TROY, N.Y. - The Bard College baseball team suffered a walk-off defeat Tuesday afternoon, losing to the Engineers of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 8-7.
RPI shocked the Raptors by scoring six runs in the bottom of the eighth to rally from a 7-1 hole, before scoring the winning run on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win.
With the defeat, Bard dropped to 11-13 overall and 5-6 in the Liberty League. RPI meanwhile, improved to 13-12 and 7-4.
For much of the game, the Raptors dominated. They notched three runs in the third following back-to-back RBI singles from David Schlosser and Dillon Daine.
A leadoff home run from Ethann Meister (Santa Teresa, NM) in the fourth cut into Bard's advantage, but the Raptors got the run back a few innings later on a Mike Pizzuto sacrifice fly that scored Matt Lasky.
Bard extended its lead with three additional runs in the eighth, courtesy of a two-RBI single from Jordan Myers and a wild pitch by RPI, which pushed the advantage to 7-1.
At that point, Bard looked like it was going to cruise to victory, as the team needed just six more outs to grab the win. However, it wasn't meant to be on the night.
The RPI bats came alive in the bottom of the eighth, as the team scored six runs off a sacrifice fly, an RBI single and two two-RBI singles to tie the contest at 7-7.
The Raptors did have a chance in the top of the ninth to snatch the lead back, as Lee Perry doubled with two outs, before advancing to third on a wild pitch. But the Raptors couldn't get him home, as Nikolai Grumet struck out in the next at-bat.
In the bottom of the ninth, Bard's pitching had no answers. Two singles opened the inning, before a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third.
The Raptors intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases to try and set up the double play ball, but closer Alex Bunnell walked the following batter on four straight pitches, allowing RPI to escape with the victory.
Bunnell collected the loss for Bard, while Chris Grome (Framingham, MA) recorded the win for RPI. Neither team's starter got a decision in the game, despite both going at least six innings.
Kyle Zigner tossed a one run, five hitter for the Raptors over his six innings of work, while Erick Zecha (Keene, NH) went 6.1 innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits.
Perry and Lasky each tallied three hits, including a double for both on the day, while Myers collected two hits in the effort.
The Engineers meanwhile, were powered by Noah Normyle (Bennington, VT), who finished with three hits and two RBIs.
Up next for the Raptors is a non-conference matchup with Bates College on April 19th at 4 p.m. You can follow that game right here.
