LEXINGTON, KY. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scored 10 runs in the fifth inning and smashed out a season-high 19 hits to top Transylvania University 15-12 in the opener of a three-game Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball series on Friday.
Sophomore Donnie Waters (Franklin, Ind.) led the Rose-Hulman offensive outburst with four hits, including two doubles and his second home run of the season. Waters had a career-high five RBIs and scored three times in the performance.
Freshman Zach Trusk (Plainfield, Ill./North) and junior Josh Hoeing (Rushville, Ind.) added three hits each. Trusk had a double, one run scored and two RBIs, while Hoeing scored once and had three RBIs with an effort that included a triple.
Sophomore Caleb Kissel (Plainfield, Ill./North) added two hits, scored three times and had one RBI. The 4-5-6-7 spots in the Rose-Hulman batting order combined for a 12-22 performance that propelled the offensive effort.
Other Engineers with multiple hits included sophomore Kody Alayon (Hammond, Ind./Bishop Noll) with two singles and one run scored; and senior Andrew Benitez (Mililani, Hawaii) with two hits, including a double, three runs scored and two RBIs.
Transylvania trailed 11-0 early but responded with five runs in the fifth inning to make the game competitive. Kody Ross led the Transylvania offense with four hits, including a home run, and four RBIs. Zach Bynum added three hits and three RBIs with a double.
Senior Kevin Farley (Centennial, Colo./Littleton) pitched 2.1 innings of relief to pick up his sixth victory of the season. Farley scattered four hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Rose-Hulman's 10-run fifth inning featured a two-run home run by Waters; a two-run double by Waters; and a double by Trusk, along with three Transylvania errors.
The game featured a combined 36 hits between the two teams, with Rose-Hulman compiling 19 hits and Transylvania adding 17 of its own.
Rose-Hulman improved to 19-13 on the season and 12-8 in HCAC play, while Transylvania dropped to 16-18 overall and 10-9 in conference games. The two teams will complete their series with a doubleheader on Saturday.
