The RPI softball team welcomed the Western Connecticut State Colonials to Doris Robison Field on Thursday for its final games of the 2005 regular season. The Red Hawks escaped the cold and windy spring afternoon with a 4-1 win and a 3-3 tie to up their record to 20-6-2.
Rensselaer struck first in game one, capitalizing on two wild pitches by Colonial starting pitcher Brooke Morris in the third inning. After a Logan Russell single and an Abby Eldridge sacrifice bunt, Morris’ wild pitches allowed Russell to advance to third and eventually home. Later in the same inning, a pair of two-out singles by junior Stephanie Vanek and sophomore Katherine Valenta brought home teammate Courtney Sweeney, extending the lead to 2-0.
The Red Hawks would tack on two more runs in the fifth while pitcher Amy Huling cruised through the Colonial lineup. Huling picked up her ninth win of the season, yielding only one run on four hits while striking out six in seven innings of work.
It was the same story through six innings in the rematch, as RPI held a 3-0 lead entering the final frame of play. It looked like the Red Hawks were primed for the sweep until the weather decided to play a bigger role.
“It had been getting progressively colder throughout the day, but between the sixth and seventh, it got a lot worse,” explained Coach Erika Lewis. “Girls’ hands were going numb and they were just trying to move as much as possible to get warm.”
Rensselaer pitcher Katie Mahoney, who was named Liberty League Co-Pitcher of the Week for her 14-strikeout performance, lost a little control in the final inning, walking two Colonials and getting into a bases-loaded situation. “Katie got cold,” said Lewis. “She just wasn’t getting a good grip on the ball.”
With the bases loaded and two outs, Vanek fielded a ground ball that got past first baseman Lizzie Vitaliano. The ball took a peculiar bounce off the visitor’s dugout, allowing all three Colonials on base to score and tie the game 3-3.
After the Red Hawks failed to score in the bottom of the inning, the umpires decided to call the game due to darkness. “A win would have been nice,” lamented Lewis, “but it’s a good thing we tacked on those two extra runs in the sixth or it would have been a loss.”
With the regular season over, the team will now focus on May 9. On that day, the NCAA and ECAC committees will hand out bids to their respective postseason tournaments.
Hopes were high early in the year for an NCAA invite as RPI jumped out to a 17-2-1 start, but they faltered down the stretch, going 3-4-1 over the last eight days of play. “Every team has its ups and downs, and ours just happened to come at the end of the year,” commented Lewis.
“We’re still hoping for an NCAA bid,” she continued, “and we’re definitely in contention. It’s just a question of how many at-large bids the committee hands out. If we don’t get one, we’ll more than likely get an invitation to the ECAC and maybe even host.” The Red Hawks came in second in last year’s ECAC tournament.
Regardless of what happens this postseason, Lewis was very pleased with her team’s performance over the year. “We lost four starters last year,” remarked Lewis, “but the girls still kept their sights high this season and worked exceptionally hard in the preseason. This year has definitely been a success.”
