KOKOMO, Ind. – The Fightin' Engineers are moving on to the HCAC Championship! #3 Rose-Hulman takes down the #1 Earlham Quakers by a score of 10-9 on a ninth inning walk-off from
Connor Smith!
The Quakers were able to load the bases in the first inning, highlighted by a double to left field from Jonathan Jimenez. With just one out,
Jack Reeves recorded a strikeout, and he followed that up by forcing a flyout to keep Earlham off the board.
Michael Hines led off the second by singling to third base before
Sam Erickson would reach on an error. With two outs,
Jackson Summers cracked a three-run homer over the left field wall to put Rose-Hulman ahead.
Earlham responded with a five-run showing in the third inning. They scored their first runs of the game on a two-run home run by Mitchell Roether. Chris Barnett would add a two RBI triple to center field, and Evan Duncan hit an RBI single to third as Earlham took the lead by a score of 5-3.
The Fightin' Engineers would answer back, with
Mason Rasmussen singling to left field in the bottom of the third.
Connor O'Connell would then put two runners in scoring position as he hit a stand-up double down the right field line. During the following at bat,
Jackson Harms brought both runners home with a two RBI single to left center field, tying the game at 5-5.
Alex Powers took the mound in the fourth, and he proceeded to strike out two of the first three batters he faced.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Summers hit a double to deep left center field. He would score on a
TJ Pipkins double to left center field, giving RHIT a 6-5 lead.
The Quakers led off the fifth inning with three straight doubles to load the bases, before tying the game at 6-6 on a single down the right field line from Barnett. Sean Jeffries would then hit a three-RBI double down the left field line to put Earlham ahead 9-6.
Tyler Orr subbed into the game in the fifth inning, and he would record all three outs on the mound, as he struck out two batters looking, and one who went down swinging.
O'Connell would be walked in the bottom of the fifth, and he scored on a two RBI double to right center field by Hines. The Fightin' Engineers were able to cut the lead to 9-8 as Erickson brought Hines home with an RBI single out to right center field as well.
Orr continued to make an impact on the mound, as he struck out the first two batters he faced, before forcing a fly out to close out the sixth. With one runner on in the seventh, Orr added his sixth strikeout of the game to conclude the inning.
Harms smacked a double to left-center field early in the bottom half of the inning, and Hines would reach first as he was hit by the pitch. Erickson loaded the bases as he singled on a perfect bunt, before
Connor Smith was struck by a pitch, which brought Harms home to tie the game at nine apiece.
Orr added two more strikeouts between the eighth and ninth innings, finishing the game with a career-high eight strikeouts across five innings pitched.
Harms led off the bottom of the ninth by hitting a single to shortstop.
Issei Takahashi subbed in to pinch run, where he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Hines. With two outs and the game on the line,
Connor Smith recorded a walk-off single out to right field, where he was mobbed by his teammates who stormed the field in triumph, as Rose-Hulman advanced to the HCAC Championship!
The Fightin' Engineers will face #2 Transylvania tomorrow, Sunday, May 10, in the HCAC Championship. Rose-Hulman will need to win both games against the Pioneers to claim the HCAC title, with game one starting at 10 AM and game two beginning 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
