TROY, NY - The RIT baseball team (7-5, 3-1 Liberty League) earned a doubleheader split at Liberty League foe Rensselaer (6-12, 1-3 Liberty League) from Robison Field on Monday afternoon. RIT rallied to win game one, 3-2, while Rensselaer took game two, 4-2.
 
With the 3-1 opening weekend, RIT is off to the early lead in the Liberty League standings.
 
"Our team is coming together nicely and taking three of four games on the road from a program like RPI is a very good start to league play," said RIT head coach Rob Grow.
 
In game one, RIT trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning before scoring three times. Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia) led off with a double before advancing to third on a single by Brett Kajganich (North Royalton, OH/Holy Name). After a ground out and strike out, Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) plated both runners with a single to right center, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Mike Myers (Hamlin, NY/Brockport) would follow with a double to right center, scoring Mylott to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Rensselaer would cut the lead to 3-2 on a run scoring double by Justin Valente. With a runner on base later in the inning, Grow would go to the bullpen for Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport). Bouchard would get out of a jam in the inning and shut the Engineers down the rest of the way, needing just 20 pitchers to close out the final 2 1/3 innings and record his second save of the season.
 
RIT starter Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) picked up his first win of the season, allowing three hits and two runs, while striking out a pair of batters over 4 2/3 innings, as RIT out-hit Rensselaer, 6-3. Six different Tigers had hits. Four of the six hits were doubles, as Gorman, Myers, Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield), and Jason Schulz (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had two-base hits.
 
Patrick McMakin fired a complete-game six-hitter with nine strikeouts in taking the loss for the Engineers.
 
In game two, RIT scored in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, as Navada Waterman (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a strikeout, and scored on a ground out by Kajganich.
 
Rensselaer would answer with a run in the second, and two in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. Jason Ramos would break the 1-1 tie with a two-run single. RIT would inch closer in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Joey Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2 Engineers. Rensselaer would answer with a run in the eighth inning and hold the hot RIT bats off the rest of the way to gain the doubleheader split.
 
Both teams had eight hits in game two. Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) was RIT's lone player with multiple hits. Daniel Capra (North Salem, NY/North Salem) got the start on the mound, allowing five hits and three runs, while striking out six batters over six innings. Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) allowed a run with two strikeouts in two innings of relief, while Bouchard made his third appearance of the series, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
 
Christopher Palmiero earned the win on the mound for the Engineers, allowing four hits and an earned run, while striking out nine batters over 6 2/3 innings. Adam Aponte earned the save, firing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
 
It was a stark contrast from yesterday's doubleheader, which saw RIT erupt for 26 runs in a sweep. RIT took game one 14-2 and rallied from an 11-4 deficit to take game two, 12-11. Today, the two teams combined for 11 runs total in two games.

RIT is right back in action at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with a nine-inning non-conference contest against St. John Fisher from Tiger Stadium.