ITHACA, NY – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team captured its first Liberty League Championship since 2015 with a 4-1 win against Ithaca today.

Ben Belliss and Zach Zajac combined to limit Ithaca to just one run on the afternoon. Belliss was effective in first four innings as the starter prior to Zajac tossing a shutout over the final five innings.

After Belliss and the Engineers turned a base-loaded double play to end the third inning, RPI plated two runs in the top of the fourth to jump ahead 2-0. Michael Lebenson cleared the right field fence for a solo home run to begin the frame before a ground out by Hicks brought in Matt Chotiner.

Ithaca generated a run in the fourth to cut the lead to 2-1, however the Engineers would score once again in the top of the fifth on a run-scoring ground out by Chotiner.

The Bombers threatened again with runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth before Zajac induced a inning-ending grounder to shortstop.

RPI notched its fourth run of the day when Charlie Lapp came home on a sac fly by Ian Oehlschlaeger in the eighth. Oehlschlaeger topped the Engineers lineup with a pair of hits.

Chotiner was named the tournament's most outstanding player after going .579 (11-for-19) with six runs and nine RBI over the championship.

The victory gives RPI the opportunity to represent the Liberty League in the upcoming NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. The Engineers will await seeding and matchup details of regional play coming in tomorrow's 12:00 pm selection show.