In the first game, sophomore Julianne Bass hit her fourth home run to help lift the Red Hawks to a 5-1 victory. Sophomore Sara Finkbeiner had three hits in the second game, including a triple, as the Red Hawks banged out seven runs in the third inning for the 9-1 win. Junior Beth Gargon had two hits in each game and three RBIs total.

With the two-game sweep, the team started at 2-0 in the Liberty League, and continued to demonstrate that the girls can uphold and maintain last year’s success. They are, perhaps, on course for another run at an NCAA berth or beyond.

The team’s 15-5 record would speak well of the girls—had the season begun without a hitch and rolled along smoothly until now. But that has hardly been the case. Due to what can only be called “normal weather” for the Northeast, softball has been forced to postpone doubleheaders versus Mount Saint Mary, RIT, and Russell Sage and another two games against Nazareth in Rochester.

It has been a season mired by rain, snow, sleet, mud, cold, and schedule inconsistency. The diamond sports of baseball and softball were not meant to be played in such conditions, with injury risk skyrocketing and performance hampered by the precipitation. Head Coach Erika Lewis had this to say, “Weather has been a huge problem; we are just trying to stay in a rhythm. It hasn’t been a typical season, [so] we need to be willing to make the necessary adjustments offensively and stay steady defensively.”

Of course, at the end of the day, everyone has played in the same conditions, and the RPI softball team has, for the most part, managed better than its opponents, with a winning percentage hovering at .750.

The season began in Florida where the girls split their first two games but managed to return to Troy with a 9-3 record (.750). Since then, they have played ball up north, overcoming Castleton State, Hamilton, and St. Lawrence in three doubleheader sweeps while suffering two of their losses to then third-ranked Ithaca.

The team is led in hitting by Finkbeiner, who has 30 hits in 67 at-bats (.448), Gargon (.429), and Bass (.410). Five other Red Hawks are batting above .300 and the team collectively has slugged 13 home runs. Of these home runs, Gargon is the proud possessor of seven (Bass has four). She is slugging an impressive .825 and has reached base nearly half the time (.486 OB%). The Red Hawks are hitting a collective .349, getting on base 42.8 percent of the time, have drawn 67 walks, and leaned into 12 inside pitches. They have struck out 96 times, which is 23 fewer than their opponents.

So far, pitching has been very strong, with the team utilizing the consistent arms of freshman Michelle Bianchetti (8-2) and sophomore Michelle Street (7-3). Says Lewis about this past weekend’s sweep of St. Lawrence: “Pitching was very important. We gave up two runs in two games, five hits between them, so they really did a tremendous job.” Overall, Bianchetti and Street are both performing very well. They have thrown 61.2 and 61.1 innings respectively, have ERAs of 2.16 and 2.28, and have surrendered no home runs. Bianchetti does not strike out as many batters, and has allowed more hits than Street, but she surrenders fewer walks, which has helped her to greatly minimize damage.

The Red Hawks are 1-1 in games decided by a single run, with the majority of their wins coming in the form of decisive blowouts. The team wins by an average margin of 7.47 runs per game, and has outscored its opponents 166-69. These are tell-tale signs of a consistent team: winning the games they are supposed to win, and competing with the better-skilled teams in and out of the Liberty League.

Of course, there is much more to sport than talent. Teams perform based on a combination of talent, refinement of natural ability, coaching, and chemistry. The talent and refinement of their skills is evident from all the information above, and this points to strong coaching from Coach Lewis and Assistant Coach Shawn Bowers. Both share with the players an abundance of expertise and experience in softball and baseball respectively. They have been instrumental in the dramatic transformation of the softball program over the last few years, and have clearly put together a great unit.

So perhaps it will come down to chemistry. The team carries seven freshmen, ensuring a large core unit over the next few years, and it will undoubtedly be important that they work well together. They are ably captained by seniors Katherine Valenta, Courtney Sweeney, and junior Beth Gargon and the team as a whole is working as a unit. Coach Lewis says of her team: “We have a great group of kids, and they are very talented. They enjoy each others’ company, and it transcends on the field. They really believe in each other.”

A little confidence to back up a lot of talent is always a recipe for success, and with that it looks like the Rensselaer Red Hawks softball team is ready to attack the second half of the season. Come out and show your support for the girls this Thursday in their doubleheader versus Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts beginning at 3 p.m., or Sunday April 22 at 1 pm when they take on Rochester in two Liberty League contests. All games are scheduled to be played at Doris Robison Field behind the Armory. Go Red!