BOX SCORE
FRANKLIN, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
jumped out to an early lead, then withstood a late Franklin College
rally to earn a 6-4 baseball victory in Heartland Collegiate
Athletic Conference action on Tuesday.
Rose-Hulman scored four times in the second inning and led 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Franklin answered with one run in the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth to move within 6-4, before sophomore Hank Akard (Indianapolis/Ben Davis) picked up the last four outs for his fourth save.
Senior Jim Bob Schuler (Salem/North Harrison) pitched a strong six innings to earn the win and move to 6-2 on the season. Schuler scattered five hits with five strikeouts in the victory.
Rose-Hulman held a 6-3 lead entering the bottom of the eighth, before Franklin scored once and loaded the bases with one out. Akard forced an infield pop out and a fielder's choice to squelch the rally, then retired the side in the ninth.
Offensively, Rose-Hulman pounded out 13 hits and five players had multiple hits for the Fightin' Engineers. Junior Matthew Turk (Addison, Ill./Addison Trail) led Rose-Hulman with three singles, two RBIs and one run scored.
Rose-Hulman players with multiple hits included senior Will Burchett (Mokena, Ill./Providence Catholic) with two singles and one RBI; Akard with a single, double and two RBIs; sophomore Donald Stopka (Grayslake, Ill./Carmel Catholic) with two singles and one run scored; and sophomore Andrew Benitez (Mililani, Hawaii) with two singles and one run scored.
Sophomore Bobby Newman (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) added a double and scored two runs for the Engineers.
Rose-Hulman relied on a four-run second inning for the majority of its offense. Turk, Stopka and Benitez opened the inning with consecutive singles. Sophomore Parker Fulkerson (Terre Haute/Holy Cross U.) added an RBI single, then Burchett brought home the second run of the frame. Akard capped the rally with a two-run double.
Rose-Hulman improved to 20-8 overall and 11-3 in HCAC play, while Franklin dropped to 21-8 and 9-6 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers hit the road for a three-game series at Transylvania University on Saturday and Sunday.