The Rensselaer baseball team had an impressive week, starting with its inspiring comeback over the Castleton State College Spartans on Wednesday. At the bottom of the seventh, RPI trailed the Spartans 3-2 until the men rallied, as junior designated hitter Scott Robinson hit a 3-2 pitch to give the Red Hawks a 5-3 lead. Then, with a single, the Red Hawks built their lead to 6-3 at the end of the seventh. Following the stellar inning, the men put up three more runs, ending the game with a final score of 9-3. With Wednesday’s game, the Spartans dropped to 3-7 on the season, while the Red Hawks improved to 9-4, winning their eighth straight game.
On Thursday, the baseball team hosted the Western New England College Golden Bears at a rainy Robison Field. Unlike the day before, the men drew first blood after Robinson drove a 2-1 pitch over the fence for a three-run homer to take a 3-0 lead. The Red Hawks never relinquished their lead for the rest of the game, building it to 11 in the fourth with eight runs off five hits while holding the Golden Bears scoreless.
In the top of the fifth, Western New England finally got on the board with a run. However, the men answered in the bottom with two more runs, extending their lead to 12. The Red Hawks maintained their 13-1 lead until the ninth, when the Golden Bears slipped in two more runs. Nonetheless, the men finished the game with a 13-3 victory over WNEC. This win marked the men’s ninth straight victory, while the Golden Bears’ loss dropped them to 8-5 on the season. The Red Hawks, on the other hand, moved into a doubleheader weekend at 10-4 on the season.
Like Thursday’s game, the men’s two away games against the Vassar College Brewers resulted in victory. In both games, RPI jumped out to an early lead over the Brewers. During the first game, RPI scored one in the first with a single and all but clinched the game in the second inning with seven runs on seven hits, advancing its lead to 8-0. The Brewers answered with two singles in the third to finally get on the board; they then put up two more in the fifth. However, even with the four runs, RPI was able to stop the Brewers’ comeback after the men scored four in the top of the seventh to seal the game. At the end of the ninth, RPI had beaten the Brewers, 14-3.
In the second game of the day, the men scored early and often, giving them a substantial lead once again. The Red Hawk runners crossed the plate nine times on seven hits in the first inning, not receiving an out until the ninth batter. Even though the Brewers plated two runs in the bottom of the inning—in response to RPI’s nine runs—the effort was surpassed in the second when the Red Hawks made three more runs to take a 10-run lead that would not be cut. The Red Hawks finished the game with a commanding 24-5 lead over the Brewers to win their second on the day. With the two victories, the men improved to 12-4 on the season, 6-0 in the Liberty League.
The Brewers and Red Hawks were originally scheduled to finish another doubleheader on Sunday, but, due to impending rain, the game was moved to Tuesday at the Robison Field diamond. RPI was able to continue its winning streak to 13 with another sweep, this time a 7-6 decision in extra innings followed by a 10-4 win in the nightcap.
