TROY, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team has qualified for the Liberty League Tournament as the fourth seed and will face top seed and host Union College in its first game on Thursday at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam, N.Y. (3:30pm). The Engineers will then face either second seed Clarkson University or third seed University of Rochester on Friday (TBD).
Led by 31st-year head coach
Karl Steffen, RPI has posted a 14-25 overall record, including a 13-11 mark in the Liberty League. The Engineers are hitting .264 as a team, with 64 doubles, five triples and eight home runs. They have scored 182 runs in 39 games and are fielding at a .942 clip. From the hill, the Engineers own a 4.58 earned run average in 308.2 innings, allowing 359 hits, with 243 strikeouts and 101 walks. Opponents are hitting .289 off of RPI pitching.
Individually, junior
Thomas Desmond (Alamo, CA/De LaSalle) leads the team with a .327 batting average (34 for 104). He has seven doubles, four home runs, 17 runs scored and 15 RBI, with a .510 slugging percentage and a .385 on-base percentage. Classmate
Sam Lawrence (Chicago, IL/University of Chicago High School) is hitting .316 (42 for 133), with 12 doubles, a triple, a home run, 16 runs and 28 RBI. Senior captain
Chris Holomakoff (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) rounds out the top three hitters at .310 (18 for 58), with two doubles, nine runs and two RBI.
Freshman righthander
Brendan McNerney (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley) is 6-2 with a 2.03 earned run average in 11 appearances (8 starts). He has four complete games and two shutouts, allowing 44 hits in 53.1 innings, with 43 strikeouts and 23 walks. Opponents are hitting just .224 off of him. Senior captain
Greg Echeverria (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) is 2-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts). He has collected three complete games and has given up 72 hits in 78.0 innings, striking out 57 and walking 13, while allowing a .242 opponent average. Classmate and fellow captain
Stephen Schiavone (White Plains, NY/White Plains) has a 4-4 record and a 3.88 ERA in 12 games (7 starts). He has four complete games and a shutout, surrendering 58 hits in 51.0 innings. He owns 41 strikeouts, compared to 12 walks and has a .280 opponent average.
After opening the season with a 1-13 record, the Engineers have bounced back to make the Liberty League Tournament for the 12th time in 14 years, qualifying on the final day of the regular season.
For tournament scores and schedules, visit the tournament page
here.
