PHOTOS

AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology baseball team opened their 2024 RussMatt Invitational on Tuesday with a 6-5 comeback victory over Dubuque.

Dubuque got on the board first with a run in the second and a run in the third, but the Fightin' Engineers bounced right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to tie it at two. With two outs, Connor O'Connell roped a fastball into right-center for an RBI triple to bring home Mason Rasmussen for the first run of the game. Two pitches later, Jonathan Oliger singled home O'Connell to tie it up.

Dubuque would retake the lead in the fourth, but Rose-Hulman would tie it once again with an RBI from Kade Kline to bring home Colton Brown.

After a pair of runs in the fifth, Rose-Hulman was playing from behind and needed something big to happen.

Colter Couillard-Rodak got the rally started with a one-out walk, and Rasmussen followed with a bloop single down the right field line. O'Connell then drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

After a walk from Oliger, Jackson Summers would deliver a pinch hit infield single on a high chopper to third. With the bases loaded and two outs, Josh Erpenbeck would be called upon to pinch hit in the biggest spot of the game and deliver with a two run double into left-center field to put Rose-Hulman on top 6-5.

Dubuque had a good chance to tie with with three runners on in the final two innings, but Oliger was able to close it out to pick up his second save of the season.

Zacheus Carr would pick up his second win of the season in relief with 3 innings pitched and just one earned run allowed.

The Fightin' Engineers improve to 2-2 on the season, and they will return to action on Wednesday at 1 PM against Moravian.