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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology opens the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball schedule with a three-game series at Earlham College on Friday and Saturday.
The Fightin' Engineers squqare off with Earlham at 4 p.m. on Friday and in a doubleheader at noon on Saturday. The three-game series will be played at Randal Sadler Stadium on the Earlham campus.
Rose-Hulman and Earlham face off on the opening weekend of HCAC play after being picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the league's preseason poll. Rose-Hulman stands 7-4 this season against one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA Division III Mideast Region. Earlham has a 10-2 record and is 1-0 in conference play after defeating Mount St. Joseph 10-7 on Tuesday.
The Rose-Hulman offense is batting .306 on the season after scoring 12 runs against Illinois Wesleyan and 14 against Spalding in its two most recent wins. Senior Caleb Kissel leads the team at .405 with 17 hits, with Zach Trusk second on the team at .395 with two home runs. Kody Alayon is batting .389 with a team-high seven stolen bases, and Josh Koutnik is also over .300 at .375 with nine hits in 24 at bats.
On the mound, seniors Karson Nixon, Andrew Stull, Daniel Sutherland and Alec McNally have started 10 of the team's 11 games this season. Nixon is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 19 innings. Stull stands 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 21 innings of work. Sutherland has not allowed a run in 14 innings with a 2-0 record. McNally has a 1-0 mark with a 3.07 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.
Earlham has won seven of its last eight games to improve to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in league play. Nate Lynch (.429, 3 2B) and Thomas Rea (.422, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR) have led the offensive effort for the Quakers, while the pitching staff has a 2.55 ERA in 12 games. Bryce Rainey (2-0, 1.80 ERA), Howie Smith (2-2, 2.35 ERA) and John Cornett (2-0, 2.89 ERA) have combined for 11 starts, while Walter Talcott is 3-0 with two saves and a 1.59 ERA out of the bullpen.
After this weekend's series, Rose-Hulman squares off with Anderson University on Wednesday at Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis. Victory Field is the home of the AAA Indianapolis Indians, with the field located just northwest of Lucas Oil Stadium. The first pitch of Wednesday's HCAC matchup against Anderson is set for 6 p.m.
