TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Fresh off of a critical doubleheader sweep of Franklin College on Wednesday, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology softball team continues its pursuit of a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament berth when the Fightin' Engineers travel to Hanover for a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.

Rose-Hulman used two hits late in both games from sophomores Ellissa Eckert and Janel Lake respectively to defeat Franklin 2-1 and 4-3 in eight innings on Tuesday. In game one, Eckert's single to right field plated the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. In game two, the Engineers walked off after Lake's single down the right field line ended the contest in the eighth inning.

With the victories over Franklin, Rose-Hulman stands in third place in the HCAC with a 5-3 record. The top four make the conference tournament at the end of the season.

Freshman Jenny Miller leads the conference with a .435 batting average. The Elkhart, Ind., native leads the Engineers with five home runs, 16 walks drawn, and an on base percentage of .541. Senior Carly Heibel has also batted in 21 runs and is second on the squad with three home runs and a .391 batting average.

With her win over Franklin in game one, Miller's earned run average as a pitcher dipped to 1.89. Heibel and junior Taylor Lockhart have 2.33 and 2.57 earned run averages respectively. Junior Marissa Stout, who carries a 6-2 record, has pitched 40 innings and has a 3.32 earned run average.

Hanover comes into the contest with a 12-8 record and a 4-4 mark in HCAC competition. The Panthers split their last series at Anderson, falling 4-0 and winning game two 10-1 in five innings. Mikala Poe leads the squad a .415 batting average. Pitcher Leah Kemmerer has pitched 64.2 innings with 89 strikeouts and a 2.06 earned run average.

After the doubleheader with Hanover, Rose-Hulman travels to Manchester the follow day (Sunday), April 19, for a two-game series at Manchester. First pitch is slated for noon.