FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Nationally ranked Franklin College improved to 24-2 on the season with a 10-2 and 5-3 doubleheader sweep over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball action on Tuesday.
In the opener, the Grizzlies relied on 13 hits to pick up the victory. Franklin is ranked No. 17 by the American Baseball Coaches Association and No. 22 by d3baseball.com in polls released on Tuesday. Ryan Bixler led Franklin with a home run.
Conner Shipley led the Rose-Hulman offense with two RBIs, including a bases loaded single in the fifth inning. Sean Casey led the game one offense with a double among two hits.
In the nightcap, Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a strong first inning. Shipley opened with a walk and later scored on an RBI single by Ryan Stachowski. The lead reached 2-0 on a triple by Sean Casey and the third run came across on a single by Luke Calabrese.
Franklin climbed its way into the lead with a two-run third inning and a three-run home run by Bixler in the fourth. Both pitching staffs held the opposition scoreless for the rest of the day, despite Rose-Hulman placing two runners aboard in the ninth.
Clayton Mayfield allowed four earned runs in six innings with three strikeouts, and Dan Connolly tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth for Rose-Hulman.
Franklin stands 8-1 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 10-18 and 5-5 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers return to action at home on Thursday against DePauw University.
