MISENHEIMER, N.C. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team wrapped its season-opening spring trip today, sweeping a doubleheader at Pfeiffer with a 10-5 win in the opener and a 13-2 victory in game two at Joe Ferebee Field.

RPI used a pair of long balls and a five-run sixth to flip the opener after falling behind 5-0 through three innings. Pfeiffer scored once in the first, once in the second, and three times in the third to build the early cushion, but the Engineers started their comeback in the fourth when Jorge Hitlin drew a leadoff walk and Ben Belliss crushed a two-run homer to deep center for his first of the season to make it 5-2.

RPI continued to chip away in the fourth as Jack Mullins singled and Walker Abdallah worked a walk before Connor Dynan lifted a sacrifice fly to bring Mullins home and cut the deficit to 5-3. One inning later, Michael Lebenson launched a solo home run to deep left, then Abdallah delivered an RBI single to score Belliss and tie the game at 5-5.

The decisive rally came in the sixth, when Dynan singled and Danny Nayvelt walked to set the table. Matt Chotiner dropped down a bunt single to load the bases, and RPI broke the tie as two runs scored on a throwing error at first. Another Pfeiffer error kept the inning rolling, and Abdallah came through again with a two-run single to push the advantage to 10-5.

Abdallah sparked the offense in the opener, going 3-for-3 with a walk and three RBI, while Belliss finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and the two-run homer. Lebenson added two hits and the solo blast, and Dynan reached base three times while driving in a run with the sac fly.

Dutch Hamilton earned the win in relief with 4.1 scoreless innings, limiting Pfeiffer to one hit while helping RPI keep the lead intact down the stretch.

The nightcap quickly turned into an offensive showcase for the Engineers, who erupted for eight runs in the top of the first and never looked back. Dynan started the barrage with a leadoff triple, and the first inning avalanche featured a run-scoring error, a two-run double from Michael Lebenson, RBI singles by Stephen Koval and Andrew Crux, and Dynan's two-run double before Danny Nayvelt capped the inning with an RBI double for an 8-0 lead.

RPI tacked on two more in the third as Crux singled and Walker Abdallah reached on a bunt single, with a throwing error allowing a run to score before Dynan lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 10-0. The Engineers added two in the eighth on an RBI double by Alex Coombes and a pair of wild pitches, then pushed across one more in the ninth on another wild pitch to finish the scoring at 13-2.

Dynan led the way in game two, going 2-for-5 with a triple, double, and three RBI, while Nayvelt was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Lebenson finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, Koval went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Crux added a pair of hits and drove in one.

Garret Gates headlined the effort on the mound in the finale, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to earn the win, and the bullpen closed out the victory the rest of the way.

The Engineers head back north to host Hartford on Robison Field on Wednesday afternoon.