Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Powered by an outstanding effort at the plate and solid pitching, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team swept a twinbill at Mount Saint Mary College on Tuesday.  The Engineers took game one by a 10-2 margin in six innings, before defeating the Knights, 19-4 in five innings in the nightcap.

Rookie Kristina Weltzin (Commerce Town, MI/Walled Lake Northern) pitched another solid game, picking up the victory with two runs allowed on six hits over 6.0 innings.  She also struck out five batters.

The Engineers (10-8) found themselves facing a 2-0 deficit after three innings, but were able to cut the deficit to one (2-1) in the top of the fourth.  RPI wasted little time after that, tacking on three runs in the fifth to go up 4-2, before a six-run effort in the sixth enforced the 8-run mercy rule to end the game.

Powering the effort for Rensselaer was junior captain Gillian McCarthy (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington), whose solo home run was the 10th of the game for the visitors to wrap up things.

In addition to McCarthy, senior Samantha Paulding (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) had a double and a run batted in.  Sophomore Dani Grage (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) added a triple and an RBI, while senior Sara Heller (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) had a double, a triple and an RBI.

The Engineers bats continued to excel in game two as the visitors came out swinging right in the top of the first with four runs.  Getting things started was rookie Jocilyn Rudisill (Galloway, NJ/Absegami), who hit her first career home run in the frame.  Heller followed with a single, while McCarthy brought her in with a two-run homerun.

Rensselaer added two runs in the second and three in the third before racking up five runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.  In the final innings, the Engineers were able to seal the mercy-rule victory behind a number of Mount Saint Mary errors.

RPI strung a number of hits together in the final inning to close out the game, paced by graduate student and captain Sarah Bach's (Philadelphia, PA/Friends Central) two-run double.

Paulding pitched the first two innings, surrendering two runs on four hits with a strikeout.  Sophomore hurler Charlene Osmanski (Elmhurst, IL/York) came on in relief over the final three innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

Offensively, senior captain Kelly Erkert (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) went 2 for 5, while Heller was 3 for 5 in the nightcap.

The Engineers return to action on Saturday when they open their Liberty League schedule on the road with a doubleheader at St. Lawrence.  Action begins at 1pm.  RPI then plays at Skidmore the following day at 1pm. Mount Saint Mary is back on the field next Tuesday, hosting Union at 3:30pm.