BLUFFTON, Ohio -- The Rose-Hulman softball team wrapped up the 2026 season on the road against the Bluffton Beavers on Saturday. The team split the doubleheader, falling in game one 5-4 and winning game two 17-4 after five innings. The split puts the team at 17-21 overall and 7-11 in the HCAC, eliminating them from qualifying for the HCAC Tournament.
Rose-Hulman suffered a heartbreaking loss in game one after a comeback by the Bluffton Beavers. The Fightin' Engineers got on the board first, after a sacrifice fly by
Aubrey Smith scored a run by
Jessica Newsom in the top of the first.
Newsom added to the Rose-Hulman lead with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 2-0.
Kyra Tucker singled to score another run by
Abigale Shearer in the fourth, extending the lead to 3-0.
Rose added one more run in the top of the sixth after a single by
Katelyn Sarvis brought around a run by Smith to put the team up 4-0.
Bluffton then mounted a comeback, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 4-3. The Beavers won the game on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Fightin' Engineers and eliminate the team from postseason contention.
Newsom was the star in game one, going 2-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Smith represented the team in the circle, pitching the entire game with seven strikeouts.
Rose-Hulman bounced back in the second game of the day to defeat the Beavers after five innings with a final score of 17-4.
Shearer started the game with a three-run homer, scoring runs by Smith and Newsom to make the score 3-0 in the first inning.
Bluffton answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to make it 3-2.
Rose-Hulman caught fire at the plate, exploding for 10 runs in the top of the second inning to build a commanding 13-2 lead.
Back-to-back home runs by Smith and
Jadyn Winkler scored runs by Newsom and Hodges to make the score 7-2. An error by the Beavers scored a run by Shearer to make the score 8-2.
Hodges singled to score two more runs by
Caledonia Coleman and
Katelyn Sarvis to extend the advantage to 10-2. A double by Newsom and another fielding error by the Beavers led to three more runs to make the score 13-2.
After a run by the Beavers in the bottom of the second, Rose-Hulman continued to pour it on. The Fightin' Engineers scored three more runs to seal the victory, defeating Bluffton in game two with a final score of 17-4 after five innings.
Shearer was an impressive 3-3 on the day with three runs scored and three RBIs. Hodges was another standout performer, going 2-3 with two runs and two RBIs.
Audrey Theuring led the team in the circle, earning the win with 5.0 innings pitched.
