KOKOMO, Ind. – The #3 Fightin' Engineers have advanced to the HCAC Tournament Semifinals as Rose-Hulman achieved a 9-5 victory over #4 Hanover.
Hanover put two runs on the board atop the first inning as Josh Simpson hit a two-run homer out to left field.
Andrew Noblitt would strike out two batters in the first inning, and he forced a three-up, three-down inning in the second.
Sam Erickson and
Jackson Summers each singled to the outfield in the bottom of the second. With Erickson on third,
Issei Takahashi laid down a perfect bunt, where he brought the runner home while also beating out the throw for a single.
The Fightin' Engineers would load the bases as
TJ Pipkins drew a walk. With two outs,
Connor O'Connell launched a three-RBI double down the right field line, which put Rose-Hulman into the lead by a score of 4-2.
The Panthers put two runners on in the top of the fourth, and they cut the lead to one on an RBI groundout. During the following at bat, Kadin Bush hit a two RBI homer to left field, where Hanover took back the lead by a score of 5-4.
Michael Hines and Erickson each hit consecutive singles in the bottom of the fourth. Hines would then score the tying run on a sacrifice fly to center field from
Matthew Furtado. Erickson followed that up by stealing second, and he scored the go-ahead run on a single through the left side from Summers.
The Fightin' Engineers' defense forced a double play in the fifth before
Brad Nardi closed out the top half of the inning with a strikeout.
O'Connell led off the next half inning with a double down the right field line, and he advanced to third on a single through the left side by
Jackson Harms. Hines would bring O'Connell home with an RBI single down the right field line, as Rose-Hulman stretched their lead to two. With one out, Summers hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field, where Harms' run made it an 8-5 game.
Nardi forced back-to-back groundouts in the seventh, and he capped off the inning by striking out the following batter, who went down swinging.
Pipkins singled to right field to open the bottom of the eighth, and he proceeded to steal second. O'Connell's success continued as he hit an RBI single down the middle, bringing Pipkins home to clinch the 9-5 victory.
Connor O'Connell hit 3-5 on the day with one run, two doubles, and four RBIs.
Jackson Summers hit a perfect 3-3 with two RBIs and one run, while
Sam Erickson went 3-5 at the plate, scoring two runs.
Brad Nardi thrived on the mound, as he struck out five batters in 5.1 innings without giving up a run.
Rose-Hulman will face Earlham later today with a trip to the HCAC Championship on the line. The game will begin on Saturday, May 9, at approximately 1:15 PM.
