RICHMOND, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology pounded out 16 hits in the opener and relied on a pitching gem in the nightcap to earn a 7-5 and 3-1 doubleheader sweep at Earlham College on Saturday afternoon.
In the opener, Rose-Hulman scored five times in the third inning and twice in the sixth to earn a 7-5 victory. The game included 16 Fightin' Engineer hits and seven consecutive scoreless innings from the pitching staff.
Sophomore Zach Trusk led the offense with four singles, one run scored and one RBI. Junior Donnie Waters added three singles and scored twice. Sophomore Zach Hull contributed two hits, including a double, with two RBIs and one run scored.
Senior R.J. Carroll pitched 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts to lead the pitching performance. After allowing three runs in the first inning, Carroll shutdown the hosts without a run for the rest of the outing.
Senior John Krasich came in relief for three innings with three strikeouts, before senior Alec McNally recorded the final out for his fifth save.
Earlham had 10 hits in the contest, with Brandon Smalling, Josh Parr, Eric Elkus and Cody Krumlauf recording two hits each.
In the nightcap, junior Karson Nixon tossed a complete-game three-hitter with seven strikeouts to help Rose-Hulman a 3-1 victory. Nixon improved to 4-1 on the season and maintained a conference best earned run average of 0.81 with the performance.
Trusk continued his hot offensive day with three hits and one RBI in the nightcap, including a double. Junior Kody Alayon added a double, single and scored two runs. Junior Patrick Klima also contributed two hits to the effort.
Rose-Hulman scored single runs in the first and third to build a 2-0 lead, then tacked on a key ninth-inning insurance run after Earlham closed the margin within 2-1 after eight innings.
The Fightin' Engineers moved within one-half game of the tightly contested Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference league lead with the sweep. Anderson and Bluffton are each 12-7 in conference games, followed by Rose-Hulman and Earlham at 11-7, and Manchester at 10-8.
Rose-Hulman improved to 16-12 and 10-7 in league play, while Earlham dropped to 22-7 and 11-6 in conference games. The Fightin' Engineers and Quakers conclude their three-game series with a single game on Sunday at noon.