The Red Hawks would add two more runs, while the Dutchwomen added only one, to come away with the 8-6 victory. Sophomore Michelle Street earned the win, surrendering five earned runs on nine hits over the complete-game, seven-inning effort. She struck out six.

In game two, it was the Dutchwomen who battled to come from behind and earn the victory. The Red Hawks, despite scoring four runs in the second inning, faltered under the weight of three errors and 12 Union hits. The Dutchwomen responded to the Red Hawk second with a three-run third, a one-run fifth, and a decisive four-run attack in the sixth to earn the 8-4 win and a split at home.

Freshman Michelle Bianchetti was not at her best, but she didn’t receive any help from her defense, allowing seven runs (three earned) over five innings. Street came on in the sixth and surrendered the eighth Union run.

So with the split at Union, the girls returned home to collect themselves and prepare for Saturday’s home doubleheader against Nazareth.

It was on Saturday that the softball team found its rhythm. Empowered by solid defense and strong pitching from Street, the Red Hawks broke out the bats and plated seven runs on 12 hits. Nazareth managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning of game one, but the Red Hawks responded with two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to put the Golden Flyers away. Street struck out seven and allowed two runs on just two hits. Junior Beth Gargon, Gendron, and sophomore Sara Finkbeiner all went deep on Saturday for the home standing Red Hawks.

The girls finished off Nazareth in game two behind Bianchetti’s no-hitter in the mercy-rule-shortened contest. While the Golden Flyers’ offense proved anemic against Bianchetti, the Rensselaer bats pummeled Nazareth for eight earned runs over five innings, They finished with five runs in the fifth to knock out the Golden Flyers for the day.

The offense was led by Bass who went 3-3, and slugged a solo shot in the second. The final score was 8-0.

Continuing on their hot streak, the girls traveled to Skidmore on Sunday to take on the Thoroughbreds. In an even more decisive fashion, the Red Hawks routed their opponents in both games, winning game one 16-5 and game two 12-3.

In the first game, Bass hit another home run to bring her total to eight, and Finkbeiner hit her own fourth and fifth home runs of the season. In truth, the Red Hawks hit all the way up and down the lineup, punishing Skidmore with 15 hits. The girls powered themselves to an 8-0 lead over the first two innings, and then matched Skidmore’s three-run second with three runs in the third. After surrendering three more runs in the third, the Red Hawks held on and put the Thoroughbreds away when Finkbeiner blasted a grand slam in the five-run Red Hawk sixth.

The girls won game two decisively as well, backed by strong pitching from Bianchetti, and an offensive attack that almost equaled that of the first game. Catcher Gargon went 3-4, hit two home runs, and scored five runs herself to lead the Red Hawks to the 12-3 victory. The girls again grabbed an 8-0 lead in the first two innings, and although they surrendered three runs, they closed the door on Skidmore for good. Freshman Kate Stira went deep for the Red Hawks, good for three runs, in the second inning.

Bianchetti earned both wins, surrendering just one hit and no runs in Game 1, and 3 runs on 5 hits in Game 2.

Head Coach Erika Lewis commented that the girls have been “hitting very well.” She pointed out that aside from the onslaught of home runs, she is most impressed with their mechanics. “We’re hitting line drives,” she said, and was very enthusiastic about the weekend.

It is well known that when an offense heats up and begins hitting home runs, they’re in danger of getting away from their swings and falling into a slump. The flurry of line drives hit by Red Hawk batters would seem to indicate that this will not be the case for Rensselaer, who now stands at 22-8 overall and 5-3 in the Liberty League.

Bianchetti was named Pitcher of the Week, posting a 4-1 record in her last five appearances. She threw three complete games, produced a brilliant 1.08 ERA, and held opposing batters to a mere .179 batting average. She surrendered only 17 hits in 26 innings.

Freshman Beckey Bailey was named Rookie of the Week, after she batted .421 over the Red Hawks’ last eight games, helping the team to a 7-1 record in that span.

The girls wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader at Utica, Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 pm.