TROY, N.Y. - The No. 16 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team scored six runs in each of their two wins on Tuesday afternoon, as they defeated Hamilton College twice by final scores of 6-1 and 6-5 at Doris Robison Field in non-conference action. 

Game 1
A trio of runs in the opening two innings and a three-run sixth inning aided the Engineers behind a complete game pitching performance from Brooke Sroczinski in a 6-1 win for RPI.

Gabby Comeau opened the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Erin Askins to make it 1-0 before Askins and Evann McDowell each had RBI singles in the bottom of the second to push RPI's lead to 3-0.

Hamilton struck for their lone run of the game in the top of the third, as Jordan Merklin sent a ball to the wall in right center to score a run and give her a triple to cut the Engineers lead to 3-1.

Sroczinski kept Hamilton at bay for the remainder of the game, completing seven innings of work allowing just the one run, three hits, and one walk with six strikeouts.

RPI tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped by another RBI single from Askins - who finished the game 3-for-3 with a walk - to score a pair to total up three RBI's on the day and extend the Engineers lead to 6-1.

Comeau joined Askins going 3-for-3 on the game, while McDowell collected two hits.


Game 2
Two big hits from Liv Vizzini and Sydney Speanburg in a five-run third inning highlighted the RPI offense in a come-from-behind win in the second game by the final score of 6-5.

Hamilton opened up with a four-run top of the first inning as the Engineers defense committed four errors in the opening frame with freshman Ava Market in the circle. The RPI defense calmed down, as did the Hamilton bats through the middle innings as Markert worked 5.1 innings total on the game in earning her third win of the season.

Speanburg plated the first run for RPI in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single to center to score Callista Adorno, making it a 4-1 game. 

In the third, with McDowell on, Vizzini smacked a ball over the center field fence for a two-run home run, cutting Hamilton's lead to just one at 4-3. RPI's offense continued to push forward, eventually loading the bases for Speanburg. She delivered, putting a ball in the right center field gap to score all three runners and pushing the Engineers to the lead with a 6-4 score.

The game stayed status quo into the sixth, until Hamilton's bats warmed up again. Sroczinski took over for Markert after Emma Tansky knocked an RBI single to center and score another run to make it a 6-5 game. With two runners on and one out, Sroczinski pitched out of the jam, getting a shallow fly out to center and a ground out to maintain the RPI lead.

Despite giving up single in the seventh, Sroczinski kept the Engineers in front in earning her first save of the season.

Alex Ledger finished the game 3-for-4 while Vizzini, Adorno, and Speanburg - who also added four RBI's - each had two hits apiece. 

RPI returns to action this Saturday, April 27 at 1 and 3 p.m. as they head north to Potsdam to take on Clarkson University in Liberty League action.