TROY, NY – In a driving rain for much of the afternoon, the Mount Saint Mary College softball team lost a pair of games to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday. The Blue Knights lost a well-played game one in extra innings, 3-2, before losing the second, 11-3. The Mount dropped to 4-14 on the season.

With the teams tied at two and playing into extra innings, RPI finally scratched out the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Junior Becky Bailey (Rome, N.Y.) singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout, and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Red Hawks a 3-2 victory in game one.

Mount Saint Mary struck first in game one as junior Christine DelPiano (Orange, Conn.) drove home sophomore Sarah Johnson (Montgomery, N.Y.) with a single to left field. Johnson ripped a double over the center fielder's head to move into scoring position and then slid over to third on a wild pitch.

RPI tied the game in the bottom of the third on a RBI single from senior Sara Finkbeiner (Napanoch, N.Y.), but the Blue Knights answered with a run in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Jackie Governale (Plainedge, N.Y.) singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice by Johnson. Again, it was DelPiano who delivered the big hit, driving a double to center field that scored Governale from second.

The Red Hawks wouldn't wait long to tie the game once again as sophomore Jen Bach (Lansdale, N.J.) drove the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth over the fence in right-center for a solo home run.

Mount Saint Mary had runners on second and third with only one out in the top of the fifth, but the RPI pitcher, Bach, worked out of the jam with some help from her defense. After Governale struck out for the second out of the inning, Johnson roped a sinking line drive to right-center field that would have scored two runs. But the RPI center fielder, Finkbeiner, made a spectacular diving catch to get the Red Hawks out of the inning.

Sophomore Erin Dommermuth (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) pitched eight innings for the Blue Knights, allowing two runs (1 earned) on six hits, before being replaced by senior Erin Lappe (Goshen, N.Y.). Lappe took the loss for the Mount.

The Blue Knights drilled 14 hits in the first game, but stranded 12 runners on the bases. DelPiano was 3-for-4 at the plate and drove home both runs for the Mount. Senior Jessica Thibault (Watertown, Conn.), Governale, Johnson, and Dommermuth each had two hits.

In game two, RPI jumped out to a six run lead and never looked back. The Blue Knights showed signs of life in the fourth inning as Lappe singled home a pair of runs during a three-run inning that made the score 6-3. But the Red Hawks responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning and held the Mount scoreless in the top of the fifth for an 11-3 victory.

Finkebeiner pitched five innings to collect the win for RPI. Lappe took the loss once again.

Up next for the Mount is a road trip to St. Joseph's College of Long Island for a Skyline Conference double-header. The games are scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start on Saturday, April 4.