TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology moved into first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball standings with a 12-10 and 10-4 doubleheader sweep over Franklin College on Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
In the opener, Rose-Hulman fought back from a 7-4 deficit with eight runs in the seventh inning to earn a 12-10 victory.
Andy Krajecki and Brett Tuttle launched home runs to lead the game one offensive attack. Krajecki hit a 3-run home run to propel the 8-run inning and turn the deficit from 9-4 to 9-7. Tuttle homered to open the bottom of the first inning.
Tuttle, Colter Couillard-Rodak and Kade Kline had two hits each for the Engineer offense. Korey Marlow pitched two innings with four strikeouts to pick up the win, and Adam Taylor tossed a scoreless ninth for his third save. Josh Erpenbeck started and pitched five innings with five strikeouts.
Harrison Finch also tied a school record by drawing four walks as part of the balanced Rose-Hulman performance.
In the nightcap, Matthew Rouse struck out 13 Grizzlies in five innings and the bats came alive late as Rose-Hulman won game two by a 10-4 margin.
Rouse allowed just three hits with his 13 strikeouts to improve to 3-2 on the season. Paul Durell, Schuyler Wilcox and Taylor pitched four innings with just one run allowed and four more strikeouts to complete the pitching portion of the win.
Offensively, Manuel Lopez led Rose-Hulman with three hits, including a double, and four RBIs. Tuttle and Josh Mesenbrink added two hits each, with Mesenbrink scoring three times and Tuttle tallying two runs.
Rose-Hulman improved to 18-7 and 9-3 in HCAC play with the win, while Franklin dropped to 22-8 and 7-3 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers return to action on Saturday at Earlham College in another HCAC doubleheader.
GAME 1 | Rose-Hulman 12, Franklin 10
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Engineers got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Tuttle put Rose-Hulman on the board with a leadoff home run off Matthew Johnson.
The Engineers then held the Grizzlies scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Rose-Hulman scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-RBI double from Couillard-Rodak, which brought the Engineers lead to 4-0.
Rose-Hulman's lead had evaporated once the seventh inning came around and turned into a 9-4 Franklin advantage, when the Engineers re-took control at 12-9. The Engineers bats heated up in the inning, scoring eight runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Krajecki. Franklin put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Rose-Hulman still held on for the 12-10 win.
GAME NOTES
» Sophomore Josh Erpenbeck struck out five Grizzlies hitters.
» Every Rose-Hulman starter reached base safely in the win.
» Rose-Hulman's highest scoring inning was the seventh, when it pushed eight runs across.
» The Engineers out-hit the Grizzlies at an 11-10 clip.
» Rose-Hulman pitchers faced 48 Franklin hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and 11 fly balls while striking out 10.
» The Engineers drew nine walks from Franklin pitching.
» Krajecki led the Engineers at the plate, going 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.
» Franklin was led offensively by Tysen Lipscomb, who went 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
» Tyler Wick led the Grizzlies pitching staff, throwing one scoreless inning.
GAME 2 | Rose-Hulman 10, Franklin 4
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 1-0, the Engineers first put runs on the board in the first inning. Rose-Hulman managed to push across two runs in the inning.
The Engineers then held the Grizzlies scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Rose-Hulman scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-RBI double from Lopez, which brought the Engineers lead to 5-1.
Franklin narrowed Rose-Hulman's lead to 5-4 before the Engineers stretched the advantage to 10-4 in the eighth inning. The Engineers bats heated up in the inning, scoring five runs, including a two-run double off the bat of Lopez and a two-run single from Mesenbrink. The score remained 10-4 for the rest of the game, as Rose-Hulman coasted to the win.
GAME NOTES
» Lopez compiled three hits in the game for Rose-Hulman.
» Rouse struck out 13 Grizzlies hitters.
» The Engineers power output was led by Lopez, who picked up two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Lopez drove in four runs for Rose-Hulman.
» The Rose-Hulman pitching staff combined to strike out 17 Franklin hitters.
» Rose-Hulman's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed five runs across.
» Rose-Hulman grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Engineers out-hit the Grizzlies at a 9-4 clip.
» Rose-Hulman went 6-for-14 (.429) with runners in scoring position.
» Rose-Hulman pitchers limited Franklin to just 1-for-12 (.083) with runners in scoring position.
» Rose-Hulman pitchers faced 42 Franklin hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and five fly balls while striking out 17.
» The Engineers drew six walks from Franklin pitching.
» Lopez led the Engineers at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI.
» Franklin was led offensively by Logan Demkovich, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
» Damian Tillie led the Grizzlies pitching staff, throwing six innings of five-run ball.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
