METRO ROUNDUP: Staggs resets ISU pole-vault record

May 4—Will Staggs cleared 18 feet for the first time at an outdoor meet Friday at the Billy Hayes Invitational, breaking his own program record in the men's pole vault as part of another productive meet for Indiana State.

Staggs' mark of 18 feet, 0 1/2 inches marked the first time since 2007 that an Missouri Valley Conference athlete cleared a mark of that height or better in the pole vault. He was one of three event winners for the Sycamores, alongside Napoleon Hernandez in the men's 800-meter run and Rachel Mehringer in the women's 100-meter hurdles.

In addition to the first-place finishes, Rachel Conhoff and Jason Dworak climbed their way up the program top-10 charts in the 1,500 with strong showings in the invitational section. Indiana State finished the meet with 13 top-five finishes, despite not competing with a full squad with the MVC outdoor championships just one week away.

The Sycamores are the MVC championship hosts this season, with this year's meet taking place Friday through next Sunday at the Gibson Track and Field Complex.

Baseball

—Rose splits pair with Hanover — At Hanover, Rose-Hulman split its Saturday doubleheader with an 8-4 win and a 6-1 loss against the Panthers.

The Engineers got the offense going in the first inning of Game 1, capitalizing on a Hanover error to score two runs with RBIs from Peter Rogers and Connor O'Connell.

Rose stretched its lead to 5-0 in the fifth with RBI singles from Kade Kline and O'Connell and a sacrifice fly by Rogers.

After Hanover added a run in the sixth, Rose-Hulman responded with a solo home run from Kline and a sacrifice fly by Colter Couillard-Rodak to make it 7-1.

Hanover battled back with three more in the eighth, but Rose-Hulman held on for the victory.

Kline led the team with three runs scored and three hits, while Kline, Rogers and O'Connell each added a pair of RBIs.

Michael Yager earned his fifth win of the season with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings and one run allowed.

In Game 2, Rose again jumped in front with an RBI single by Couillard-Rodak.

Hanover tied it up in the fourth, stealing a run in a first-third situation, and the Panthers retook the lead in the seventh with an RBI single to bring home an unearned run.

The Panthers tacked on four more in the ninth to secure the outcome.

Kline, Rogers and Couillard-Rodak led the team with two hits apiece in the Game 2 loss.

Rose-Hulman (22-16 overall, 13-7 HCAC) will return to action Sunday for a Senior Day doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m. at Art Nehf Field.

Softball

—Pomeroys drop pair at RSC tournament — At South Charleston, W.Va., Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College was eliminated from the River States Conference tournament with a pair of losses Friday afternoon. The Pomeroys gave up a lone run in the seventh inning to fall to No. 1 Shawnee State in the opening game and came back to fall 3-2 to Midway (Ky.) in the second contest.

SMWC ended its tournament run with a 32-17 overall record. The Pomeroys were the RSC East Division No. 2 seed at the RSC tournament. They defeated Ohio Christian 4-2 on Thursday to open tournament play.

In the opening contest, Summer Rocha saw six innings of work as she scattered seven hits and allowed just one unearned run — in the bottom of the seventh inning. She struck out three in moving to 12-4 on the year inside the circle.

A double by Shawnee State in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie as the Pomeroys dropped that contest. Abbi Henderson went 2 of 4 and stole three bases for The Woods.

Midway would score once in the first inning and came back with two more in the third to take a 3-0 lead over SMWC. Ruby Gray got the scoring going in the fourth frame with an RBI single up the middle, which plated Abby Broughton, then Jaleigh Crawford singled to right field to drive in Annika Hannigan to make it 3-2. That would be the last runs for the Pomeroys in dropping that contest.

Crawford was 2 for 3 at the plate with an RBI, while Gray drove in the other run. Emily Fitzwater surrendered all three of the Midway runs before Marin Jacobs came in to pitch the final 4.2 innings. Jacobs allowed one hit and no runs and struck out a pair.