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TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology baseball team will travel to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in Cincinnati starting Friday.

The winner of the four-team double elimination event will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

Rose-Hulman is one of eight sites for NCAA Tournament competition, but the Engineers must win the HCAC Tournament or receive an at-large bid from the tournament committee in order to compete in the event.

The Engineers enter the HCAC Tournament with a 28-11 record and finished third in the league with a 15-6 mark.  The win total marks the fourth most victories in a single season in school history.  The team needs a pair of victories at the HCAC Tournament to cross the 30-win mark for the third time in school history.

Rose-Hulman opens the HCAC Tournament against Franklin College on Friday at 2 p.m. at Marge Schott Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.  The first four games of the tournament will be played at the University of Cincinnati, with games five through seven set for Midland Field in Amelia, Ohio.

The College of Mount St. Joseph serves as the tournament host after capturing the regular season crown with a victory over Defiance College on Sunday.  The Lions are 24-15 overall and 16-5 in conference play.

Franklin earned the No. 2 seed after compiling a 25-12 record and a 16-6 league mark.  Transylvania rounds out the field at 28-10 and 15-7 in HCAC play.

Rose-Hulman has been led by pitchers ranked first and second in the league in earned run average this season.  Senior Michael Matsui (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South) has a 9-1 record and an earned run average of 1.96.  Sophomore Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) stands second in ERA at 2.04 and has a mark of 8-2.

Senior Luis Bougrat (Franklin, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy) has jumped into the starting rotation with a 5-2 record and a 3.83 earned run average.  Senior Sam Deters (Teutopolis, Ill.) leads the bullpen with a school record seven saves and a career school mark of 18 saves.

Offensively, the Engineers rank second in the league in batting average at .323.  Sophomore Tim Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) paces the squad with a .380 average, 57 hits, 16 doubles and 45 runs batted in.  Sophomore Chandler Kent (Antioch, Ill.) has tallied a .378 average with 54 hits and 12 two-baggers, while sophomore Keenan Long (Park Ridge, Ill./Northwestern University) stands at .369 with 52 hits, 11 doubles and three home runs.

2008 HCAC TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS:

Friday, May 9 (at University of Cincinnati) - Live Stats of All Games
Game 1 - #1 Mount St. Joseph (24-15, 16-5) vs. #4 Transylvania (28-10, 15-7), 11 a.m.
Game 2 - #2 Franklin (25-12, 16-6) vs. #3 Rose-Hulman (28-11, 15-6), 2 p.m. - Listen Live
Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 5 p.m.
Game 4 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 10 (at Midland Field in Amelia, Ohio) - Live Stats of All Games
Game 5 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, Noon
Game 6 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 3:30 p.m.
Game 7 - Repeat of Game 6 (if necessary), 6:30 p.m.