Adrian, Mich. — Rose-Hulman opened the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament with a convincing 12-2 over nationally fourth ranked Heidelberg University on Thursday.
Junior Derek Eitel of Marshall, Ill., tossed an eight-inning gem on the mound to improve to 10-1 on the season and help the sixth-seeded team in the regional upset the No. 1 seed.
“This is what I play for, to play in big games like this. I'd rather play a top team like Heidelberg than a team that is struggling, because it forces me to be more focused,” Eitel said.
Eitel scattered six hits and two walks with six strikeouts to allow just one run to a Heidelberg team that entering the game batting .355 with 110 doubles, 28 triples and 31 home runs this season.
“The key was that I kept everything down today. My breaking ball was really sharp and I could throw my curve and slider for strikes. I was very comfortable out there,” said Eitel.
Sophomore Andrew Markowitz tossed the ninth to finish the victory.
“Derek wasn’t dynamic but did a great job keeping them off-balance with his off-speed pitches,” said Rose-Hulman head coach Jeff Jenkins, who earned his 502nd career victory at the college. “Heidelberg is a dangerous team, and Derek did a great job today.”
Offensively, Rose-Hulman scored six runs in the fourth inning to break open a 1-0 game and secure the victory. The win also marked the 12th victory in the last 13 games for Rose-Hulman.
“We had a couple seeing-eye singles and a couple nice shots in the six-run inning. It helped us relax, and I think it put the game away a little early,” said Jenkins.
Sophomores Chris Stemple and Kreigh Williams paced the Fightin' Engineer offense with three singles each. Williams had two RBIs and scored one run, with Stemple adding one RBI and one run. Junior Michael Kovacs pitched in with two singles, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Junior Troy Eveslage added a key two-run single to the offensive effort and scored once. Junior Keenan Long contributed a single, two runs scored and one RBI.
Other key hitters for Rose-Hulman included Kirk Thompson with a double two runs scored. Senior Andrew Pinkstaff of Vincennes pitched in with a two-run single in the ninth inning.
“It was nice to come out in tournament play with a true team victory. The bottom of the order was outstanding and we hope to carry this momentum into Friday's game,” added Jenkins.
Rose-Hulman captured its second NCAA Division III Tournament victory in school history, after defeating Calvin in last year's Mideast Regional in Terre Haute. Eitel has served as the starting pitcher in each victory.
Rose-Hulman returns to action on Friday at 2 p.m. against the loser of today’s game between Adrian and Marietta. Heidelberg dropped to 36-8 on the season and will head to the elimination bracket. The remainder of the bracket will be set depending on how many teams are left in the tournament after the Engineers game on Friday afternoon.
Rose-Hulman 100 602 003 — 12 14 0
Heidelberg 000 000 011 — 2 8 1
Eitel, Markowitz (9) and Long. Paddock, Thomas (4), Stucky (6), Biggs (7), Young (9) and Decker. W — Eitel, 10-1. L — Paddock, 9-3.
Rose-Hulman
Eitel tosses gem to lead Rose baseball at regional
- Rose-Hulman
-
-
Rose’s Liz Evans wins fourth NCAA high jump title
Junior Liz Evans became the first Rose-Hulman athlete to earn four career NCAA Division III championships by winning the women’s high jump at Friday’s 2012 outdoor national meet at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
-
From humble start to collegiate success: South graduate went 11-4 for Rose-Hulman tennis team
It takes just seven players to field a high school varsity tennis match. So especially in the larger high schools, that forces some talented players to compete in relative obscurity in junior varsity matches.
-
Engineers sputter in HCAC tourney: Rose finishes 27-14 after loss
Rose-Hulman appeared poised to bounce back from an 8-1 loss in Thursday night’s opener of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
-
Top seed, home field doesn’t guarantee Rose success
On the surface, serving as host for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament would appear to benefit Rose-Hulman’s No. 1-seeded team, which finished the regular season 27-12 overall and 18-6 in the conference.
-
Rose takes conference title
Rose-Hulman has captured its first regular-season conference baseball championship since 1996 and will serve as host the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament this week.
- METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball team takes first game of doubleheader
-
Rose-Hulman mourns president’s death
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is mourning the loss of its 14th president, Matt Branam, who died Friday after a sudden medical emergency in his office.
