Chris Bryant
Contributing Writer
Terre Haute, IN – The Transylvania Pioneers pulled away late for a convincing 13-2 victory over the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers Friday evening, with the game concluding after 8 innings.
The Pioneers opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. Senior catcher Bryce Dreher delivered a two-run single, scoring senior first baseman Austin Taylor and sophomore left fielder Chris Hedinger. Freshman center fielder Evan Dillon followed with an RBI single to score junior designated hitter Houston Manning, making it 3-0.
Rose-Hulman got a run back in the bottom of the second on a groundout, taking advantage of a Transylvania error. They added another in the fourth on an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2.
Transylvania broke the game open starting in the sixth inning. Senior second baseman Henry Mitcham singled to score freshman third baseman Baxter Tedesco. Austin Taylor then doubled, driving in Mitcham. Houston Manning added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to extend the lead to 6-2.
In the seventh, Baxter Tedesco hit a sacrifice bunt to bring home Evan Dillon. The Pioneers then erupted for six runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Austin Taylor hit his second RBI double of the game. An error allowed Taylor to score. Evan Dillon drove in two more runs with a double, and another run scored on an error during the same play. Baxter Tedesco capped the scoring with an RBI single.
Offensively for Transylvania, senior Austin Taylor had a standout game with three hits (including two doubles), three runs scored, and two RBIs. Freshman Evan Dillon also collected three hits, scoring twice and driving in three runs. Freshman Baxter Tedesco had two hits and two RBIs, while senior Henry Mitcham added two hits, two runs, and an RBI. Senior catcher Bryce Dreher drove in two runs.
Sophomore pitcher Drew Bowles started for the Pioneers and earned the win (5-2). He pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. Fifth-year Griffin Dillard pitched the final two scoreless innings in relief to close out the 8-inning victory, striking out three.
HCAC Standings Update
With the crucial road win, Transylvania improved to 12-7 in HCAC play. The victory moves the Pioneers into a tie for second place in the conference standings with Rose-Hulman, just behind first-place Anderson (14-7).
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