BLUFFTON, Ohio -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology relied on a strong pitching effort to sweep Bluffton University 3-2 and 7-0 to move into first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball standings on Saturday afternoon.
Rose-Hulman improved to 14-7 in conference play with the sweep. The Fightin' Engineers hold a narrow lead over Anderson (12-8), Manchester (12-8), Bluffton (13-9) and Earlham (11-9) entering Sunday's league matchups.
In the opener, junior Karson Nixon recorded one of the best starts of his career with nine strong innings as Rose-Hulman earned an 11-inning, 3-2 victory. Nixon allowed just three hits and one earned run with a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Junior Alec McNally came out of the bullpen with two scoreless innings and one strikeout to improve to 3-1 on the season and pick up the victory.
Rose-Hulman relied on two key Bluffton mistakes to earn the game one victory. Trailing 2-1 after seven innings, sophomore Zach Hull started the eighth inning with a single. Pinch runner Drew Schnitz later advanced to third and to home on wild pitches to tie the score.
In the 11th inning, back-to-back singles by Donnie Waters and Josh Hoeing put two runners aboard with two outs. Junior Nevin Fansher then reached base on a fielding error to score Waters with the winning run.
Waters had four singles and scored two runs to lead the Rose-Hulman offense. Hoeing contributed two singles, and junior Caleb Kissel had a double for the Engineers.
Nate Simonds allowed just one earned run in eight innings for Bluffton in a strong performance of his own. Taylor Gambrell allowed no earned runs in three innings of relief. Four Bluffton batters had one single each.
In the nightcap, senior R.J. Carroll tossed his first shutout of the season and improved to 5-1 in the victory. Carroll scattered six hits with just one walk and six strikeouts, and the Engineer defense also turned a pair of double plays behind the right-hander.
Offensively, Waters had three more hits with one run, a double and one RBI. Junior Kody Alayon matched Waters with three hits and scored once.
Sophomore Zach Trusk pitched in with two singles, two runs scored and one RBI. Junior Josh Koutnik also had two singles and scored twice, while Hoeing added two singles and two RBIs.
Rose-Hulman turned a 2-0 lead into a 5-0 advantage with a three-run fifth inning. The inning featured singles by Alayon, Trusk, Koutnik and Hoeing, along with a hit-by-pitch.
Rose-Hulman improved to 20-12 overall and 13-7 in league play with the win, and Bluffton stands 20-14 and 13-8 overall. The series also includes a single game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.