Rose dominates HCAC

As we come to the close of this academic year, there is something unusual, if not new, on the mind of some spring athletes: postseason. For anyone who knows the term, it can be a very exciting time.

But the reason unusual and new are used in the same phrase as post-season has to with the fact that Rose is not exactly known for its sports programs. However, this spring, four Rose-Hulman athletic teams are either making a run for or have made an impact in the postseason.

Men’s Tennis

Usually when someone looks through a team’s statistics, that person will find that the top players on the team are usually juniors and seniors. But when you look at the roster for this year’s men’s tennis team there is something very noticeable missing: juniors and seniors.

But that does not mean this team is lacking talent; in fact, that is far from the truth. This past weekend, the men’s tennis team hosted the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) at the West Indy Racquet Club in Indianapolis where they captured a strong second place, only falling in the championship match to tennis power Transylvania University.

Sophomore Michael Schoumacher and Scott Grubbs were honored as members of the All-HCAC Tennis Team. While the team may have only finished second, none of the players are graduating at the end of this year (or next), which leaves the team to grow and improve for next year and the year after.

Men’s Track and Field

The 13-year reign of Anderson University’s men’s track and field ended last weekend when the Rose-Hulman men’s track and field team took top honors, outscoring Anderson by six points and earning Rose it’s first conference title in nearly 20 years.

The accomplishment was their first overall league title since 1989. Senior Thomas Reives highlighted the meet for the Engineers by breaking the HCAC Championship record in the triple jump with a leap of 46’ 6” and winning the long jump with a jump of 22’ 5 3/4”. Reives also earned a pair of fourth place finishes in the high jump with a leap of 6’ 5 1/2” and 100-meter dash in 11.32 seconds, as well as being a member of the 4x100 relay team that took second in the event.

After the first place finish, the men’s team improved upon their U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ranking, moving from 25 to 23. They are also ranked fourth in the Great Lakes region.

Softball

Women’s athletics at Rose continue to make great strides. This season, the Rose softball team has enjoyed a successful run which has led them to capturing the HCAC regular season title and the hosting rights for the HCAC softball tournament which starts today.

The title is the first conference title for the program. If the team captures the tournament title, they would receive the program’s first NCAA tournament qualification, the second for women’s sports following the qualification of the women’s soccer team from earlier this fall. Only 11 teams from various sports have qualified for the NCAA tournament in all of Rose’s sports history.

Sophomore pitcher Jordan Goslee is among the best pitchers in school history, setting multiple school records for strikeouts in a seven inning game, the highest being 16. (That means only 5 batters of the opposing team did not strike out.) That school record ranks among the best pitchers in NCAA history, with only about 20 pitchers who have beaten that number since the NCAA started keeping records in 1984.

The softball team also has the least amount of runs scored against them in 16 HCAC games at 34, the next lowest being 45, and in 34 games of the season at 99, the next lowest being 125. They have a 5-1 record against the other three teams in the tournament.

Baseball

The baseball team is fighting this weekend for hosting rights for the HCAC tournament and the number one spot in the regular season. Currently, the Engineer baseball team sits in first place and set to play a three game series against third place Transylvania University who could pull the Engineers out of first place. Rose must win two of the three games to finish in first place.

Like the softball team, the baseball leads the HCAC in least runs scored against them at 55 after 18 HCAC match ups (the next lowest being 90) and 133 after 36 games overall (the next lowest being 202). The team has won eight consecutive games and 13 of their last 15 going into this weekend’s series.

The baseball team hasn’t won a conference title since 1996 and will look to make their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1996. If the team made it that far, they would play the first round at home since Rose is a pre-determined host site for the NCAA regional baseball tournament.