ASHLAND, Va. - Junior Aaron Kalish did not allow an earned run in his first start of the season, but the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team fell at No. 10 Randolph-Macon, 7-0, Saturday in its season opener. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-0, while the Engineers drop to 0-1.

Four RPI batters recorded hits on the afternoon, including seniors Sam Lawrence and Yahriel Jimenez, who each recorded doubles. Kalish went the first 4.0 innings for Rensselaer on the hill, surrendering three unearned runs on four hits. He struck out two and walked two.

Randolph-Macon took advantage of a throwing error in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Another errant throw in the third gave the hosts a 2-0 advantage. Stuart Brown then capped the scoring in the frame with a single to left for a 3-0 advantage.

An RBI-single from Ian Pape gave the Yellow Jackets a 4-0 edge in the sixth, before Jeff Butler launched a three-run homer for the 7-0 final.

Weston Hawkins went 1 for 2 with two walks out of the leadoff spot for Rensselaer, while Thomas Desmond also recorded a base hit, going 1 for 4. Adam Aponte and Mike Paleogopoulos were RPI's most effective relievers, combining to toss a pair of shutout innings to end the game.

Both teams are back in action tomorrow afternoon for a doubleheader, starting at 11am.