NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Rensselaer softball swept Mount Saint Mary in a nonconference doubleheader Friday afternoon with 3-1 and 7-3 victories.
 
RPI (10-4) pitcher Sarah Harms (7-2) led the Engineers in game one with a complete game. The senior gave up one earned run with three hits and two strikeouts. On the other side of the ball, sophomore Maddie Provencher led the Engineers with a homerun to left field. Senior Rebecca Kienz went 2-2 in the second game for Rensselaer with a two-run homer. The Engineers' Jaime Cleasby (3-2) garnered the second win with a complete game as well. The sophomore recorded five strikeouts while only giving up one earned run.
 
Mount Saint Mary (0-2) opened up scoring in the first game when Amanda Almodovar scored off a Cindy Connoly sacrifice fly.
 
Connoly threw three scoreless innings until sophomore Cam Caswell crossed the plate for RPI off a Christine White single to centerfield. Rensselaer then went up 2-1 when an Allie Hunt double to left center brought Kacie Herity home.
 
The Engineers added their third run in the top of the seventh when Provencher went yard with one out on the board.
 
Harms and the Rensselaer defense held Mount Saint Mary scoreless after the first inning to hold on to the 3-1 win.
 
Harms was credited with the win while Connoly (0-1) picked up the loss on a nine strikeout effort.
 
In game two, RPI jumped to a 1-0 lead when White scored off a Hunt double down to the left field line. The Engineers added a second run before the end of the inning when Hunt was brought home off a Steph Cavallaro single through the left side. One inning later, senior Victoria Greco scored on a Knight error to put Rensselaer up 3-0.
 
Mount Saint Mary broke up Cleasby's shutout in the bottom of the third when Lauren Oury crossed the plate on a Connoly single to left field.
 
Up 3-1 going into the fourth inning, Rensselaer went back up by three runs when Kienze scored off a Greco single up the middle. The Knights cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning on an unearned Jillian Picarillo run.
 
RPI responded again in the top of the fifth when Caswell scored on a wild pitch. Down 5-2, the Knights' Kathryn Eiler scored an unearned run off a Taylor Canto single to right center.
 
The Engineers went up 7-3 in the top of the sixth when Kienz hit a two-run homer to right center.
 
After holding off the Knights in the bottom of the sixth, the game was called due to lack of sunlight, and RPI held on to the 7-3 win.
 
Cleasby was credited with the win while Mount Saint Mary's Bridget Bennett (0-1) with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings. Connonly led the game with four hits while RPI's White, Hunt and Cavallaro added a double each to Kienz's homerun.