KOKOMO, Ind. – The Earlham College baseball team was eliminated from the HCAC Tournament after a 10-9 loss to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon in Kokomo Municipal Stadium.
Casey Blevins opened the game on the mound, tossing 4.1 innings with five earned runs and five strikeouts.
Hayden Scalf came in to throw 4.1 innings in relief, and allowed two runs on four hits with two strikeouts.
Chris Barnett went 3-4 with two runs scored, three RBI and a triple.
Noah Wagster also had three hits, scoring two runs.
Mitchell Roether became the career home runs leader with his 27th long ball for the Quakers, with two RBI on the day.
The Engineers took advantage of an error in the bottom of the second inning to plate three runs on a homer to left field. The Quakers responded to take the lead in the top of the third inning. Jeffries reached on a leadoff error, and stole second base before Roether launched a deep shot down the left field line to break the record. After a walk and a hit, Barnett tripled to center field to bring in two more runs.
Evan Duncan brought Barnett home with a bunt for a single to give the Quakers a 5-3 lead.
Three straight hits to open the bottom of the third inning gave Rose-Hulman two runs to tie the game at five, and the Engineers took the lead on an RBI-double in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Quakers plated four runs in the top of the fifth, starting with a leadoff single by
Jackson McFarland. Wagster hit an outfield single, and
Austin Dick dropped down a bunt for a single to load the bases. A single by Barnett brought one run home, and
Sean Jeffries cleared the bases with a three-run double into the left field corner.
Trailing 9-6 in the bottom of the fifth, Rose-Hulman plated two runs on two hits after a leadoff walk.
The Engineers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, and scored a run on a hit-by-pitch to tie the game at nine.
Rose-Hulman hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth, and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, a pinch hitter laced a ball into right field, scoring the runner and ending the game.
The Quakers end their season with a 27-13 record. Its 18-4 conference record was good enough for the No.1 seed heading into the tournament, the best mark since the Quakers won the tournament in 2022.
