TROY, N.Y. – Jen Bach tied the school record for home runs in a season with 10, leading the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Skidmore College, this afternoon at Doris Robison Field. The Red Hawks, who won by scores of 8-4 and 9-2, improve their overall record to 25-10, and wrap up their Liberty League schedule with a 4-4 mark. The Thoroughbreds fall to 9-25 on the year (0-8 Liberty League).
Bach's homer, which came in the bottom of the first inning of game one, gave the Red Hawks an early 2-0 lead.
Skidmore tied the game at 2-2 in the second, as RBI singles from Caitlin Ketcham (North Clarendon, VT/Mill River Union) and Shaila DeLea (Cornish, ME/Sacopee Valley) plated Laura Dinsdale (Harrington Park, NJ/NV Regional) and Megan Braucher (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey), respectively.
Rensselaer pushed four runs across in the third to take a 6-2 lead. The Red Hawks tacked on single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, before the Thoroughbreds knocked in two in the top of the seventh. Sarah Stehouwer (Woodstock, VT/Woodstock Union) drove in both Skidmore runs in the seventh with a one-out single.
Michelle Bianchetti (Highland Mills, NY/John S. Burke Catholic) earned her eighth win of the season for RPI, allowing four runs (1 earned) on eight hits in 7.0 innings of work. She struck out eight, while walking four. Stehouwer took the loss from the circle, allowing eight runs (7 earned) on 12 hits over 6.0 innings. She struck out five and walked three.
In game two, the Thoroughbreds manufactured a run in the first inning of game two to take a 1-0 lead. After DeLea led off with a double and was sacrificed to third by Elise Bedard (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow), Charlotte Evans (Pawling, NY/Pawling drove in DeLea with a single through the left side of the infield.
RPI then took advantage of four walks in the bottom of the second, to scored four runs on just two hits. The Red Hawks added two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth, while the Thoroughbreds picked up an unearned run in the fifth.
Evans was 3-4 for Skidmore, while DeLea, Lauren Dinsdale, and Megan Braucher had two hits each. The Thoroughbreds close out the season at home on May 3 with a pair against Russell Sage at 12 p.m.
