In reflecting back on Rensselaer's recently completed athletic season, it quickly becomes obvious that there were – yet again – many memorable individual and team accomplishments, as well as other significant events that occurred. In an effort to relive, remember and celebrate some of our student-athletes and staff members who played major roles in making those occasions a reality, we introduce 11 4 2010-11.
The story below is one in the 11-part series, which will run throughout the next couple of months. The events are not ranked in any particular order. For the full list, along with some 'honorable mentions', eventually, please click HERE.
Are there significant events you remember? You can submit them by clicking HERE. Thank you and enjoy!
11 4 2010-11: Jen Bach Concludes Outstanding Softball Career
It's not often that a player comes along whose athletic ability and humble personality become instant game changers. For the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team, that player arrived in 2008 and her impact over her four years will be forever felt in the locker room and the record books for years to come.
“I would describe Jen Bach as an outstanding player and an even better person,” said head coach Amber Maisonet. “She gave this team the confidence to believe they could win in any situation. It was her level of play that made her teammates better. What she means to this program is beyond anything that can be read in a record book or seen on the field.”
A native of Lansdale, Pa., Bach arrived at RPI for her freshman campaign and kicked things off with a resounding bang. In the team's first 10 games, she went 14 for 32, adding 11 runs scored, a double, three home runs and 13 runs batted in.
By seasons' end, the numbers had soared as she finished with 50 hits in 130 at-bats, 32 runs, a team-best 10 home runs, 45 runs batted in and the Liberty League Rookie of the Year award.
After such a stellar opening season, one could question whether or not it was feasible that Bach could repeat the numbers or fall victim to the 'sophomore slump'. For the Gwynedd Mercy Academy graduate, 'slump' wasn't in her vocabulary as she banged out 56 hits in 125 at-bats, boasting a .448 average as a starter in 38 games. Her home run total finished at nine, while she added 40 runs scored and 40 RBI (10 more than the next closest teammate).
In addition to her dominance at the plate, Bach emerged as one of the team's go-to pitchers in 2009, going 8-5 in the circle with a 2.67 earned run average and 68 strikeouts in 21 appearances.
The dawn of her junior season saw Bach step into the dual role as hitter/pitcher with gusto. She once again led the conference in nearly every statistical category, batting .431 (56 for 130) at the plate with 31 runs scored, six doubles, a career-high 12 home runs and 39 runs batted in.
In the circle, she went 9-9 over 30 appearances and helped the Engineers into the finals of the inaugural Liberty League Tournament. While Rensselaer did not walk away the victors, Bach was tabbed as the league's best, garnering the conference's 2010 Liberty League Player of the Year honor and unanimous All-League First Team recognition.
With all the accomplishments accured through her first three seasons', how would she be able to top it? 2011 emerged as a special chance for Bach; a chance which Maisonet explained that her star player wasn't going to pass up.
“She knew it was the last chance to play the game she loves at a high level,” said Maisonet. “And while it likely shows that her stats were what had the greatest impact on the team, I believe her greatest impact was the confidence and desire she instilled in her teammates. With Bach on the field, everyone felt more confident.”
Her impact was felt in a number of ways, but the immediate results came in the circle, as the confidence in her pitching soared to new heights and resulted in a 6-2 mark after the first month of the season.
“The two previous seasons, I think she always looked at herself as a #2 or #3 pitcher,” Maisonet explained. “This year though, I think she understood that she really needed to lead this team. When I gave her the ball, I knew she could give me seven strong innings and more importantly, I could tell that she now felt that way too.”
Bach was ready in all facets of her game right off the bat in 2011 and it once again drove the Engineers to the top of the league standings. With so many incredible moments to choose from, it was hard for her coach to pick out just one.
“Her performance at Middlebury was amazing even though she took the loss in the circle,” recalled Maisonet. “She gave an extremely gutsy performance on the mound and at the plate in a game where she pitched all eight innings in freezing temperatures and snow against a very tough lineup and also added two hits,”
“The other game I can recall was a huge victory over Ithaca at home,” she continued. “She pitched great against one of the best lineups in Division III and literally gave me everything she had and left it all out on the field.”
RPI would emerge at the top in the final Liberty League standings, winning the regular season title with a 6-2 conference mark. Despite an early exit from the conference tournament, the Engineers showed an enormous amount of humility and graciousness in defeat, led by the example set by Bach.
The numbers she'd put forth at seasons' end were just as impressive as year's past. Averaging .449 (53 for 118), Bach drove in 38 runs, added 11 doubles and a triple, while producing single season program records in home runs (13) and RBI (55). In the circle, Bach pitched her way to a 14-4 mark with a 2.59 ERA over 102.2 innings pitched.
She led the Liberty League in six offensive categories and for her efforts was selected by the conference's coaches as the Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Accolades continued to pour in for Bach, including All-Liberty League First Team honors at both designated player (unanimous) and pitcher and ECAC Upstate All-Star recognition. For the second time in her career, she was an NFCA All-Northeast Region selection, adding a First Team honor to the Second Team earned in 2009.
The highest honor came a few weeks following the conclusion of the season as Bach became just the second player in program history to be named an NFCA National All-America Third Team honoree.
What Bach accomplished in her four year career was nothing short of astounding. A lifetime average of .427 (215 for 503), 141 runs, 30 doubles, three triples and a program record 44 home runs with 179 runs batted in. She added a 34-18 record in the circle over 78 appearances, pitching 345.1 innings while surrendering just 161 earned runs and striking out 257 batters.
She graduated in May of 2011 with a degree in Electronic Media, Arts and Communications and six school records under her belt. And while the awards throughout were numerous and the records were beyond impressive, for Bach it all came down to one thing … her team.
“Jen is one of the most humble people I've ever met,” explained Maisonet. “She always thinks there is something she can do better and never looked at her personal achievements as being more important as the team achievements. I think at the end of the day, what she's most proud of is the time she spent competing with her friends and the memories that she has of being on the field. All of the awards and recognition she received will never outweigh that for her.”
The impact of a player like Jen Bach is not something that happens often and one thing that her coach is certain of is that there likely never will be a player like her again.
“I've been asked several times how I am going to replace Jen Bach and my answer is always the same … I can't,” explained Maisonet. “I'm a firm believer in the fact that each player on my team has their own unique thing that they contribute. A lot of Jen's contributions can be seen in a stat book and through the games she won and the records she broke and these contributions may come along in another player at some point in the future,'
“Someone may break her home run record or have more hits than her, but it's the contributions to this team that can't be measured that can never be replaced. I know there will be other great players who play at RPI and there will be other great players I coach here, but one thing I know for sure, is there will never be another Jen Bach.”
