsburgh (11-6), which was fifth in the NCAA Division-III New York Region Coaches’ Poll, fell to sixth after the loss to Rensselaer, while the Red Hawks took the Cardinals’ old position, up from seventh place last week.

The Continentals from Hamilton (5-9) visited Robison Field on Sunday, but probably wished they had stayed in Clinton. The first game of the twinbill was a close 5-3 matchup, but the Red Hawks sent the Continentals packing with a 20-0 drubbing in the late game.

Rensselaer got on the board quickly in the early game scoring two runs in each of the first two innings. Pollard, who leads off for the Red Hawks, scored two of those runs himself, leading off the game with a double, and adding a single and a stolen base in the second inning to get himself into scoring position to score what would become the winning run. Pollard also knocked in the fifth run for Rensselaer later in the game.

“If you’re going to score runs, you have to get the top of the lineup on base,” Steffen said.

Sophomore fireballer Joe Zongol picked up the win, allowing three runs in 5.2 innings and striking out six Continentals. Senior Rich Mundy, who got the day off from second base duty, came in for the save, striking out two men in the final frame in the process.

“We hope to use him all year,” the veteran coach said about his versatile second baseman. He noted that before Mundy played full time in the field, he was an excellent pitcher, but had to play second due to necessity. “We have very good depth this year, which gives us as a team a lot of flexibility,” added Steffen.

Pollard led the way again in the second game for the Red Hawks, but he got a lot of help from the rest of the lineup as well. The team compiled 20 runs on 18 hits, and four pitchers combined for the shutout victory.

Rensselaer once again jumped out to an early lead, with the help of the Continentals’ starting pitcher, Bryden Considine. He hit two batters and balked in a run in the first inning and Rensselaer quickly jumped on top 2-0.

They picked up right where they left off in the second, adding five more runs with some small ball. Pollard bunted to sacrifice men over, but ended up reaching and loading the bases. After a fielder’s choice left third base open, Pollard and sophomore Matt Muscatiello successfully pulled off a double steal. Pitching woes continued for the Continentals as senior Mike Passante was walked to load the bases, and Considine hit sophomore Stevan Slusher to force home another run. Mundy, back at second base, was hit twice in the second inning, both times by a different pitcher. Hamilton pitchers combined for seven hit batsmen in the contest.

Meanwhile, junior Luke Calzone cruised to his third win of the season, allowing only two hits in five innings and fanning six. Senior Charlie Yarnold, senior Ryan Ool, and junior Ian Titcomb came out of the bullpen to complete the shutout.

Calzone has been virtually unhittable this season, leading the team in ERA, allowing 1.04 runs per nine innings of work. He has struck out 27 in only 26 innings pitched.

“The biggest difference between Luke Calzone last year and Luke Calzone this year is he has better command of his pitches.” Steffen added that the one game last year Calzone had complete control, he literally was un-hittable.

Pollard finished the day seven for ten, driving in six runs, and scoring six himself for the Red Hawks. He was named Performer of the Week by the Liberty League. Steffen credited Pollard with “creating opportunities for the RBI guys.”

Joe Ihnatolya, who started slowly this season, went 4-6 in the nightcap with two doubles, and has finally seemed to find his stroke for the Red Hawks.

Steffen noted this week that “some of the guys were taking extra batting practice and taking extra swings.” He admitted it was hard to pick up the ball indoors where the team has been having the majority of their practices and that timing has been the critical issue at the plate.