TERRE HAUTE —
For 23 years, Rose-Hulman baseball coach Jeff Jenkins has taken his team to Florida to open its season and 2012 was no exception.
Jenkins said the point of this annual trip is not to stretch out on the beach, but to see “who can do what” in actual game situations.
“We use a lot of players,” he explained. “We used 16 pitchers [14 in varsity games and two more in split-squad games] on this trip alone.”
The Engineers went 5-3 this year, capping off their stay with a 7-2 victory over the College of New Jersey on Saturday at Winter Haven, Fla.
“We played an extremely tough schedule, probably the toughest we’ve faced since we started going down there,” Jenkins insisted, adding that three of their opponents competed in the NCAA Division III final eight at least once over the last five years.
“So we’re pleased. We’re really young this year.”
One of their losses was a 7-6 decision to Loras last Thursday. It lasted 15 innings, the second-longest game in Rose history.
Jenkins was particularly happy about the Engineers’ 5-3 triumph Friday, which came against nationally ranked St. John Fisher.
“That was a good one for us,” he admitted. “They’ve got a really good chance of going to the [NCAA Division III] regional this year.”
Rose-Hulman is back home now and preparing to face Greenville in its home opener at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Art Nehf Field.
The Engineers are missing one of their top returning hitters from 2011 — senior outfielder Derek Dauenbaugh, who ruptured an Achilles tendon playing intramural basketball recently. Jenkins said Dauenbaugh may be able to return late in the season, but they’re not counting on a signficant contribution from him.
Some of the starting infielders, who helped Rose turn 19 double plays over the first eight games, are senior Will Burchett at shortstop, sophomore Andrew Benitez at second base and junior Bobby Newman at third base.
“The infield defense was very solid [in Florida],” Jenkins emphasized. “They’ve been just outstanding.”
Newman and Matt Turk hit the only home runs for Jenkins’ squad in Florida and Newman leads in runs batted in with 11.
Sophomore center fielder/lead-off man Hank Akard is No. 1 on the Engineers in batting average (.564), runs scored (13), doubles (eight) and stolen bases (four).
“He makes solid contact and he’s fast,” Jenkins said of Akard’s offensive skills. “He’s also become a really good center fielder for us.”
Also serving as the closer on their pitching staff, the right-handed Akard has chalked up one save and a 1.50 earned-run average this season.
Three former Terre Haute North High School standouts are expected to see a fair amount of action. Sophomore left fielder Parker Fulkerson — who’s in his first season at Rose-Hulman after he transferred from Holy Cross — is batting .343 as a full-time starter, junior Nick Pilipovich started five games either as a catcher or designated hitter in Florida and sophomore Dougie Collett started one game and appeared in five after missing last season with an injury.
Senior Jim Bob Schuler is the ace of Rose’s pitching staff, having already won two games with an ERA of 3.45. Last season, the 6-foot-4 lefty went 7-2 with a 2.86 ERA.
“He pitched very well on this trip,” Jenkins confirmed.
Other likely mound starters are junior right-hander Ethan Post (0-0, 2.61) and freshman righty Ben Menich (1-0, 3.60). Menich, by the way, picked up the victory against St. John Fisher.
Turning his attention to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Jenkins predicted the Franklin Grizzlies will be difficult to beat again after they captured the HCAC tournament title last season. But the Engineers should at least be in the hunt in 2012.
“They’ve got good pitching and they always score a lot of runs,” he pointed out. “But we’re going to give it all we’ve got [to win HCAC games]. We just cannot afford any injuries. We are not very deep at all … and we’ve got to get consistent starting pitching.”
Rose-Hulman
Florida trip offers Rose good glimpse of where it needs to be
- Rose-Hulman
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Rose-Hulman swimmers flying to nationals
Rose-Hulman swimmers John Craig Huster and Orion Martin have qualified for the Division III national meet in the 100 butterfly
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Despite four NCAA Division III titles, Rose-Hulman’s Liz Evans remains as driven as ever
Even though Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans has won four NCAA Division III titles in the women’s high jump, getting motivated is still easy for her.
Ultra-competitive athletes find ways. -
Balsbaugh’s late-season scoring giving Rose-Hulman a lift
If someone were to predict before last weekend that Rose-Hulman would capture its second straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in men’s basketball and that senior Brenton Balsbaugh would be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, fans probably would believe the first statement but consider the second as wishful thinking.
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Rose-Hulman baseball team kicking off season in Florida
Jeff Jenkins is serious about his baseball.
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Rose-Hulman men clinch conference title
Rose-Hulman will host the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament and claimed the league’s regular-season title with a 59-57 win at Hanover College on Saturday.
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No. 23 Rose-Hulman takes down No. 22 Transylvania on the road
No. 23 ranked Rose-Hulman claimed a two-game lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings with a 54-49 victory at No. 22 Transylvania University on Saturday.
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Rose-Hulman 18-2 after pulling away from Anderson
Rose-Hulman opened the second half on a 20-3 run to pull away and earn a convincing 71-40 men’s basketball victory at Anderson University on Wednesday night.
