WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team split a doubleheader at non-conference rival Williams this afternoon at Cole Field, dropping a 10-inning opener, 2-1, before bouncing back with a 2-1 win in game two.  

In a tightly played extra-inning battle, RPI pushed across the first run in the top of the eighth, but Williams answered in its half of the inning and then walked it off in the bottom of the 10th. 

Neither team scored through seven as Callie Volker and Williams' Sadie Leonard traded zeros. RPI's early chances included a first-inning threat when Sydney Speanburg walked and later reached third after a sacrifice bunt and a Callista Adorno single, and another in the third when Speanburg walked again and Evann McDowell singled to put runners in scoring position, but Leonard worked out of trouble each time. 

RPI broke through in the top of the eighth. With Kylie Grabler placed on second to begin the inning as the intentional runner, she stole third and scored on Speanburg's RBI single down the left-field line to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead. 

Williams responded immediately in the bottom of the eighth, using a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. The contest remained deadlocked until the bottom of the 10th, when Williams advanced the placed runner and Haley Barrett delivered a walk-off RBI single to left to end it, 2-1. 

McDowell paced RPI at the plate with a 2-for-3 day and a stolen base, while Speanburg reached base three times (single, two walks) and drove in the Engineers' lone run. Volker went 9.1 innings in the circle, allowing two runs (both unearned) on six hits with four strikeouts. 

RPI responded in the nightcap behind a complete-game effort from Ava Markert and a pair of solo home runs that accounted for the Engineers' offense. 

Williams opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of a leadoff single and a hit batter before bringing home a run on a fielder's choice to go up 1-0. 

RPI answered in the fifth when Lauren Cosselman launched a solo home run to center to tie the game. An inning later, McDowell delivered the go-ahead swing, blasting a solo shot to left-center to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead. Both long balls marked the first homers of the season for each of the infield duo.

Markert made it stand, working around seven hits without issuing a walk and limiting Williams to just the one run. She finished with four strikeouts to secure the win. 

Speanburg and Addison Shaffer each doubled as part of RPI's offensive effort.

The Engineers return to Doris Robison Field for their next eight games, starting with a Friday afternoon doubleheader against Liberty League foe RIT. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.