GREENVILLE, Ill. – The Fightin' Engineers accumulated their third straight victory as they took down the Greenville Panthers by a score of 4-3.
Issei Takahashi recorded the first hit of the game with a single to center field early in the first inning.
TJ Pipkins added a single of his own to center field, where he advanced to second on a passed ball. He would score Rose-Hulman's opening run on an RBI single to center field from
Noah Rasmussen.
After recording one strikeout in the first inning,
Gavin Drooger struck out another two batters in the bottom of the second to help keep RHIT in the lead. Following a pitching change, Landyn Smith hit a home run to left center field to lead off the bottom of the fourth, which tied the game at 1-1.
Takahashi added another single to center field in the top of the fifth, where he proceeded to steal second. With Takahashi in scoring position, Greenville forced a flyout to keep the game tied. They would later add an RBI single to left field in the bottom of the fifth. Bryce Hayes' shot to left field brought Jalen Inlow home, giving the Panthers the lead. They would extend the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, on a solo home run from Alejandro Martinez.
Michael Hines led off the seventh inning by singling to center field, and N. Rasmussen followed that up with a single to left center field. With both runners in scoring position,
Sam Erickson recorded a two-RBI single to right-center field to tie the game at 3-3.
Tyler Orr took the mound in the bottom of the seventh, and he struck out all three batters he faced to close out the inning. He would conclude the eighth by striking out the final batter looking, as the Fightin' Engineers entered the final inning all tied up.
Hines stepped into the batter's box to begin the ninth inning, and he hit a go-ahead solo home run over the left field wall. The freshman has now hit three home runs on the year, with none being more clutch than his dinger against Greenville, which gave RHIT a 4-3 lead.
Orr struck out the first batter he faced in the bottom of the ninth, and he followed that up by forcing a flyout. With a runner on second, Orr recorded his sixth strikeout in three innings, as he recorded the win in Rose-Hulman's thrilling 4-3 comeback victory.
Rose-Hulman returns to Terre Haute, Ind., to host the Anderson Ravens in a three-game series. The series will begin on Saturday, April 25, at 1 and 4 PM, and continue on Sunday, April 26, at 1 PM.
