HANOVER, Ind. - Playing in only its fifth and sixth home games of the season, the Hanover baseball team dropped both ends of a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader to Rose-Hulman Tuesday afternoon at K.T. Young Ballpark. The Panthers lost 11-5 in the first game and 12-1 in the nightcap. 

The Fightin' Engineers opened the scoring in game one with three runs in first inning, but Hanover cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom when junior Josh Meszaros (Loveland, Ohio) drove in two with a single to left field.

Meszaros then scored the tying run in the fourth on an errant throw on a pick-off attempt, but Rose-Hulman scored a run in the fifth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh to go in front 9-3.

Hanover added a couple of unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh, including one on another RBI hit by Meszaros to make it 9-5 only to see the Fightin' Engineers answer with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth for the final 11-5 score.

Freshman pitcher Eli Copner (Zionsville, Ind.) took the loss. In 4.1 innings, Copner allowed four runs - two earned - on eight hits with no walks and five strikeouts. 

Meszaros finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI. Sophomore Spencer Coop (Lexington, Ky.) went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while senior Jack Shine (New Albany, Ind.) also scored twice.

Hanover struck first in the second game as senior John Scheil (Indianapolis, Ind.) drew a first-inning, two-out walk with the bases loaded to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead, but that would be the only run of the contest for Hanover as Rose-Hulman went on to score 12 unanswered runs for the win.

Freshman pitcher Grant Larimore (LaGrange, Ky.) was saddled with the loss. Larimore allowed seven runs - six earned - on eight hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Junior Tyler Fitch (Crestwood, Ky.) had two hits in four at-bats in the defeat.

Hanover, now 4-18 overall and 1-7 in the HCAC, will return to action Friday, April 13 with a trip to Anderson, Ind. The conference doubleheader against Anderson is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.

Contact: Mike Pritchard

pritchard@hanover.edu