LIVE STATS
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology hits the road for a three-game baseball series at Bluffton University on Saturday and Sunday.
The Fightin' Engineers will square off with Bluffton in a doubleheader on Saturday at noon, with a single game scheduled for noon on Sunday.
Rose-Hulman comes into the game leading the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings at 16-7 overall and 8-3 in league play. The Fightin' Engineers lead Earlham and Manchester by one game on the loss side entering this weekend's play.
The Fightin' Engineer offense features all nine players in the standard starting lineup batting over .300. Junior Zach Trusk leads the offense with a .354 batting average along with eight doubles and two home runs. Senior Kody Alayon has added a .344 average and team-high totals of 33 hits, 29 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
Senior Caleb Kissel stands at .337 with four doubles, with key contributions also received from Patrick Klima (.330, 7 2B, 1 HR), Hazen Hamather (.325, 2 2B, 1 3B), David Burnside (.317, 10 2B, 2 HR), Drew Schnitz (.317, 5 2B), Josh Koutnik (.316, 1 2B) and Donnie Waters (.310, 5 2B, 1 HR).
On the mound, Rose-Hulman's starting rotation has featured Daniel Sutherland (4-1, 2.12), Alec McNally (2-0, 3.14), Karson Nixon (4-1, 3.60), Andrew Stull (2-2, 5.25) and Joey Callahan (1-1, 4.50). Cody Sunderhaus has emerged as the closer with three saves and 13 strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work.
Bluffton stands 9-16 overall and 4-8 in HCAC play entering this weekend's matchups. The Beavers have won their last three games, including two wins over Mount St. Joseph and Tuesday's victory over Defiance.
Jason Collier leads the Bluffton offense with a .340 batting average. Luke Hickey (.315, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR) and Colin Gregory (.311, 4 2B) are starters also over the .300 mark. The team's primary starting pitchers have been Taylor Gambrell (1-2), Brantley Curnette (1-1), Jaylen Von Sossan (1-2) and Corey Johnson (0-3) so far this spring. Travis Clark leads the bullpen with four saves in 13 appearances with 13 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
After this weekend's action, Rose-Hulman hits the road for Franklin College on Tuesday afternoon.
