KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Rogers State softball team posted a 4-1 record over the weekend at the Dennis Gault Tournament hosted by Avila University in Kansas City, Mo.
 

The Hillcats won four straight before losing to McKendree University in extra innings Sunday afternoon. RSU knocked off the University of St. Mary and Graceland University Saturday and then took care of business against Calumet College and Harris-Stowe Sunday morning.

GAME ONE (University of St. Mary)
 

The Hillcats scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to a 9-2 win over the University of St. Mary in the first game of the tournament Saturday.
 

A two-run triple by Lillian Nevarez keyed the Cats' first-inning rally. Nevarez added an RBI double in the sixth and Allison Bean belted a two-run single up the middle to reach the final margin. Megan Wood chipped in with three hits and two runs scored.
 

Jenny Johnson pitched the first six innings to record the win. She allowed two runs on three hits while fanning four. Jackie Kragel worked a scoreless seventh inning to complete the victory.

GAME TWO (Graceland University)
 

Another big first inning led to another easy victory as the Cats run-ruled Graceland College, 11-1 in the second game Saturday afternoon.
 

RSU cranked out six runs on six hits in the bottom of the first inning and the rout was on. Wood started the frame with a single to left and Natalie Smith followed with a two-run homer to dead-center. Johnson and Allison Bean kept the inning going with singles and Sara Walkup tacked on a two-run double. Britney Harrison plated the final two runs of the inning with a two-out single to right-center.
 

Singles by Wood, Nevarez, Johnson and Katie Bointy and a double by Smith allowed the Cats to extend the margin to 10 runs with a four-run third inning. Johnson tossed the first two innings and Kragel pitched the last three to record her first win of the year.

GAME THREE (Calumet College)
 

The Hillcats scored in four of their six at-bats to post a 6-1 victory over Calumet College in the first game Sunday morning.
 

Johnson helped her own cause by ripping a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning to put RSU in front, 2-0. An error in the top of the second led to the only run of the game for Calumet.
 

The Hillcats answered with two more runs in the third inning as Smith tripled and scored on a squeeze bunt by Nevarez. Gaudet laced an RBI triple in the fifth and Harrison added a run-scoring single in the sixth.
 

Johnson posted a complete-game victory, scattering seven hits across seven innings with one unearned run. She also finished with a game-high three RBI.

GAME FOUR (Harris-Stowe University)
 

RSU scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to turn a close contest into a 9-2 victory over Harris-Stowe Sunday.
 

The Cats plated two runs on four hits in the top of the first inning to grab the early lead. Johnson spared the rally with an RBI triple to right field. A two-run double by Bointy in the top of the third inning doubled the lead to 4-0.
 

Harris-Stowe ripped four singles in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the margin in half. However, Kragel and Johnson kept HSU in check the rest of the way. The Hillcat lineup gave the pitching duo plenty of cushion heading into the final frame.
 

Smith and Nevarez started the Hillcat seventh with back-to-back singles. Gaudet scored Smith on a grounder and Bointy brought Nevarez home with a squeeze bunt. Walkup's two-run double to center field cleared the bases. She later scored on a passed ball to reach the final margin, 9-2.
 

Kragel (2-2) worked the first 4.2 innings to record her second win of the weekend. She allowed two unearned runs on four hits. Johnson recorded the final seven outs to earn her first save of the season.

GAME FIVE (McKendree University)
 

The Hillcats came up on the short end of 2-1 extra-inning affair against McKendree University in the final game Sunday afternoon.
 

RSU scored and took the lead in the first inning for the fifth consecutive game. Smith singled and was brought home on a two-out double by Johnson. It would be the only run of the game for the Hillcats.
 

Cathy Webb doubled to start the second inning for McKendree and scored the tying run on a single up the middle by Casey White. The teams remained deadlocked until the eighth when the international tie-breaker rule was put to use.

The Hillcats failed to score in the top of the inning after Johnson and Gaudet struck out with the go-ahead run at third base. Lindsay Newbold delivered the game-winning blow for McKendree with a bouncing ball up the middle to score Nicole Ostertag from third base. Walkup fielded the grounder at short but her throw to the plate was a fraction to late as Ostertag scored the winning run.

Johnson (14-8) was tagged with the loss despite a strong outing. She yielded two runs, one earned, on four hits with six strikeouts. Smith tallied two of the Cats six hits in the contest.

Rogers State (16-10) returns to Sooner Athletic Conference play this week as the Hillcats travel to Bethany, Okla., Thursday. RSU and Southern Nazarene will play a doubleheader with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.