Fitzpatrick Homers for 15th Time, but Knights Fall to RPI 6-2

Rochester, NY – Unlike the first time the two teams met earlier this season, the Clarkson University Softball team didn’t have enough offense to complete a late-game comeback against Rensselaer, falling 6-2 on day two of the Liberty League Tournament hosted by the University of Rochester.

The Golden Knights saw their season finish off with a record of 22-15, while the Engineers advanced for another contest at 27-10.

Clarkson was held hitless for the first three frames and RPI used that time to create an early 5-0 lead. The Engineers scored once in the second as Sarah Decker led off with a double and moved to third on another base hit. A shot to right where Olivia Termi was thrown out at first was enough to plate Decker and make it 1-0. RPI tacked on four runs in the top of the fourth, the first run coming on a single by Sydney Speanburg, the next two on a single from Evann McDowell, and the final run of the frame an RBI single by Callista Adorno.

The Golden Knights broke up Ava Markert’s no-hit effort in the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back one-out hits from Elissa Uveino and Zoey Kovach, the latter extending a hitting streak to 19 games, but Markert wiggled out of the jam.

RPI picked up a sixth run in the top of the sixth inning thanks to an RBI ground out by Adorno, but the Knights broke up the shutout in the bottom half of the frame. Isabel Haspil led off the inning with a double but stayed put when the next two hitters were retired. Devin Fitzpatrick then sent her 15th home run of the season over the wall, making it 6-2. Clarkson challenged with a pair of walks in the seventh, but came up empty.

Fitzpatrick’s 15th home run of the year tied for the most in the league in over 15 years, and is the same amount that Michele Winn, Clarkson’s previous all-time home run leader, had in her entire Golden Knight career which lasted three-plus seasons.

Fitzpatrick took the loss in the game, giving up 13 hits over seven innings with four strikeouts, while Markert gained the win, striking out three in five frames with just two hits and no walks allowed.