N. MANCHESTER, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology picked up a pair of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference softball wins by sweeping Manchester University 4-3 and 9-4 on Wednesday.
In the opener, Manchester rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force extra innings before the Fightin' Engineers earned a 4-3 victory. Nicole Lang provided the big blast in the eighth inning with a two-run home run to snap a 2-2 tie and give Rose-Hulman the lead for good.
Ariel Thomasson tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts to lift the Fightin' Engineers to the HCAC victory. Thomasson also had two singles and scored twice.
Lang finished the day with a home run, a double, three RBIs and one run scored to lead the offense.
In the nightcap, Ashley Pinkham had four RBIs in the first two innings and scored twice as Rose-Hulman built an early 7-1 lead. Â
MaKenzie Morgan and Lang each had three hits to propel the scoring. Morgan had three singles and scored three times, with Lang adding a double, two singles and one RBI.
Gabby Davidson also had a multi-hit game with two singles and two runs scored for the Fightin' Engineers.
Baylee Uhrick came out of the bullpen with 3.2 scoreless innings to pick up her third pitching win of the season. Uhrick allowed four hits but held the Spartans without a run after the fourth inning.
Rose-Hulman improved to 15-13 on the season, while Manchester dropped to 12-24. The Fightin' Engineers return home to face Hanover College in another HCAC doubleheader on Thursday at 5:30 pm.
GAME 1 | Rose-Hulman 4, Manchester 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Engineers put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the third inning. Rose-Hulman pushed across two runs in the frame, the big blow coming on an RBI double from Lang.
After the Spartans rallied to tie the ballgame at two, the Engineers came back to retake the lead in the eighth inning. Rose-Hulman scored twice on Lang's two-run homer, which brought the score to 4-2 in favor of the Engineers. Manchester put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Rose-Hulman still held on for the 4-3 win.
GAME NOTES
» Thomasson struck out 11 Spartans hitters.
» The Engineers power output was led by Lang, who compiled two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Rose-Hulman's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Rose-Hulman went 3-for-8 (.375) with runners in scoring position.
» Rose-Hulman pitchers faced 34 Manchester hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 11.
» Lang led the Engineers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI.
» Manchester was led offensively by Kaitlyn Carr, who went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and an RBI.
» Carr led the Spartans pitching staff, throwing eight innings of four-run ball.
GAME 2 | Rose-Hulman 9, Manchester 4
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Engineers got the scoring started early, putting two runs on the board in the top of the first inning. Rose-Hulman scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Pinkham.
The Engineers then lost some of their lead, expanding on their advantage in the second inning after the Spartans cut it to 3-1. The Rose-Hulman offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Pinkham, which brought the score to 7-1 in favor of the Engineers.
Manchester narrowed Rose-Hulman's lead to 7-4 before the Engineers stretched the advantage to 9-4 in the fifth inning. The score remained 9-4 for the rest of the game, as Rose-Hulman coasted to the win.
GAME NOTES
» Rose-Hulman got three-hit games from both Lang and Morgan.
» Pinkham drove in four runs for Rose-Hulman.
» Every Rose-Hulman starter reached base safely in the win.
» Rose-Hulman's highest scoring inning was the second, when it pushed four runs across.
» Rose-Hulman grabbed a 3-1 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» Four Engineers had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Engineers had a total of 15 hits.
» The Engineers out-hit the Spartans at a 15-11 clip.
» Rose-Hulman went 6-for-16 (.375) with runners in scoring position.
» Rose-Hulman pitchers faced 34 Manchester hitters in the game, allowing 14 ground balls and five fly balls while striking out two.
» Pinkham led the Engineers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI.
» Manchester was led offensively by Kaitlyn Carr, who went 4-for-4 with an RBI.
» Tori Blough led the Spartans pitching staff, throwing 5.2 innings of two-run ball.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
