March 27, 2010
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Bluffton University baseball team battled all day, but Rose-Hulman took advantage of walks and hit batters to complete a three-game sweep of the the visiting Beavers on Saturday, March 27, 2010. Bluffton dipped to 7-10 overall and 0-3 in the Heartland Conference, while Rose improved to 14-3 on the year and 3-0 in the HCAC.
Rose-Hulman 7, Bluffton 4
After two scoreless innings by both teams to start the game, Rose-Hulman broke the ice with three runs in the home half of the third. An RBI single by All-American shortstop Tim Tepe followed by a two-run double off the bat of Keenan Long gave the Engineers a 3-0 lead heading to the fourth.
Bluffton plated its first run in the top of the fourth when freshman Miles Richardson (Granville/Newark Catholic) singled home Brennan Bauman (Milford) with one out. The home team wasted no time responding as RHIT used three hits and a Bluffton error to push four more runs across the plate for a 7-1 lead. Tepe was again in the middle of the action, this time driving in two with his base hit.
The Beavers held Rose at bay in the fifth before making a game of it with three runs in the top of the sixth. Bauman led off the frame with a home run. Michael Knorr (Pickerington/North) followed with his second double of the day one out later. A Kyle Niermann (Napoleon) base knock put runners at the corners for pinch hitter Josh Mendoza (Gibsonburg/Fremont Ross) who singled home Knorr. An Engineer error allowed Niermann to score, making it 7-4 RHIT midway through the sixth.
Jordan Kruse (Napoleon) worked around two Rose safeties in the bottom half, but the Beavers mustered just a one-out walk in the seventh as Rose clinched the series with a 7-4 victory.
Bauman and Knorr both laced two hits for the Beavers who finished with 10 total for the game. Bauman hit a solo homer and scored two runs. Freshman Nick Rodesky (Bowling Green) fell to 1-2 on the season after givin up five runs in 3+ innings of work.
Rose-Hulman 12, Bluffton 8
Bluffton took a 1-0 lead in the first when Brennan Bauman singled home Kyle Trainer (Mechanicsburg) who had walked with one out. RHIT answered with five runs on five hits in the home half of the second. Consecutive two-RBI doubles by Chandler Kent and Chris Stemple gave the Engineers a 5-1 lead.
The visitors pulled within three runs when Bauman drove home Nick Broyles (Toledo/Whitmer) with a base hit in the third. Two innings later, Bluffton found its stroke and scored six times after the first two batters went down swinging. Freshman Michael Knorr cleared the bases with his three-run double off the wall in left field. Stephen Torres was hit by a pitch and Miles Richardson pounded a three-run shot down the left field line for an 8-5 Bluffton advantage.
The Beavers were unable to capitalize on their momentum as four walks and two hit batters in the RHIT fifth allowed the Engineers to score five times despite getting just one hit in the inning to go along with a pair of sacrifice flies. Rose tacked on single runs in the sixth and eighth to cap the series sweep with a 12-8 win over the Beavers.
Brennan Bauman was outstanding at the plate, going 4-of-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Knorr and Richardson both drove in three runs each and Trainer scored twice. Cody McPherson (Northwood/Millbury Lake) fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss. Starter Kelly Barnes (Toledo/Christian) gave up eight runs on nine hits in 4+ innings on the hill. The Bluffton hurlers walked eight batters and hit two more in the series finale.
Bluffton returns to action on Tuesday, March 30, when the Beavers welcome rival Defiance College to Memorial Field for a nine-inning conference contest. The game is slated to start at 4 p.m.
-BEAVERS-