GAME 1 BOX; GAME 2 BOX
CARLINVILLE, ILL. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology earned a doubleheader sweep at Blackburn with a pair of
one-run victories on Sunday.
Rose-Hulman topped the hosts 2-1 in the opener and won the nightcap 3-2. The Fightin' Engineers improved to 8-14 overall with the wins.
Freshman Carly Heibel (Fort Wayne/Lakewood Park) picked up her first college victory with a seven strikeout performance in the pitching circle in game one. Junior Alyse Mueller (Belleville, Ill./West) added two hits and scored once, with freshman Samantha Springer (Irving, Texas/Parish Episcopal) contributing a run and an RBI.
A 0-0 game going into the fourth inning saw all the scoring. Mueller walked to begin the inning and scored off a Springer single. Springer then scored off a Blackburn error to make it 2-0. The Beavers answered in the bottom of the fourth but could only muster one run for the 2-1 final.
Heibel led the way in game two with three hits and also scored a run. Springer and sophomore Jenna Martinek (Troy, Mo./Troy Buchanon) also scored a run in the game.
Mueller threw the complete game and allowed just two hits to record her third win of the season.
Blackburn took a 1-0 lead after scoring in the fifth inning. Mueller started the top of the sixth with a single and advanced to third when a ball hit by Martinek was misplayed by the leftfielder. Freshman Chris Rollins (Springfield, Ohio/North) knocked in Mueller with a sacrifice fly. Martinek then scored off a single by Kayla Irwin (Farmersburg, Ind./North Central) to give Rose-Hulman a 2-0 lead.
The Engineers added a third run in the top of the seventh when Heibel scored after starting the inning with a double and crossed the plate off a single by Allison Bowman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider).
Blackburn provided a scare as they scored a run to make it 3-2 off a Rose-Hulman error. The hosts also had the bases loaded with two outs but the threat ended when Springer threw out the runner at home to end the game.
Rose-Hulman returns to action with a home doubleheader against Anderson on Tuesday at 5 p.m.