Game 1 Box / Game 2 Box

TROY, N.Y – The 10th-ranked Rensselaer baseball team collected 31 hits in a Liberty League doubleheader sweep of Union College, 20-5 and 15-2,  at Joe Bruno Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Led by a seven-RBI performance, including a grand slam in game two, by sophomore Camden Mamigonian (Dover, NH/Dover), the Red Hawks improve to 25-4 overall and 14-2 in Liberty League play. The Dutchmen drop to 3-18 and 1-16 in conference action.

The Red Hawks took a three-run lead in the first frame of game one on one hit and an error before Union got one back in the second on a Shawn Johnston (Hamilton, NJ) sacrifice fly to center.

RPI edged farther ahead in the next inning with a pair of runs after Patrick Reardon (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) led off with a walk and Mamigonian was hit by a pitch. Andrew Krushelnyski (Bloomfield, Hills, MI/Brother Rice) plated Reardon when he reached on a fielder’s choice before Stevan Slusher (Pedricktown, NJ/Penns Grove) got one more across with a single through the right side.

The Red Hawks got three more runs in the top of the fourth with the help of three hits. Reardon collected an RBI single, one of three RBI hits in the game for the designated hitter, and Mamigonian capped it with an RBI double to left.

A Dane Flavin (Schenectady, NY) home run plated Paul Mene (Falls Church, VA) in the bottom of the inning before Johnston came across on a Scott Carroll (Scituate, MA) groundout. Johnston had reached on a walk and advanced on a wild pitch and a Ryan Bowes (Hamilton, NJ) fly out to right.

RPI broke the game open in the sixth inning with seven runs on four hits, including two-run doubles from Reardon and Krushelnyski. Shane Griffin (Hudson, NY/Hudson) and Dan Feenan (Clifton, Park NY/Shenendehowa) also had hits in the inning.

Ken Carroll (Shelton, CT/Fairfield Prep.) allowed four runs (2 earned) on three hits while striking out two to improve to 5-0 on the season.  Andrew Mondo (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) picked up his second save of the season with one run allowed on one hit in the final three innings.

Matt Rogers (Topsfield, MA) took the loss for the Dutchmen, allowing six runs (4 earned) on two hits in three innings.

The second game started out much like the first, with RPI holding a 3-1 lead after the first inning on a pair of hits and an error. The Dutchmen got a run back when leadoff batter Brian McLaughlin (Norwood, NJ) crossed on a wild pitch after singling and advancing on a Carroll single and an Omar Shakir (Indialantic, FL) sacrifice bunt.

After adding a run in the second frame, the Red Hawks backed up starter John Dreimiller (Ticonderoga, NY/Ticonderoga), who struck out nine Union batters while holding the Dutchmen to six hits over six innings, with 13 hits of their own over the remainder of the game.

Matt Muscatiello (Kinderhook, NY/Ichabod Crane) crossed in the fourth before #Dan Valentine#’s two-run home run gave RPI a 7-1 lead.

The Dutchmen got one back in the bottom of the fifth on a Pat Wilson (Cos Cob, CT) triple that bounced off the centerfield fence and plated Carroll, but the sixth inning again proved to be the deciding factor in the game when the Red Hawks collected eight runs on six hits in the stanza, led by Mamigonian’s grand slam.

Dreimiller earned his first win of the season (1-1) with his performance, while Andy Brown (Saratoga Springs, NY) took the loss for Union, allowing seven runs (6 earned) on eight hits in the first four innings. Brown (1-2) struck out three, all in the fourth inning.

Rensselaer returns to action on Tuesday afternoon, when it hosts William Paterson at Robison Field (4pm).