AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rallied from an 8-1 deficit to close within 10-6 in game one, and took the lead after falling behind 6-1 in the nightcap, but could not overcome the opposition in a pair of baseball opening day losses on Monday.
Rose-Hulman attempted a rally in the opener of game one before falling 14-7. In the nightcap, the Fightin' Engineers relied on home runs by Sean Casey and Luke Calabrese to turn a 6-1 deficit into an 8-6 lead, but Capital University rallied for the 9-8 victory.
In the opener, Rose-Hulman had nine hits and scored three times in the fourth and twice in the sixth to make the score close. Davis Robeson had a double and a triple, scored twice and had one RBI to lead the offense. David Burnside also had two hits, including a double, with one RBI.
Conner Helbling scored twice and Zach Donnelly contributed two RBIs to the game one effort. Dan Connolly tossed 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen with three strikeouts.
Cody Macnair led the Neumann offense with a home run among his five hits and six RBIs.
In the nightcap, Rose-Hulman scored three times in the sixth and four times in the seventh to take an 8-6 lead against the Crusaders. Casey hit a two-run blast to key the three-run sixth inning, and Calabrese hit a shot above the left field scoreboard to put Rose-Hulman ahead in the seventh.
Travis Gilbert of Capital provided the key hit of the day, a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to turn an 8-7 deficit into the margin of victory.
Calabrese led the Fightin' Engineers with four RBIs. Logan Cody had a pair of hits, one run and one RBI, and Robeson added two singles. Marcus Wechselberger and Harris Camp scored twice, and Camp had the defensive play of the day by throwing out a potential Capital run with a strong throw from left field.
Chuck Alexa allowed one run in 2.1 innings of work out of the bullpen to lead the game two pitching effort.
Rose-Hulman stands 0-2 and will face Grove City on Tuesday afternoon in Winter Haven.
