TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to turn a 5-5 tie into an 8-5 victory over Hanover College in the opener of a three-game baseball series at Art Nehf Field on Saturday.
Rose-Hulman improved to 9-4 overall and continues to lead the HCAC standings at 4-0 in league play. The Fightin' Engineers also won their sixth consecutive game with the victory.
The offense pounded out 14 hits to lead the victory. Sophomore Caleb Kissel (Plainfield, Ill./North) and sophomore Donnie Waters (Franklin, Ind.) led the squad with three hits each. Kissel had three singles, two RBIs and scored once, while Waters tallied a double, two runs scored and one RBI.
Sophomore Kody Alayon (Hammond, Ind./Bishop Noll) contributed two singles and scored once, while freshman Kevin Jendra (Wheaton, Ill./Benet Academy) also had a multiple hit game with two singles, one run and one RBI.
The offense helped senior Kevin Farley (Centennial, Colo./Littleton) pick up the win with two scoreless innings out of the Engineer bullpen. Farley allowed one hit with one strikeout, after sophomore Andrew Stull (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake) pitched six innings in a no decision. Sophomore Alec McNally (Geneva, Ill./Wheaton Academy) tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save.
Chris Ares, Matt Brooks and Matt Newman had two hits each to pace the Hanover offense. Ares and Brooks added one double, one run scored and one RBI.
Hanover led 3-0, before Rose-Hulman relied on six hits in the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead. Kissel, Waters and Jendra started the rally with singles, before junior Josh Hoeing (Rushville) made the score 3-1 with a hit of his own. Freshman Zach Trusk (Plainfield, Ill./North) then knotted the score at 3-3 with a two-run single, and sophomore Patrick Klima (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph) added a sixth hit of the inning to put the Engineers ahead.
Hanover rallied to knot the score at 5-5 with two runs in the seventh. Rose-Hulman relied on a fielding error, a walk to Alayon and a two-run single by Kissel to regain the lead at 7-5 after eight innings. McNally then secured the win with his scoreless ninth inning.
Rose-Hulman stands 9-4, while Hanover dropped to 6-8 and 2-2 in conference play. The Fightin' Engineers and Panthers complete their series with two games at noon on Saturday.