RPI softball out to best start in program history

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Rule number of a win streak: don't mention the win streak.

"It's like a no-hitter; you can't talk about it while it's going on," joked RPI graduate first baseman Erin Askins. "We're focused on one game at a time. Our big goal this year is to win [the Liberty] League. That's our goal at the moment."

But the RPI softball team has given people a lot to talk about. Through 18 games, the Engineers are unbeaten: 17-0-1 - their best start to a season in program history. They also reached the No. 18 spot in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 poll.

And it's no secret where RPI's success has come from this year. The team sits atop the Liberty League in batting average (.349), and owns a conference-best earned run average (1.48).

"If I give up a run, I know we're getting it right back," said graduate pitcher Brooke Sroczinski, whose 0.94 ERA is the lowest in the league, and ranks 27th nationally. "During practice, it's making me better as a pitcher: pitching to my teammates. I just know that if they were on the other team, I wouldn't want to be pitching against them."

"In innings where our offense was struggling a little bit, our pitching was able to have our backs," added Askins, who boasts a team-high .441 batting average. "Our defense came back out, held the other team and then gave us a chance to score some more runs.

And there's one important element of this group that doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

"There are a lot of veterans on the team; a lot of veterans starting," said head coach Amber Maisonet. "Their leadership has been what's really put us where we are. They take a lot of the weight off of me. They do a lot of the helping, coaching and leading the younger kids when we put them out there. And they (the veterans) help them (the younger kids) feel calm when we do have to put them out there."

RPI fell short of its postseason expectations in 2023, losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament as the top seed, and dropping both of its regional games in the NCAA Tournament.

That lit a fire in this year's group.

"They came in with a mission this year," said Maisonet. "They knew that they probably could've performed a little better last year. We all knew that we really had higher goals last year. So, that sparked them right from the beginning. As soon as we were done with last year, it was like, "Hey, what do we need to do to get ourselves where we want to go next year?" And that really came from the leadership."

Last season's postseason shortcomings served a motivational role in the offseason, but the Engineers are no longer dwelling on the past.

"It was one of our goals to take everything day-by-day," said Sroczinski. "We have our team motto this year, "Burn the Ships." We're not looking backwards; we're only looking forwards, and enjoying the moment...knowing that this is it [for some of us].

The motto "Burn the Ships" has an interesting backstory. It's in reference to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who arrived in the "New World" in 1519. Upon his arrival, Cortés, who intended to conquer the Aztec Empire, instructed his men to scuttle their own ships, thus eliminating any ideas of retreat - a message to his men that there was no turning back.

While RPI isn't taking quite as drastic an approach to exercise their postseason demons, the team clearly has a razor-sharp focus on reaching their goals of conquering the Liberty League, and making a run in the NCAA Tournament.

However, even with those lofty aspirations, the Engineers are still taking time to appreciate what they're accomplishing along the journey.

"Every week when the top-25 [polls] come out and the Liberty League awards for the week come out, and we all see each other on there, we get really hyped for each other," said Askins. "[I'm] really excited about how far this team has come, and what we can do moving forward."

RPI's unbeaten streak will be put to the test Friday with a doubleheader at Liberty League foe Ithaca College. The Bombers sit at 16-6, and despite both sides only being two games into their conference slate, they're the only two remaining teams without a league loss.