BOX SCORE
TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology captured two of three games in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball series with Bluffton University after winning 4-3 in 10 innings on Sunday.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th inning, senior Will Burchett (Mokena, Ill./Providence Catholic) slapped a two-out double. Sophomore Parker Fulkerson (Terre Haute/North) then won the game with an RBI single to left field.
Freshman R.J. Carroll (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) picked up the win with three strong innings out of the bullpen. Carroll scattered three hits with one strikeout and no runs allowed, including retiring leadoff hitter Kyle Niermann with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to preserve the tied score.
Freshman Ben Menich (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect) enjoyed a strong start on the mound to provide pitching depth in the victory. Menich tossed seven innings, allowing just one run on seven hits with four strikeouts.
Offensively, junior Matthew Turk (Addison, Ill./Addison Trail) led the Rose-Hulman offense with three hits, including a double, and had two RBIs. Burchett and Fulkerson were joined by sophomores Andrew Benitez (Mililani, Hawaii) and Hank Akard (Indianapolis/Ben Davis) with two hits each.
The two teams were tied at 1-1 until Rose-Hulman scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning. Junior Bobby Newman (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) opened the rally with a single and scored on back-to-back singles by Akard and Turk. Sophomore Nick Pilipovich (Terre Haute/North) added an RBI sacrifice bunt for the second run of the frame.
Bluffton relied on a two-out, two-run single by Anthony Cianci in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 3-3 and set the stage for extra innings. Niermann led the Bluffton offense with three singles. Kelly Barnes scattered eight hits and allowed three runs in seven innings to lead the Beaver pitching effort.
Rose-Hulman improved to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play to retain a share of first place in the league standings. Bluffton stands 9-12 overall and 2-4 in league play. Rose-Hulman returns home with a matchup against nationally ranked Franklin on Tuesday at 6 p.m.