TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Earlham College baseball team saw its 2016 season come to an end with a 7-6 loss to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament championship round on Saturday.
The Quakers got on the board in the third inning when junior Nate Lynch singled home fellow junior Cody Krumlauf. A Rose-Hulman error loaded the bases, but starting pitcher Andrew Stull induced a double play to get out of the threat.
The Fightin' Engineers answered with two outs in the third with an RBI-single to left field.
With the score tied 1-1, Earlham added two more runs in the fifth inning on one hit and two Rose-Hulman errors. Similar to the third inning, the Engineers had the answer, scoring two runs on three hits and two Quaker errors in the fifth inning.
Earlham attempted to take the lead in the sixth inning, but senior Devin Spurgon was thrown out at home plate.
Rose-Hulman broke the game open in the seventh inning, scoring three runs on three hits and one Earlham error.
Trailing 6-3, Earlham put its rally caps on in the ninth inning. The first two batters reached base and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. After a foul out and a fly out, senior Brandon Smalling reached base via an error. Junior Eric Elkus then doubled to left field pulling the Quakers within a single run (6-5).
Senior Ethan Bailey then walked to load the bases, and Spurgon delivered the game-tying single in the following at bat. Krumlauf flew out to left field to end the inning with the bases loaded.
Rose-Hulman used an Earlham error and two hits to win in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth. Donnie Waters delivered the hit, a single up the middle.
Earlham tallied six hits as a team while Rose-Hulman had 11. Both teams committed five errors. The Engineers walked eight batters in the contest.
Senior Bryce Rainey, junior Matt Barger, and Lynch were named to the All-Tournament team.
The 2016 season for Earlham was one of the best in school history. The Quakers finished 29-14 overall, the highest win total in program history. Freshman Walter Talcott broke the program single season records for innings pitched (89.1), wins (10), and strikeouts (87). Elkus is now the single season record holder for RBIs (43) and home runs (10). Junior Brennan Laird tied the single season record for stolen bases with 29.