TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team split today's non-league doubleheader with Keene State at Robison Baseball Field, dropping the opener 11-7 before responding with a 10-3 victory in game two.

In the first game, RPI battled back from an early 3-0 deficit to pull even in the fifth, but Keene State used a pair of multi-run innings late to regain control. The Owls scored twice in the first and added an unearned run in the second, before the Engineers got on the board in the bottom of the third when Charlie Morse reached base and eventually came around during a two-run frame that made it 3-2.

Keene State pushed the margin to 4-2 in the fifth, but RPI answered immediately as Alex Coombes delivered an RBI double and Ben Belliss followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4.

Keene State responded with two runs in the sixth and then the decisive swing in the seventh, a three-run home run, to open up a 9-4 advantage. The Owls tacked on two more in the eighth, but RPI continued to fight, getting a solo home run from Michael Lebenson in the eighth and a two-run single from Matt Chotiner in the ninth to trim the final margin to 11-7.

Walker Abdallah paced the Engineers in the opener, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Lebenson finished with two hits and the home run. Chotiner drove in two late, and Coombes' RBI double helped spark the fifth-inning push.

RPI carried its momentum into the nightcap. The Engineers struck first in the bottom of the first as Abdallah doubled and eventually scored on Belliss' RBI single to make it 1-0. 

After Keene State briefly moved ahead 2-1 in the third, RPI tied the game in the fourth and then took control in the fifth, using aggressive baserunning and timely contact to build a 4-2 lead.

The turning point came in the seventh when RPI erupted for five runs to break the game open. A mix of pressure on the bases and clutch hits, highlighted by RBI singles from Coombes and Chotiner and a two-run double from Lebenson, extended the lead to 9-3. 

The Engineers added one more in the eighth when Belliss brought home Abdallah with an RBI groundout to cap the scoring at 10-3.

Abdallah again set the tone offensively in game two, scoring three times while reaching base three times, and Coombes produced two hits and two RBI. Belliss posted two hits and two RBI, while Lebenson drove in two with the key double during the seventh-inning surge. 

Mike Nelson earned the win with 5.0 innings of work on the mound. Andrew Gaughan delivered two strong innings with four strikeouts in relief, and Sam Ferrier and Zac Zajac closed the door to finish off the 10-3 victory.

RPI stays home to host Williams at 4:00 pm on Wednesday.