Even in softball, where scores tend to be lower than in baseball, four shutouts in five games is quite unusual. Unfortunately for the Red Hawks, they were on the receiving end of two of the four shutouts they had this week, posting a 2-3 record as they swept Manhattanville 3-0 and 13-0 but lost to Ithaca and Oneonta.
Saturday’s doubleheader against Manhattanville could not have gone better for the Red Hawks. Shannon Smith threw a complete-game shutout in the first game, striking out seven and allowing only one hit and one walk. One other Valiant runner reached on catcher’s interference, but none advanced beyond first base. Two of the three were caught stealing by catcher Leanna Smith.
On offense, Marissa Crisfasi knocked in Megan Porter for the game-winning run, and a two-run double by freshman Liz Vitaliano two batters later cemented the win.
Game two featured the first collegiate start for southpaw Ali O’Connor, who injured her ankle at the start of the Red Hawks’ spring training trip and had pitched only one inning. She also shut out the Valiants and demonstrated that she could get key outs in clutch situations.
Manhattanville threatened to break the game open in the early going, as O’Connor walked the first two batters in the second inning, followed by a sharp single by Valerie Diaz that loaded the bases with no outs. O’Connor induced the next batter, Brooke Taylor, to bounce into a 5-2-3 double play and closed out the inning with a weak ground ball to shortstop.
RPI mounted its own threat in the bottom half of the frame when Shannon Smith reached on an error and Jaci DeCicco walked. A double steal moved two runners into scoring position with one out, and right fielder Jeanne Slater came through with a two-run single, later scoring to put the Red Hawks up by three.
The Valiants tried to put together a two-out rally in the fourth, with Jackie Flynn, Diaz, and Taylor hitting consecutive singles, but O’Connor got Lu Bono to ground out on the first pitch. The Red Hawks, aided by several Manhattanville errors, then posted a 10-spot in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach.
Leanna Smith led the offense with a pair of doubles and three RBI, and Laura Feeney went three-for-four with two runs scored.
Sunday’s doubleheader at Ithaca was just the opposite: Nothing went right for the Red Hawks, as they were trounced by the Bombers 8-0 and 18-0. RPI managed only four hits on the day, two by Megan Porter.
The only close game of the week was Monday afternoon in Oneonta. Shannon Smith and Oneonta’s Liz Scimeca engaged in a pitchers’ duel, eventually won by the Red Dragons 3-2 in eight innings.
Rena Finsmith led off the Red Dragons’ first with a single and was immediately picked up by Beth Oppenheimer, who doubled her in. RPI tied the game in the third, with Vitaliano singling in DeCicco. The teams traded single runs in the sixth, but the Red Hawks, playing little ball, could not get Shannon Smith, the UCAA Pitcher of the Week, another run despite five sacrifice bunts over the course of the game. Oneonta put together a few hits in the bottom of the eighth to win it.
Rensselaer takes on St. Rose in a home doubleheader today at 3 pm, and the Red Hawks begin their UCAA schedule this weekend, hosting Union on Saturday and Skidmore on Sunday—both doubleheaders start at 1 pm.
