ANDERSON, IND. – In an opening game of the 2015 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships that saw Manchester University and Rose-Hulman combine for 31 runs and 39 hits, a two-run rally for the second-seeded Fightin' Engineers in the bottom of the eight proved to be the difference in a 16-15 decision Thursday, May 7.
The third-seeded Spartans (24-14) got out a sparkling start, attacking the conference's top pitching staff earned run average wise to the tune of eight runs in the top of the second inning. Senior third baseman Jordan Nieman (Michigan City, Ind.) clouted a two-run home run, tying former standout Ty Foster for the top spot on the career round tripper list (35) to go along with two-run doubles from senior outfielder Justin Miller (Yorktown, Ind.) and freshman designated hitter Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.).
However, the defending tournament champions responded right back with five in the second and eight in the third to hold a 13-8 lead that opened a theme of a back-and-forth wild ride at Don Brandon Field on Anderson University's campus. MU chipped away at the deficit, plating three in the fourth, led by a two-run double from sophomore first baseman Tailur Szarenski (Bluffton, Ind.) and two in the fifth on RBI singles from Nieman and Szarenski to tie the game at 13-13. R-H countered with a single run in the fifth for a 14-13 advantage and held that until the Black and Gold pushed across two in the top of the eighth due to a solo home run from senior second baseman Logan Hug (Indianapolis, Ind.) and an RBI single from freshman Tanner Hampton (Rochester, Ind.) for a 15-14 edge.
With Miller coming in from the outfield in the seventh to try and seal the key day one decision and opening with four straight outs, the Spartans were in the catbird seat. At that point, Rose-Hulman put together back-to-back safeties, including a double, to tie the game and then sent in the eventual winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.
Nieman, seeing his on-base streak rise to 38 games in a row, joined Hug and Szarenski in garnering three-hit contests. Senior shortstop Trevor Kimm (Anderson, Ind.), junior catcher Elliott Ford (Rome City, Ind.) and fellow junior catcher Derek Lamle (Columbia City, Ind.) each tallied two-hit outings.
The Black and Gold resume tournament play Friday, May 8, at 12:30 p.m. against the loser of the day one match-up between top-seeded, tourney host and HCAC champion Anderson University and fourth-seeded Earlham College. A win in the 12:30 p.m. elimination contest would move them into a 4:30 p.m. battle Friday against the loser of the 9:30 a.m. contest between second-seeded Rose-Hulman and the winner of the AU-EC game.
NOTES: The loss marked the first time since 2006 the Spartans have been sent into the loser's bracket section of the tournament after the first game. That year, MU rallied back and made it to the championship round before falling to Mt. St. Joseph 4-1 … Kimm added another RBI to the program's career total with his 174th due to a run-scoring single as part of the eight-run second inning outburst.