FORT WORTH, Texas - The Rogers State softball team posted five victories at the Cow Town Classic over the weekend.
 

The Hillcats won five straight games to open the tournament before bowing out to No. 1 ranked Lubbock Christian, 4-2 in the semifinals. RSU entered the weekend as the defending champion of the CTC and improved to 7-1 on the season with a 5-1 showing.

GAME ONE

After getting shutout for the first four innings, the Hillcats tallied five runs over the next two frames to record a 5-1 victory over Missouri Valley College.
 

A two-run double by Megan Wood put the Cats on the board in the fifth and a solo homer by Jenny Johnson in the sixth secured the win. Marie Gaudet and Tanya Koch posted two hits apiece while Johnson went the distance in the pitcher's circle. She allowed just one unearned run on two hits while racking up six strikeouts.

GAME TWO
 

RSU came from behind with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to win the second game of the day over York College, 5-4.
 

York jumped in front 2-0 on a two-run homer by Laura Crawson in the top of the first inning. Lillian Nevarez answered the bell for the Hillcats with a homer to dead center in the bottom of the frame and RSU retied the game on an RBI single by Natalie Smith in the second.
 

Nevarez put the Cats in front with a squeeze bunt to score Wood in the third but York stormed back with two runs in the top of the fourth. However, RSU refused to be denied. Nevarez led off the fifth with a single and scored the tying run on a squeeze bunt by Gaudet. Tanya Koch picked up the game-winning RBI when she singled home Katie Bointy.
 

Johnson tossed the final four innings in relief of starter Jackie Kragel to record the victory. Nevarez led the Hillcat offense with three hits, two runs and two RBI.

GAME THREE
 

The Hillcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead and cruised to a 4-1 victory in the final game Friday against Northwood University.
 

Wood singled and scored to open the first inning and Smith and Harrison belted back-to-back doubles in the second to make it 3-0. Northwood plated an unearned run in the third and RSU tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Smith tallied three of the Hillcats eight hits.
 

Johnson relieved Kragel in the bottom of the first inning and went the distance to record her third victory of the day. She scattered five hits and allowed one unearned run with two strikeouts.

GAME FOUR
 

RSU scored five times in the seventh inning to win a wild affair against Northwestern Oklahoma State, 15-13 in the opening game of bracket play Saturday morning.
 

The Hillcats committed a school-record 10 errors in the contest, yet still managed to outscore their Sooner Athletic Conference rival thanks in part to four home runs. RSU put together five consecutive hits in the top of the seventh and held on in the bottom of the frame to remain undefeated.
 

Wood belted a three-run homer in the second inning and Bointy and Johnson added back-to-back bombs in the third. Wood cranked a grand slam over the boards in left-center in the fourth and finished the game with seven RBI and nine total bases.
 

The Hillcats would need every bit of that offensive fire power as they committed errors in five of the seven innings, leading to 13 unearned runs. Johnson battled through the adversity to earn the victory. She surrendered 12 hits and fanned three batters in a complete game performance.

GAME FIVE
 

The Hillcats routed Northwood University, 15-6 in a five-inning run-rule to reach the championship game of the classic.
 

Johnson's two-run homer highlighted an eight-run rally in the bottom of the second inning. Wood and Bointy went deep in the third as RSU added seven more runs to its totals. Johnson allowed two runs, one earned, over the first four innings to record the win. Kragel was touched for four runs, all unearned, in the fifth to close out the short-game victory.
 

Smith led the hit parade with three knocks and four RBI. Wood and Bointy tallied three RBI apiece.

GAME SIX 
 

RSU stood toe-to-toe with top-ranked Lubbock Christian but came up short in a 4-2 decision in their final game of the weekend.
 

The defending national champion Lady Chaps plated single runs in the first, third, fifth and seventh innings to edge out the Hillcats. RSU got within one run on an RBI double by Smith in the bottom of the sixth but gave the run right back with two errors in the top of the seventh. Kelly Griego retired the Cats in order in the bottom of the seventh to record a complete-game victory.
 

Kragel pitched the entire game for the Hillcats. The sophomore transfer scattered 10 hits across seven innings and allowed four runs, two earned, with no walks and four strikeouts. Nevarez collected two of RSU's seven hits.
 

Rogers State (7-1) opens conference play Thursday afternoon at the Hillcat Complex against Oklahoma City University. First-pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.