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Freshman paces Engineer women to HCAC win
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team improved to 10-10 for the season and 6-7 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 52-44 win over Anderson on Wednesday in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose men top Franklin
Rose-Hulman improved to 14-2 overall and kept its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference lead at 8-1 with a 58-42 men's basketball victory at Franklin College on Wednesday night.
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Rose men run winning steak to 11 games
Anderson arrived in Terre Haute with a 7-6 record and a scoring average of 76.5 points per game.
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Anderson holds off rally by Rose women
Rose-Hulman rallied from an 11-point deficit to close within three points late, but Anderson University held on to earn a 64-57 victory in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday night inside O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
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Rose-Hulman men ranked 26th in Division III
Rose-Hulman’s men’s basketball team is ranked 26th nationally in the d3hoops.com national weekly poll released on Thursday.
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Gerken hits game-winner to put Rose-Hulman at 9-1 on season
Making the game-winning shot, with what turned out to be seven-tenths of a second to go, was probably the easy part for Jon Gerken on Saturday afternoon in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose women struggle from field in loss to Hanover
In the Rose-Hulman women’s college basketball game, frigid shooting undermined good work the Engineers did in other aspects of the game against Hanover.
The Engineers came out on the wrong end, 55-43. -
Efficient Engineers stifle Millikin
The word that probably best describes the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team is efficiency.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball regains Clabber Girl Trophy
Rose-Hulman reclaimed the Clabber Girl Trophy for the first time since 2009 with an 80-74 women’s basketball victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Tuesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Balanced Rose tops Fontbonne
Senior forward Nate Gissentanner came off the bench to deliver 14 points for balanced Rose-Hulman in a 72-54 men’s basketball victory over Fontbonne University on Wednesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose-Hulman men's basketball preview: Engineers looking to follow up last year’s success
It’s pretty safe to say that expectations for the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team have not been this high since the late 1990s when the Engineers reached the NCAA Division III tournament three times within a four-year period.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball preview: Engineers continuing to improve
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team didn’t dominate many opponents last season when it ended up with records of 9-18 overall and 6-12 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
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Earlham tragedy leads to Rose football cancellation
Little did Rose-Hulman’s football players and coaches know, their 42-8 home victory over Anderson University last Saturday turned out to be their final game of the season.
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This weekend's Rose-Hulman vs. Earlham football game canceled
Due to Friday's tragic events involving three Earlham College students, the football game between Earlham and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been canceled.
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Anderson squeaks past Rose-Hulman
Anderson University scored in the 11th minute and held off a Rose-Hulman charge to earn a 1-0 men's soccer victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal match on Wednesday night at the Engineer Intramural Field.
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Rose swimmers near top because of vets, youth
Rose-Hulman swimming depth is at an all-time high, putting the Engineers at No. 15 in the NCAA Division III national rankings.
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A bigger taste?
On the night of Oct. 14, Rose-Hulman basketball fans were treated to something described by a couple of men’s players as “spectacular” and “epic” when they all jammed into Hulbert Arena for the insititute’s first “Midnight Madness” to tip off a season.
The memorable site wasn’t a 360-degree dunk or a no-look, behind-the-back pass.
It was Rose men’s coach Jim Shaw performing the “Bernie Dance,” based on the deceased character from the 1989 movie “Weekend At Bernie’s.”
“For a second, I thought he was having a seizure,” senior starting guard Austin Weatherford said with a straight face later. -
Rose women picked for 6th
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, according to a preseason poll of league coaches released Tuesday.
Hanover and Franklin were selected for first and second respectively, with just two poll points separating the two squads. -
Rose-Hulman no match for Franklin
Franklin showcased its No. 23 NCAA Division III ranking from d3football.com in a 56-0 victory over Rose-Hulman in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football Saturday.
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Rose blanks Woods 3-0 in women’s soccer
Rose-Hulman women’s soccer coach Amy Helliwell is riding a youth movement to what she hopes could produce a strong turnaround in this 2012 season.
It has so far.
Led by freshman Hayley Gilliam, a Zionsville native, the Engineers improved to 5-4-1 for the season with a dominant 3-0 victory against cross-county rival St. Mary-of-the-Woods College on Wednesday at Jim Rendel Field. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Engineers dominate HCAC honors
Rose-Hulman Institute student-athletes earned three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards, in results released by the league office on Monday.
West Vigo graduate John Burt was named HCAC Defensive Player of the Week and Eric Schaible the Special Teams Player of the Week in football, and B.J. Thompson earned Player of the Week honors in men’s soccer.
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Snyder throws for two early TDs in Rose-Hulman victory
Rose-Hulman scored 33 points in the middle two quarters and held off a Defiance rally to earn a 33-20 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football opener for both schools Saturday.
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Rose’s record setter
Kyle Kovach got off to a great start in Rose-Hulman’s football season opener Saturday night in what turned out to be a heartbreaking 29-28 home loss to Kalamazoo College at Cook Stadium.
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