Terre Haute, IN – The Transylvania baseball team came close, but ultimately dropped two against the Rose-Hulman Fightin Engineers in a Saturday doubleheader as they fell 6-5 in Game One and 9-3 in Game Two.

The Pioneers record moved to 10-13 overall, and 6-5 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play after both decisions.

Game one of the series was a result the Pioneers would've craved a reprisal of as Rose-Hulman stormed back from a 5-1 deficit with a five-run eighth inning to swing the balance of the game. A wondrous effort by leadoff hitter Trey Simpson went by the wayside as his 4-for-4 effort at the plate with a walk augmented an 11-hit day for the Pioneers.

Blake Hart and Rex Rogers carried the load toward the bottom of the batting order for the Pioneers as the infielders went 2-for-4 and 3-for-5, respectively. Hart added a walk and Rogers posted an RBI in the Game One defeat.

The afternoon looked promising for the Pios after a three-run fourth inning and a two-run fifth frame. A Rex Rogers RBI single and Aaron Johnson bases-loaded walk posted the first two runs of the game for Transylvania. Jared Williams grounded out with all bases covered later in the inning to push Transy's lead to 3-0.

After Rose-Hulman posted a one-run answer in the bottom of the fourth, Hunter Jones delivered a two-RBI base hit to drive in Rogers and Hart for a sizable 5-1 lead. But Rose-Hulman pounced in the eighth inning with a five-run comeback that turned the rest of the day in their favor. The Engineers tallied six hits and took advantage of a Pioneer error to forge a 6-5 turnaround.

Starter Braden Johnson went 7.1 innings, allowing five strikeouts in the effort.

Transylvania tried to shake off the effects of the Game One defeat and began Game Two with a promising punch, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. A Rose-Hulman error situated the Pioneers with a runner on second and third with just one out. Connor Blevins stepped up with a groundout to plate Simpson from third, and Kody Ross then followed with a single to bring home Williams for a 2-0 lead.

But Rose-Hulman's bats remained hot from the end of Game One, and a four-hit bottom of the first inning translated into four instant runs and a 4-2 lead.

The deficit grew more dim for the Pios in the third inning as Rose-Hulman matched their first inning with another four runs. The Pioneers manufactured one more run in the top of the sixth inning as Kody Ross gained his second RBI of the game by driving in Williams.

The Pioneers cycled through three pitchers in Game Two, and limited the Engineeers to just one earned run after the first 2.2 innings, but an 8-1 deficit was too much to overcome. The three-man rotation of Matt Birkenhauer, Adam Boone, and Taylor Miller combined for five strikeouts on the day.

Transylvania will try to take one back from Rose-Hulman on Sunday morning when they face off for the final contest of the three-game series. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. from Art Nehf Field.

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