The baseball team traveled to Florida this past week for spring break, but they didn’t spend it on the beach. The Red Hawks were working on the field, with a game on each day from Saturday, March 11 to Saturday, March 18. The squad split the trip competing with Division III non-conference opponents, finishing 4-4 on the week, and giving the coaching staff a good look at where the team is.
“Mental errors killed us,” Head Coach Karl Steffen explained. “Cut-off men were in the wrong locations. We were giving teams extra bases.” Not all was bad for the Red Hawks, though. Steffen was “very pleased with our top four pitchers,” and is enthusiastic about the upcoming season.
The squad started off slow, losing their first three games, and the pitching staff was knocked around, as the Red Hawks were outscored 40-27. In the opener, RPI jumped out to a lead, but couldn’t hold it as Widener scored six runs late in the game to complete the comeback.
The bullpen woes continued in the second game. Mount Saint Joseph batted for 17 runs in the final two innings to destroy the Red Hawks 25-16 in a slugfest.
“Last year, one of our weaknesses was our bullpen,” Steffen said. “It’s going to take us a few weeks to iron out who is going to be in what roles.”
RPI played from behind in their third game and tried to do to Transylvania what their first two opponents did to them. Their own late inning rally fell short, however, and the Pioneers held the Red Hawks down, 8-7.
Senior Charlie Yarnold pitched the complete game for Rensselaer, allowing only four earned runs. “He didn’t want to come out of the game,” commented Steffen. “Yarnold battled for nine innings.”
RPI finally got into the win column riding the arm of junior Luke Calzone to an 11-2 victory over Framingham State. Calzone fanned 12 in 8.1 innings, and allowed only four hits.
As encores, the Red Hawks defeated Arcadia 7-3 the following day and Defiance 6-3 a day later. Tim Klein and Joe Zongol showed no signs of the “sophomore slump” in their respective victories, with Klein throwing a complete game against Arcadia, and Zongol striking out eight in 7.1 strong innings against Defiance.
Senior outfielder Michael Passante went 4-5 against Arcadia pitchers and drove in three runs in the victory. The captain appeared in five games over the week, and in those games the team went 4-1. He batted .555 with six RBI and was honored as Performer of the Week by the league.
Webster finally grounded the Red Hawks taking Friday’s match 9-6, with senior second baseman Rich Mundy making a gritty performance from the bullpen. Steffen acknowledged that his performance kept them in the game. “He shut them down for about five innings,” he said.
Rensselaer ended the week on a high note, taking out Drew 16-4. Calzone got his second win of the season, allowing no earned runs in his seven innings of work. He was named the Liberty League Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.
“We came back and won four out of five.” Steffen added, “It showed us a lot in terms of their characters.”
Steffen and company will begin conference play this weekend with two double headers against league foe Clarkson. They will host the Golden Knights at Robison Field starting at 1 pm on Saturday and 12 pm on Sunday. Although the weather may not be as warm, the team is excited to be back home. “I think it will be good to get out on our field,” the veteran coach admitted.
