Engineers destroy Dutchwomen in doubleheader

The Engineers took the Union Dutchwomen on April 22 in a double header, winning 3‒0 and 10‒2.

Alexis Cooke started the first game with strong pitching, striking out the first batter she faced. Next up to bat was Tara Hartnett, who flied out to center field. Tensions rose for the Engineers when Karson Saunders tripled to right field, but Olivia Valery grounded out to Catherine Worthington at shortstop in the next at-bat, quickly ending the top half of the first inning. The Engineers had a stronger start with Erin Askins singling to left field, stealing second, advancing to third on a fielding error, and scoring on a single by Callista Adorno. The top of the second began with two Dutchwomen flying out to Maddy Brooks. Cooke quickly ended up the three up, three down half inning by striking out the last batter swinging. The bottom of the second was also quick, with three up, three down.

During the top of the third, Melody Kappel popped up to catcher Alex Ledger. Two additional runners singled, loading the bases and giving the Dutchwomen hope. The dream was crushed when Saunders and Valery both popped up to infield, ending the half inning. The Engineers continued their momentum in the bottom half of the inning. Askins doubled to the left side and advanced to third on a single. Union shortstop then made a throwing error, letting Askins run home. The Engineers continued their positive trend when Adorno singled to right field, driving in Worthington to score the Engineers’ third run. The remainder of the game went quickly, with multiple strikeouts from Cooke. At the end of the first half of the seventh inning, RPI was up 3–0, wrapping up the game in only an hour and a half.

The second game of the day started slow with a scoreless first inning, followed by Union’s Kappel reaching on an error by shortstop, letting Nahnny Sobetzko run home. In the bottom half of the inning, Liv Vizzini singled to center field. Right after, Evann McDowell walked, and Sydney Speanburg singled to right field, bringing Vizzini home. In the top of the third, Ellie Wintringer doubled, rounding Saunders home for their second run.

The game was looking well-matched, but soon the Engineers started racking up runs. With the bases loaded, Union pitcher Amanda Granato walked a batter, letting Askins jog home. The bases remained loaded, and Ledger grounded out to first base, letting Worthington score on the next at-bat. Immediately after, Vizzini homered to center field, bringing Adorno and Gabby Comeau with her. Then McDowell tripled to right field on first pitch, with a second triple by Speanburg. McDowell ran home, making the seventh run for the team. Brooks doubled to left field, bringing Speanburg home. Afterward, Worthington reached first on another error, letting Brooks score the final run. Totaling eight runs for the inning, the score was brought to 9–2. Comeau flied out to right field, ending the inning. After, the game started to calm down with both teams having scoreless innings until the bottom of the sixth. Ledger singled down the left field line, allowing Worthington to score the final run in this six-inning game. The game ended 10‒2 in the Engineers' favor.

Saturday was a successful day for the Engineers, continuing their 14-game win streak, and bringing their overall record to 25‒5 in the Liberty League.