The Rensselaer baseball team had an
impressive week, starting with its inspiring
comeback over the Castleton State College
Spartans on Wednesday. At the bottom of the
seventh, RPI trailed the Spartans 3-2 until the
men rallied, as junior designated hitter Scott
Robinson hit a 3-2 pitch to give the Red
Hawks a 5-3 lead. Then, with a single, the
Red Hawks built their lead to 6-3 at the end
of the seventh. Following the stellar inning,
the men put up three more runs, ending the
game with a final score of 9-3. With Wednesday’s
game, the Spartans dropped to 3-7 on
the season, while the Red Hawks improved
to 9-4, winning their eighth straight game.
On Thursday, the baseball team hosted
the Western New England College Golden
Bears at a rainy Robison Field. Unlike the
day before, the men drew first blood after
Robinson drove a 2-1 pitch over the fence
for a three-run homer to take a 3-0 lead. The
Red Hawks never relinquished their lead
for the rest of the game, building it to 11 in
the fourth with eight runs off five hits while
holding the Golden Bears scoreless.
In the top of the fifth, Western New England
finally got on the board with a run. However,
the men answered in the bottom with two
more runs, extending their lead to 12. The Red
Hawks maintained their 13-1 lead until the
ninth, when the Golden Bears slipped in two
more runs. Nonetheless, the men finished the
game with a 13-3 victory over WNEC. This
win marked the men’s ninth straight victory,
while the Golden Bears’ loss dropped them
to 8-5 on the season. The Red Hawks, on
the other hand, moved into a doubleheader
weekend at 10-4 on the season.
Like Thursday’s game, the men’s two
away games against the Vassar College
Brewers resulted in victory. In both games,
RPI jumped out to an early lead over the
Brewers. During the first game, RPI scored
one in the first with a single and all but
clinched the game in the second inning
with seven runs on seven hits, advancing
its lead to 8-0. The Brewers answered with
two singles in the third to finally get on the
board; they then put up two more in the
fifth. However, even with the four runs, RPI
was able to stop the Brewers’ comeback
after the men scored four in the top of the
seventh to seal the game. At the end of the
ninth, RPI had beaten the Brewers, 14-3.
In the second game of the day, the men
scored early and often, giving them a substantial
lead once again. The Red Hawk
runners crossed the plate nine times on
seven hits in the first inning, not receiving
an out until the ninth batter. Even though
the Brewers plated two runs in the bottom
of the inning—in response to RPI’s nine
runs—the effort was surpassed in the second
when the Red Hawks made three more
runs to take a 10-run lead that would not be
cut. The Red Hawks finished the game with
a commanding 24-5 lead over the Brewers
to win their second on the day. With the two
victories, the men improved to 12-4 on the
season, 6-0 in the Liberty League.
The Brewers and Red Hawks were
originally scheduled to finish another
doubleheader on Sunday, but, due to
impending rain, the game was moved to
Tuesday at the Robison Field diamond.
RPI was able to continue its winning
streak to 13 with another sweep, this time
a 7-6 decision in extra innings followed
by a 10-4 win in the nightcap.
