Game 1 Box / Game 2 Box
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Timely hitting and solid pitching lifted the Rensselaer baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Liberty League rival Skidmore this afternoon. The Red Hawks won by scores of 7-4 & 9-5 to improve to 21-8 overall and 10-4 in the league. The Thoroughbreds fall to 13-16 and 7-7 in conference play.
RPI opened the scoring with two runs in the first inning of game one. Skidmore battled back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the fifth, but a three-run effort in the top of the sixth and solid pitching freshman John Dreimiller (Ticonderoga, NY/Ticonderoga) lifted the Red Hawks to the win.
Dreimiller is now 4-2 on the season after allowing four runs (1 earned) on six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts through 5.0 innings. Junior Tim Klein (Westwood, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional) earned the save after giving up just one hit in two solid innings of relief. Offensively, senior Adam Lasek (Waterford, NY/Waterford) went 2 for 2 with two runs batted in while sophomore Jim Devine (Castleton, NY/Columbia) had two hits and two RBI.
In game two with the score tied 2-2 after three innings, the Red Hawks took the lead, tacking on a run in the fifth and two in the seventh for a 5-2 lead. A late eighth-inning surge by Skidmore made it 6-5 heading into the ninth, but RPI added three runs for the final margin. Freshman Patrick Reardon (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) was three for six with two runs scored and two RBI while senior Ken Carroll (Shelton, CT/Fairfield Prep.) added two hits, three RBI and a team-high 11 putouts in the victory.
On the mound, senior hurler Luke Calzone (Bethel, CT/Bethel) improved to 3-2 overall after allowing just two runs on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Klein picked up his team-leading fifth save of the year after allowing just one hit while striking out two over the final two innings.
The same two teams are back in action tomorrow afternoon as the series shifts to Troy. First pitch for Sunday's doubleheader between the Thoroughbreds and the Red Hawks is set for 12pm at Robison Field.
