TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology baseball team concludes its 2015 regular season this weekend with a three-game series against Mount St. Joseph University at Midland Field in Batavia, Ohio, on Saturday.
The series includes a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at noon.
Rose-Hulman stands at 23-13 overall including 15-8 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play. The Fightin' Engineers clinch a berth in the HCAC Tournament with a single victory. In addition, Rose-Hulman can win the regular season conference title with a sweep of Mount St. Joseph and a single loss from Anderson, which faces Defiance this weekend.
The Engineers are 11-2 in their last 13 contests dating back to April 11. Rose-Hulman most recently defeated non-conference rival DePauw 7-1 on Wednesday, marking the second time this season the Engineers have topped the Tigers.
Junior Donnie Waters leads the Rose-Hulman offense with a .378 batting average and has added seven doubles and two home runs. He was also named honorable mention National Hitter of the Week for his efforts in last week's five victories. Junior Caleb Kissel ranks second on the team in hitting at .336 with 47 hits and eight doubles. Junior Hazen Hamather, sophomore Kevin Jendra, junior Zach Hull, sophomore Drew Schnitz and junior Kody Alayon are also over the .300 mark.
Rose-Hulman continues to lead the HCAC and ranks No. 11 nationally in pitching with a 2.85 team earned run average. The regular weekend pitching rotation has included Karson Nixon (4-1, 0.84), R.J. Carroll (5-1, 2.73) and Andrew Stull (3-5, 2.78). The team also has eight saves out of a balanced bullpen, led by junior Alec McNally with six saves and a 0.52 ERA.
Mount St. Joseph comes into the series with a 12-21 mark overall and a 7-16 record in HCAC play. Ronald Cotton leads the Lions offensively with a .392 batting average. Zach Farmer, Kyle Kittle, and Drew Werner also bat over the .300 mark.
The Mount St. Joseph pitching staff has a 5.69 earned run average with four different pitchers starting at least six games this season.
If Rose-Hulman qualifies for the HCAC Tournament, the Engineers will compete in the four-team double-elimination event at the site of the No. 1 seed starting Thursday May 7.
