TROY, N.Y. – For the first time since their opening two games March 7 and 8, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team lost twice in a row – ending their season in the Liberty League Softball Championships as they fell to Ithaca in Game 1 of the day 5-0 before being eliminated by Rochester by a 5-1 final score.
 
RPI likely finishes their season with 32 wins – the second time the program has finished with 30-plus wins, coming second to only the 2006 Engineers who put up a program-record 35 wins. The Engineers finished the regular season 13-1 in Liberty League play, earning the top seed for this weekend's tournament.
 
Game 1
Ithaca pitcher Riley Piromalli carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning, with senior Gabby Comeau breaking up the no-no with a one-out single. However, it was the lone hit for the Engineers in the 5-0 loss to the Bombers.
 
Ithaca scored all five runs in the top of the 3^rd inning, with the first run crossing on a bases loaded walk. An error off a batted ball by Ali Dell'Orto and RBI groundout from Tava Kasper brought in the next two runs before an RBI single from Belle de Oliveria capped the scoring bringing in a pair to make it 5-0 Ithaca.
 
RPI turned to Alexis Cooke for two innings, as she surrendered a pair of earned runs before giving way to Brooke Sroczinski for four innings. Sroczinski struck out five over her four innings, while Erika Holowka held down the Bombers for an inning at the back end.
 
Dell'Orto finished with two hits – both doubles – counting for two of Ithaca's four hits. Jessie Lopez and de Oliveria accounted for the other two.
 
Game 2
The Engineers battled yet another potential Liberty League Pitcher of the Year candidate in Rochester's Molly Broccolo, as the bats were held to just three hits in a 5-1 loss to the Yellow Jackets. Rochester made it to the game after knocking out Union 8-0 in five innings the middle game of the afternoon.
 
Sroczinski pitched all seven innings for the Engineers, as both pitchers went toe-to-toe from the get-go.
 
RPI threatened in the bottom of the first inning, as the Engineers for a moment loaded the bases just three batters in. After a reversed call put one out on the scoreboard, Callista Adorno was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A strikeout and ground out ended the inning, leaving the bases loaded for RPI.
 
Neither team pushed through with a run until the top of the fifth inning. The Yellowjackets broke through after loading the bases with nobody out. Sroczinski almost pitched out of the jam, recording two outs with a clutch ground out and infield fly before Jenna Gorecki knocked a single through the left side of the infield, scoring two runs to give Rochester the 2-0 lead.
 
Another single courtesy of Hannah Keiper added another run, as Ally Kim scored to push the Yellowjackets lead to 3-0.
 
The Engineers made their move in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Catherine Worthington led off the inning with a double off the left center field fence. After a groundout from Gabby Comeau moved Worthington to third, she scored on another groundout from Adorno to make it 3-1.
 
However in the top of the seventh, Rochester tacked on two more runs, highlighted by an RBI triple to the right center field gap by Kim as the Yellowjackets extended their lead to 5-1. Brocolo got the Engineers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to wrap the game up for Rochester, moving them to Saturday's championship matchup with third-seeded Ithaca.