TROY, N.Y – The 15th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team held on a for a wild, 14-13, victory over Skidmore College in game five of the Liberty League Tournament, this morning at Robison Field. With the win the Red Hawks improve to 33-10 and advance to the championship round. Skidmore finishes the season with a 22-21 record.
Facing elimination, Skidmore rallied in the top of the ninth inning as rookie Zack Rudman (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) reached on an error. Zach Brown (Victor, NY/Victor) doubled down the right field line to send Mark Vito (Tenafly, NY/Tenafly) to third. Catcher’s interference loaded the bases, but solid pitching by RPI hurler Mike Cieszko (Stevenson Ranch, CA/William S. Hart) got sophomore Rob Rubenstein (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) to ground into a double play to end the game and send RPI into the championship round against Clarkson.
Halted due to rain in the second inning on Saturday afternoon, the Thoroughbreds and Red Hawks picked things up on Sunday morning and the Rensselaer bats began to show signs of life, pulling to within 5-4 on three runs in the bottom of the third.
Skidmore came back with a run in the top of the fourth but RPI broke it open in the bottom half of the inning as junior catcher Patrick Reardon (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) drove a long home run over the right field wall, bringing in three to put the home team up 8-6.
A two-run double down the left field line by Rudman in the top of the Skidmore fifth tied things up and the Thoroughbreds went ahead 10-8, later in the frame, on a wild pitch and a single by sophomore pitcher Nick Laracuente (Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly).
Rensselaer rallied once more in the bottom of the fifth, capitalizing on a number of Skidmore errors and hit batsmen to grab a 13-10 lead. With two outs on the board and the bases loaded, sophomore Josh Brooks (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was hit by a pitch to bring in a run. Reardon walked to bring in another run (10-10) before junior Camden Mamigonian (Dover, NH/Dover) singled to the shortstop to bring home senior Sean Wilkes (Troy, NY/Catholic Central) and give RPI a lead which it would not relinquish.
Brooks later pushed the Red Hawks ahead, 14-11, with a solo home run to right center field, but Skidmore found its way back as outfielder Brian Lowry (West Hartford, CT/St. George’s) drove in two runs on a long single just short of the warning track in right field to cut the Thoroughbreds deficit to 14-13 in the top of the eighth inning.
For Skidmore, Lowry went 4 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Rudman was 2 for 5 with three runs batted in and a pair of runs scored while Brown was also 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI. Shouldering the loss on the mound for the Thoroughbreds was Laracuente, who allowed seven runs (2 earned) on five hits in 3.0 innings.