The Rensselaer baseball team recorded 27 hits in two games to win the 2015 Liberty League Championship over Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) May 10 at Robison Field. With victories of 13-9 and 10-5, the Engineers (26-15) have now won two league titles in the last three years.
For the 18th time in school history, the Rensselaer baseball team was selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament, which will determine the 2015 Division III National Champion. The Engineers defeated Keystone College, 2-0, in the first game, and then pounded out 16 hits to beat SUNY Old Westbury, 12-2, in the second round of NCAA Tournament play at Falcon Park. With the win, the Engineers improve to 28-15. The team advances to a winners bracket meeting with nationally first-ranked SUNY Cortland May 15 (Friday) beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Engineers are 2-0 in a regional for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 2009.
Rensselaer, which won the Liberty League Tournament to receive an automatic bid into the 56-school field, made its NCAA Tournament debut in 1990 and then made 13 consecutive appearances from 1992 to 2004. The Engineers, who have also played in the NCAAs in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2013, won regional titles in 1996 and 2002.
As a team, Rensselaer is batting .309 while outscoring its opponents 307-195 this season. The team has 407 hits, including 79 doubles, 14 triples, and 15 home runs. From the mound, the Engineers have a 4.09 earned run average and a .281 opponents’ batting average. The team is fielding at a .950 clip.
The winner of the New York Regional, which is one of eight across the country, advances to the National Championship Tournament to be held May 22-26/27 in Appleton, Wisconsin.