ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team saw its Liberty League Championship run come to an end this afternoon, falling 9-3 to St. Lawrence in an elimination game at host Rochester's Southside Field.
St. Lawrence seized control immediately with a six-run top of the first. After a leadoff single, Allison Kloft launched a two-run homer to left to open the scoring. The Saints kept the inning going with a single and a walk, and Marleigh Monroe followed with an RBI single up the middle. A hit batter and a passed ball brought home another run, and Maeve Thompson capped the big frame with a two-run single to right to make it 6-0.
RPI answered in the bottom half to get on the board.
Sydney Speanburg drew a leadoff walk and
Evann McDowell singled down the right-field line, and
Callista Adorno put pressure on the defense with a sacrifice bunt that turned into an error, allowing Speanburg to score and cut the deficit to 6-1.
St. Lawrence tacked on two more in the third. Monroe doubled down the left-field line and later scored, and Thompson ripped a two-run double to right-center to extend the lead to 8-1.
The Saints added their final run in the fifth on Madison Connelly's RBI double to right-center, pushing the margin to 9-1.
RPI showed life in the bottom of the fifth. Speanburg worked another walk, and Adorno delivered the Engineers' biggest swing of the day, a two-run homer to right, to make it 9-3. Termi followed with a single and
Addison Shaffer drew a walk to keep the inning moving, but the Saints worked out of the frame and closed out the win.
Speanburg reached base four times (two walks and was hit twice), scored twice, and was a consistent table-setter at the top of the order. Adorno accounted for RPI's offense with her two-run homer and also added a hit and a stolen base, while Termi collected a single.
