Box Score Box Score

LAKE WALES, Fla. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team dropped a 9-3 decision to the Golden Bears of Western New England this afternoon in the Russmatt Invitational. Western New England, which is the 18th-ranked team in the nation, improves to 3-1 on the season, while the Engineers fall to 3-6 overall. 
 
RPI got on the board first in the top of the second, when sophomore catcher Erik Kozak (New York, NY/Dalton School) walked and came around to score on a double by junior Chuck Erickson (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield).  The score held in the Engineers' favor until the bottom of the fourth, when the Bears sent 10 batters to the plate, lashing out hits and scoring five earned runs, chasing senior captain Dan Duval (Middleton, MA/Masconomet) from the game. 

Leading the charge for the Golden Bears was junior Mike Rubino (Northford, CT/Hill Regional Career), who went 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI in the game.
 
The Engineers were able to battle back, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, including an RBI single from senior Art Levenson, to make it a 5-3 game, but Western New England answered in the bottom of the inning, plating four runs to close out the scoring at 9-3. 
 
Duval took the loss in the game, allowing five runs on six hits over 3.2 innings.  In addition to five strikeouts, he also walked three batters and moves to 0-3 on the season.  At the plate, Erickson went 3 for 4 with an RBI to pace the Engineers offensively. For Western New England, junior Jeff Richardson (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out six and walking three.
 
Rensselaer closes out its spring trip at the RussMatt Florida Invitational on Saturday when it faces 23rd-ranked St. Thomas at 3:30pm in Winter Haven, Fla.