ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team knocked out Clarkson and Rochester in the 2025 Liberty League Softball Championship today to claim a spot in tomorrow's final.
The Engineers started the day with a 6-2 victory over Clarkson before securing a 5-3 triumph against defending champion and top-seeded Rochester. The two wins give RPI the opportunity to challenge Ithaca for the conference title. The Engineers will need two wins against the Bombers to claim the 2025 Liberty League title.
Addison Shaffer broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh with a two-out, two-run single. Shaffer won the nine pitch at-bat with a single to right that scored Sydney Speanburg and Evann McDowell.
Shaffer started the scoring earlier in the contest with an RBI single that plated Callista Adorno in the top of the first. After an unearned run by Rochester in the second, Adorno scored again on a single by Sarah Decker in the third.
The Yellowjackets tallied two more unearned runs in their half of the third to put RPI in another one-run deficit, however a double by Speanburg in the fourth brought around Ryleigh Falvey to tie the score and set up the go-ahead rally in the seventh.
Earlier in the day, the Engineers had got past Clarkson in their first elimination game of day. Four Engineers produced two or more hits in win against the Golden Knights, including a 3-for-4 performance from Shaffer. Speanburg, Evann McDowell, and Lauren Cosselman finished with two hits each as well.
RPI owned the first six runs in the opener, with Olivia Termia and Speanburg both driving in one run and McDowell and Adorno contributed two RBI apiece. McDowell led the Engineers with two runs scored.
Ava Markert received the win in the circle in both games today. Markert allowed just two hits in 5.0 innings against Clarkson before going to distance versus Rochester. Markert struck out three batters in each appearance.
First pitch of tomorrow's title meeting against Ithaca is set for 12:00 pm, with a second, winner-take-all contest to immediately follow should the Engineers win.