GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
AMELIA, Ohio -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology clinched a bid to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament with a doubleheader split at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday.
The Fightin' Engineers dropped the opener 4-3 and won the nightcap 2-1 in a 10-inning contest. Rose-Hulman has secured either the No. 2 or the No. 3 seed for the upcoming HCAC Tournament, depending on the outcome of Sunday's single game against Mount St. Joseph. The four-team HCAC Tournament will take place at Anderson University on May 7-9.
In the opener, Rose-Hulman scored twice in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Mount St. Joseph answered with a single run in the third, two in the fourth and one in the seventh to take a 4-2 advantage.
Rose-Hulman relied on a double from Drew Schnitz and a single by Josh Hoeing to move within 4-3 in the ninth inning, but Paul Spaulding recorded the final out for the save.
Offensively, Hoeing, Schnitz and junior Donnie Waters led the Rose-Hulman game one offense with two hits each. Hoeing had two singles and scored once, Waters had two singles and an RBI, and Schnitz recorded a single, a double and scored once.
Senior R.J. Carroll tossed 7.1 innings and allowed four runs in the start for Rose-Hulman, while Nathan Lambert allowed two runs in 7.1 innings to pick up the win.
In the nightcap, junior Karson Nixon threw all 10 innings as Rose-Hulman improved to 24-14 on the season and 16-9 in conference play. Nixon allowed just six hits with eight strikeouts to move to 5-1 on the season.
Mount St. Joseph starter Brandon Polking matched Nixon with just one run allowed through nine innings, before the bullpen faltered in the 10th.
Hoeing, Waters and junior Nevin Fansher led Rose-Hulman with two singles each. Waters scored one run, Fansher had one RBI and Schnitz drove home the game winning run on an RBI ground out.
Rose-Hulman stands 24-14 overall and 16-9 in conference games, while Mount St. Joseph stands 13-22 and 8-17 in league play. The Fightin' Engineers and Lions complete the regular season with a single game on Sunday at noon. The HCAC Tournament will take place May 7-9 at Anderson University.
