Closer Ed Haldeman slammed the door on a comeback attempt by Mount Saint Mary Tuesday, giving the baseball team an 8-6 victory. The win came after a tough weekend series with Ithaca in which the Red Hawks got swept.
The Blue Knights picked up an early lead in the top of the first inning, when they touched up RPI starter Pat Hughes for a couple of runs. This lead was quickly erased by a 3-run Seth Shuket home run in the bottom of the frame, giving Rensselaer a lead they would never relinquish.
The Red Hawks’ offense continued to produce, picking up three runs in the second off of three hits, a walk, and four stolen bases. Three more hits in the fourth translated into 2 more runs, and these would prove crucial to the RPI victory.
Hughes pitched through the sixth inning with only minor difficulty, and nearly got through the seventh without allowing the Blue Knights to score. But a two-out, 2-run single by Mount Saint Mary’s Trevor Purcell chased Hughes in favor of Ryan McGough, who could not retire any of the three batters he faced. His replacement, Robert Cutting, fared no better, walking the one batter he faced to force in a run. With the RPI lead cut to 8-6, Haldeman came on to strike out Erik Eltz of the Blue Knights, ending the threat. He stayed on the mound through the end of the game, holding Mount Saint Mary scoreless and earning the save.
Shuket led the way for the offense, going 2-4 and driving in 3 runs on his first-inning blast. David Hubbs went 3-4, scoring 2 runs, and centerfielder Travis Teeter had a single and a double with 2 RBI.
After the game, Head Coach Karl Steffen said that being able to practice outside on Monday had helped the team quite a bit, and that further practices this week would have them ready to begin their conference schedule against Clarkson on Friday.
Steffen said that the Blue Knights’ rally in the seventh was the result of a few bad pitches from Hughes and the unusually poor outings from McGough and Cutting. "They’re quality guys," he said, and have gotten the Red Hawks out of tight situations in the past.
Commenting on the offense, Steffen said that, for now, "we’re still trying to find our top lineup." In the games against Ithaca, he moved people around some, trying to "find the right combinations." Tuesday, though, he said he just put his best nine hitters in for the whole game, and they were up to the task.
