TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology won its ninth consecutive Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball game and completed a three-game series sweep of Bluffton University with a 9-8 victory on Saturday afternoon at Art Nehf Field.
Rose-Hulman tralied 5-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but tied the score on a two-run home run by sophomore Brian Thomas. The Fightin' Engineers added one run in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth to gain a 9-6 lead. Bluffton rallied with two runs in the ninth but could not complete the comeback attempt.
Senior Zach Trusk led the Rose-Hulman with a 4-4 performance that included three singles, a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. Conner Shipley and Davis Robeson added three singles and two runs scored each, propelling the offense by hitting first and second in the order. David Burnside added two singles, one run and one RBI to Rose-Hulman's 16-hit attack.
Luke Buehler tossed the first four innings and Dan Connolly added 1.2 scoreless innings in his first college appearance, allowing Rose-Hulman to battle back from an early deficit to knot the score at 5-5. Clayton Mayfield tossed the final 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs with one strikeout to earn the win and improve to 3-2 on the season.
Rose-Hulman remained alone in first place in the HCAC standings with an 11-4 league record, while Bluffton fell to 4-11. The Fightin' Engineers hit the road to face fellow HCAC title contender Franklin College on Tuesday in central Indiana.
