The Rose-Hulman Engineers are proving they have nine lives in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, bouncing back from a tough loss to keep their championship hopes alive.
After falling 11-1 to second-seeded Transylvania on Thursday, the third-seeded Engineers showed their resilience early Friday morning, defeating fifth-seeded Anderson 7-3 to stay in the fight. The win sets up a crucial elimination game against fourth-seeded Hanover at 10 a.m. Saturday at Kokomo Municipal Stadium—a true test of endurance and grit.
The game against Anderson was a rollercoaster from the start. T.J. Pipkins ignited the Engineers' offense with a solo home run in the fourth inning, and Jackson Harms followed suit with a homer of his own to give Rose-Hulman a 2-0 lead. But Anderson refused to back down, rallying to take a 3-2 advantage. That's when the Engineers dug deep, scoring a tying run in the seventh, three more in the eighth to break the game open, and adding an insurance run in the ninth. Jackson Summers was the hero in the clutch, driving in the tying run with a seventh-inning double and adding another RBI in the eighth.
In other action around the diamond, Sullivan put on a pitching clinic against Brown County on Thursday, with Zane Abbott and Paul Ridgway combining for a two-hit shutout and 14 strikeouts in a 10-1 Western Indiana Conference victory. Freshman Maddox Grise stepped up big for the Golden Arrows, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, two runs, and four RBIs. Sullivan improved to 12-3 overall and a perfect 4-0 in conference play.
Terre Haute North also made noise, taking down Danville 10-6 behind a stellar performance from the Millington brothers. Nate Millington went 3-for-4 with four runs scored, while Chase Millington matched him with a 3-for-4 day that included a double. Briar Goda provided the exclamation point with a three-run homer as the Patriots improved to 14-5.
On the softball diamond, Robinson's Eva Hermann was simply dominant, pitching a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and also crushing a two-run home run in an 8-0 win over Edwards County. Eva Brashear joined the power surge with a double, home run, two runs, and three RBIs.
As the tournament action heats up, these athletes are showing that every game is a chance to make a statement—and every swing counts.