The Rensselaer baseball team went 4-2 last week, snapping an impressive 14-game winning streak. The week moved the No. 9 ranked team in the nation to 21-3 on the season, and 10-2 in the Liberty League, two games behind the leading Rochester Yellow Jackets.
On Wednesday, the Red Hawks hosted Castleton State and cruised to a 12-3 victory behind, once again, a very potent offense. The Red Hawks opened up a 10-0 lead after six innings behind key hits including a two-run home run by sophmore Camden Mamigonian; the homer was his fourth of the season, tying him for team lead. Senior Ken Carroll got the start and the win, pitching six innings of three-hit ball, only facing three batters over the minimum and surrendering one walk.
The next day RPI continued its home stand with a 15-1 pounding of non-league opponent SUNY New Paltz. Junior southpaw Andy Opperman pitched seven innings in the start, allowing only one run on three hits and striking out three. The offense was led on the day by lead-off man junior Sean Wilkes, who went three-for-six on the day with a double and two runs batted in.
The weekend brought about a trip to Liberty League rival St. Lawrence to face the Saints in a four-game series, with doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday. The Red Hawks won the first game but lost the nightcap on Sunday, ending their 14-game winning streak and earning their first Liberty League loss of the season. Monday was more of the same as the Red Hawks won the first game but couldn’t muster enough runs to win the second.
In the first game on Sunday, the Red Hawks sent out the always reliable southpaw, senior Joe Zongol, who eventually earned his fourth win of the season, allowing only two unearned runs on six hits and striking out eight, in a complete game, seven inning effort. The second game proved to be a heartbreaker. In the fourth inning sophomore designated hitter Pat Reardon hit his second home run of the season to even the game up at one run apiece. Carroll then hit a triple and scored to take the lead. But the Saints tied the game in the bottom of the inning and scored two more in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, which eventually proved to be the final score. The Red Hawks’ offense seemed quite unlucky in the second game as it did the whole weekend, hitting hard hit balls right at people and not finding space.
Monday proved to be another split doubleheader as the Red Hawks offense was shut down once again by Saints pitching in the second game, which this season seems to be quite a rarity.
The baseball team looks to the last three and-a-half weeks of the season to get ready for a playoff push as the ultimate goal of a national championship still hangs in the balance. This week they take on Montclair State on Wednesday at home and have a home-away four-game series with Union College this weekend, which is always a heated series no matter what both teams’ records are.
