CINCINNATI, OHIO -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology eliminated the top seed from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament with an 9-4 victory over the College of Mount St. Joseph on Friday night.

Earlier in the day, the Engineers dropped a 9-5 decision to Franklin College to enter the elimination bracket of the tournament.

Under the current tournament schedule, Rose-Hulman will need to win three games on Saturday to capture the HCAC Tournament title.

The Engineers scored three times in the sixth inning and five times in the eighth to defeat the tournament host and top seeded Mount St. Joseph squad after a rain delay on Friday night.

Sophomore Keenan Long (Park Ridge, Ill./Northwestern University) led the offensive effort with a two-run home run, two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs. 

Sophomore Tim Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) smashed two hits, scored two runs and had a two RBI double.  Sophomore Troy Eveslage (Ramsey/North Harrison) added three singles, one run and one RBI.

Other key contributors to the offensive attack included junior Chandler Kent (Antioch, Ill.), sophomore Andrew Bilse (Munster) and senior Gabe Focke (St. Leon/East Central) with one hit and one run scored each.  Rose-Hulman slapped a total of 14 hits in the victory.

Senior Michael Matsui (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South) improved to 10-1 on the season with a strong eight inning performance.  Matsui scattered eight hits and allowed four walks with seven strikeouts in the win.  His efforts included pitching his way out of bases loaded jams in the second and third innings.

In the opener on Friday afternoon, Franklin jumped out to a 7-1 lead after five innings, before Rose-Hulman rallied with one run in the sixth and three in the seventh to move within a pair of runs at 7-5. 

The Engineers loaded the bases in the eighth inning, before Franklin closer Cody Nees recorded a key ground out to secure the Grizzlies win.

Long led the Engineers with a home run, a triple and three RBIs.  Eveslage added a two-run double and Tepe contributed two hits, one run and one RBI.

For Franklin, Ian Sanders led the offense with a three-run home run, two hits and four RBIs.  Alex Boone added two hits, two RBIs and scored one run, while Lance Noel and Mike Zuidema had two singles each.

Andy Clark improved to 10-2 on the season with the pitching victory for Franklin.  Clark allowed eight hits and four earned runs with three walks and six strikeouts in the effort.

Rose-Hulman stands 29-12 on the season and will square off at noon on Saturday against Franklin College.  The Engineers would need then two victories over Transylvania to claim the tourney title.