April 17, 2016
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant

Stats

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Rose-Hulman Insititute of Technology stayed atop the Heartland Conference standings by finishing a sweep of the Bluffton University Beavers, 10-5, on Sunday, April 17. The victory improves the Engineers to 19-7 overall and 11-3 in conference play, while the Beavers dropped to 9-19 overall and 4-11 in HCAC action.

After a quick opening inning with three strikeouts from starter DYSON BOWMAN (Coshocton), Rose-Hulman roughed up the Beavers for three runs in the second frame to go up 3-0. The home team responded with a bomb off the bat of TOMMY NOBILE (Reynoldsburg) that went over the left field fence to cut the RHIT lead to 3-1 through two innings.

Both teams would score in the third, the Beavers getting their tally on a run-scoring single by LUKE HICKEY (Toledo/Whitmer) to make the score 4-2.

RHIT broke the game open with three more runs in the fourth to grab a 7-2 advantage.

Trailing 8-2, the Beavers rallied for two runs in the sixth, the first coming on a triple by TANNER HAMILTON (Centerville) and an RBI double from BRANDON MARABLE (Columbus/Hamilton Township) to score Hamilton and cut the deficit to 8-4.

After the Engineers scored two in the top of the seventh, Bluffton would add their final run in the bottom when Hickey drove a ball over the fence in left to make it a 10-5 game.

Dyson Bowman fell to 2-2 with the loss, throwing 3.2 innings and giving up six runs on seven hits while striking out four Engineers. TRAVIS CLARK (Lima/Central Catholic) gave up two earned runs in 1.1 frames, while JAMES WATKINS (Lexington) gave up two unearned runs in relief. PAUL FREY (Kirby/Riverdale) pitched 2.2 innings of one-hit baseball in his first varsity appearance of 2016 to wrap up the contest.

Leading the Beaver offense was Luke Hickey, who finished 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and two RBI in a losing effort. Brandon Marable also finished the contest with two hits for the home team.

Bluffton is back home on Tuesday, April 19, for a matchup with the rival Defiance College Yellow Jackets. First pitch is set for 4:15 p.m. at Memorial Field. Come support your Beavers!

-BEAVERS-