Ravens Win Both Games in Conference Opener at Rose-Hulman

The Anderson University Ravens baseball team (10-9, 2-0) traveled to Terre Haute to open up Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play with a double header against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (9-6, 0-2). In two close games the Ravens earned the Game 1 win 4-3 and Game 2 6-5.

Game 1: Anderson 4, Rose-Hulman 3

The scoring started in the top of the second with the Ravens, Tyler Smitherman led off the inning with a solo homerun. Two batters later, freshman Jake Stank doubled down the right field line and later scored after Brady Reed reached on an error.

In the fourth, Smitherman recorded his second hit of the day with a double into right field. Stank added a second hit to his tally as well with a two-run homerun making it a 4-0 ballgame in the top of the fourth. 

Walker Stull (2-2) earned the win for the Ravens, going five innings, giving up one hit and one earned run, with nine strikeouts. Evan Doan came in relief and earned his second save of the year, issuing one run in four innings.

Inside the Box Score 

• Jake Stank - 3-for-4, 1 HR, 1 Double, 2 RBI's
• Tyler Smitherman - 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 Double, 1 RBI
• Grahm Reedy - 1-for-4
• Charlie Jones - 1-for-4, Double 
• Walker Stull - W (2-2), 5.0 IP, 9 K's, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 BB
• Evan Doan - SV (2), 4.0 IP, 3 K's, 3 H, 1 ER

Game 2: Anderson 6, Rose-Hulman 5

Smitherman led off the second with a double. He advanced to third and home to score the first run of the game due to two wild pitches. The bottom of the second saw Rose-Hulman take their first lead of the day with a three-run inning.

In the top of the third the Ravens started with back-to-back walks with no outs from Rene Casas Jr. and Connor Gordon, followed by a single from Charlie Jones loaded the bases. Two batters later Justin Reed would drive in Casas Jr. with a sacrifice fly to center field. The Fightin' Engineers singled in a run in the bottom half of the inning to take a 4-2 lead.

Entering the fifth down by two runs the Ravens surrendered two outs quickly in the top of the inning. Justin Reed doubled to set up a Smitherman two-run home run to tie the game 4-4. 

In the sixth, the Ravens started with a Stank single, who would later score the only run of the inning for the Ravens by way of a Jones single. The Ravens took their first lead since the top half of the second, making it a 5-4 game. 

Rose-Hulman tied the game at 5-5 with a solo blast in the bottom of the seventh. In the top of the eighth, senior T.J Price gave the Ravens the lead with a solo home run that would be the last run scored in the contest. 

Kasey Henderson started the game for the Ravens and went six innings while recording five strikeouts. Logan Nickel (2-2) earned the win in relief, going three innings while only giving up one earned run. 

Inside the Box Score 

• Tyler Smitherman - 3-for-5, 2 doubles, 1 Home Run, 2 RBI's
• Justin Reed - 1-for-4, Double, 1 RBI, Sac Fly
• T.J. Price - 1-for-3, Home Run, 1 RBI
• Kasey Henderson - 6.0 IP, 5 K's, 4 ER
• Logan Nickel - W (2-2), 3.0 IP, 2 K'S, 1 ER

Head Coach Matt Bair's Comments 

It's always great to get off to a good start in the conference. Rose-Hulman is a tough team and it's a tough place to go on the road and win two games at. Credit our pitching today across the board, as well as the hot bat of Tyler Smitherman. They both carried us all day and we made some clutch defensive plays when we had to. Lastly, T.J. Price absolutely smoked a clutch home run in the top of the eighth of game two, which ended up being the winning run. 

Up Next for the Ravens 

The conference schedule continues on as the Ravens clash with Franklin College (17-5, 2-0) in an HCAC doubleheader on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Westfield at Grand Park Diamond No. 4.