-
Rose adds two to football staff
Rose-Hulman has announced two new additions to the football coaching staff.
-
Rose-Hulman’s jack-of-all-trades
Pop quiz.
What college baseball player is near the .500-mark as a leadoff batter, is the team’s closer and now a complete-game starting pitcher too? -
Rose-Hulman athletes honored for academics by HCAC
The Rose-Hulman athletic department leads the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with 60 academic all-league awards during the 2011-12 academic year.
-
For Rose’s Evans, Coleman, it’s all about championships
You know an athlete is special when figuring out how many championships he or she has won takes a few seconds.
-
Engineers win one of two games Saturday to open own baseball invitational
Rose-Hulman defeated Illinois Wesleyan 7-3 and fell to Concordia Chicago 18-5 to open the Rose-Hulman Baseball Invitational in Terre Haute on Saturday.
-
Roundabout route to Rose
While his first year of college baseball might not have turn out like he desired at NCAA Division I-level Holy Cross, former Terre Haute North standout Parker Fulkerson enjoyed the experience.
-
Pilipovich drives in 5 runs for Rose-Hulman
Rose-Hulman shook off a first-inning deficit to defeat Westminster 11-9 in nonconference college baseball Monday at Art Nehf Field.
-
Coleman takes NCAA runner-up for Rose-Hulman
Rose-Hulman senior Sutton Coleman of Lebanon, Va., earned his fifth career All-American award with a national runner-up finish in the NCAA Division III indoor track and field national championships Saturday at Grinnell College.
-
Rose-Hulman loses tennis dual
Rose-Hulman dropped a 7-2 decision to Franklin College in a men’s tennis match featuring two three-set matches and three tiebreakers Saturday.
-
Another NCAA title for Rose’s Evans
Junior Liz Evans of Bicknell became the second Rose-Hulman student-athlete to earn three career NCAA Division III national championships by winning the women’s high jump at Friday’s 2012 indoor national meet at Grinnell College.
-
Rose-Hulman's Sutton Coleman nets big honor for track and field
Sutton Coleman of Rose-Hulman has been named NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Track Athlete of the Year by the United States Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association, it was announced Thursday.
-
Florida trip offers Rose good glimpse of where it needs to be
For 23 years, Rose-Hulman baseball coach Jeff Jenkins has taken his team to Florida to open its season and 2012 was no exception.
-
Engineers fall just short in D3 tourney opener
Rose-Hulman’s men’s basketball players never let North Central of Illinois get away from them. North Central was always within arm’s length.
-
Engineers won’t stray far from home during tourney
Indiana State won’t be the only Terre Haute-based men’s basketball team hanging out in St. Louis later this week.
-
Engineers get red hot NCAA opponent
In earning their first ticket to the “big dance” for NCAA Division III teams since 1999, the Rose-Hulman Engineers got paired up with a North Central College squad that’s on a roll.
-
Cinderella story in the making
His team has already won the big prize, Rose-Hulman basketball coach Jim Shaw said Sunday. All that’s left is gravy.
-
Rose men advance to HCAC title game
Rose-Hulman advanced to the championship game of the 2012 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with a 59-56 victory over Hanover on Saturday.
-
Rose hurdler sets school record
Rose-Hulman recorded three strong performances at the Anderson University Indoor Track and Field Invitational on Saturday.
-
Rose men get past Defiance; Rose women also win
Rose-Hulman relied on a fast start to the second half to top Defiance College 76-67 in the first round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament Friday night.
-
HCAC not all a bed of roses
Both Rose-Hulman basketball teams will face first-round opponents that they lost to recently in this weekend’s six-team Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournaments.
-
Engineer men knock off Hanover College
Playing the final home game of his men’s basketball career Saturday in Hulbert Arena, Blake Knotts burned the nets for six 3-point goals and a season-high 18 points to lead Rose-Hulman over Hanover 75-61 in a battle of top-three teams in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
-
Rose-Hulman eyes baseball milestone
Baseball may not be on the minds of too many Wabash Valley sports fans yet, but the Rose-Hulman program is prepared to commemorate an upcoming milestone.
-
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.
- More Rose-Hulman Headlines
-
Rose’s Liz Evans wins fourth NCAA high jump title
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
