TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology split a pair of one-run games in the second day of
the Engineer Baseball Invitational on Saturday at Art Nehf
Field.
The Engineers dropped a narrow 5-4 decision to
Illinois Wesleyan in the opener, then rebounded to defeat a
strong Adrian College squad by a 4-3 count.
Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 3-2 lead after five
innings against Adrian, withstood a one-run rally that forced a
tie in the sixth, and scored once in the eighth to secure the
victory.
Singles by sophomore Andrew Bilse (Munster),
Tim Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and senior Alex
Decker (Seymour) tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth. A
double by senior Michael Matsui (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South)
gave the Engineers the lead.
After Adrian rallied to tie the score at 3-3 in
the sixth, Rose-Hulman relied on a walk to Bilse, a fielding
error and an RBI single by Tepe to capture the victory.
Pitching was a major story in the win over an
Adrian team that now stands 7-2 on the season. Sophomore
Nick Maloney (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) tossed 7.1 strong
innings and allowed three runs and nine hits to keep the
Engineers within striking distance. Senior Sam Deters
(Teutopolis, Ill.) pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings with three
strikeouts to claim his first victory of the year.
The Engineers trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of
the ninth before a late rally. Bilse walked and advanced to second when sophomore
Chandler Kent (Antioch, Ill.) was hit by a pitch. Tepe slapped a
double to make the score 5-3.
The Engineers closed to within 5-4 when Decker scored Kent with an RBI ground out.
With two outs and Tepe on third base, Illinois Wesleyan pitcher
Sean McCreary retired freshman Michael Kovacs (Cincinnati,
Ohio/Moeller) on a ground out to secure the Titan win.
Tepe led the Engineers with two hits, including a
double, and two RBIs. Bilse added a double, a single and
scored twice. Decker contributed two RBIs, and Kent scored
twice for the Rose-Hulman offense.
Illinois Wesleyan's offense featured two hits
each for Ricky Angel, Casey McIntosh and Mike Morrissey
Pat Kirchhofer scattered five hits and allowed just one run in
5.1 innings of work to pick up the victory.
Rose-Hulman stands 9-5 on the season and
concludes the Engineer Invitational with a 1 p.m. game against
Adrian College on Sunday.
