CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State baseball team put the finishing touches on a series sweep over St. Gregory's with two wins Saturday afternoon at the Hillcat Complex in Claremore.
The Diamond Cats posted an 8-3 victory in the opener and cruised to a 14-4 run-rule win in the nightcap. RSU racked up 28 hits in the twin bill. Rob Rodriguez led the way with five knocks while Tyler Harold and Luis Caraballo chipped in with four apiece.
GAME ONE
A pair of three-run innings sparked the Hillcat offense in the first game of the day. Harold put RSU on the scoreboard with his first home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning. Zach Hamby and Rodriguez followed with back-to-back doubles and Billy Balak tacked on an RBI single to give the Cats a 3-0 lead.
St. Gregory's answered with three runs in the top of the fourth. Caleb Phillips reached on an error to start the frame and Chris Duke and Landin Boler chased home runs against RSU starter Tyler Garner. Garner ran into more trouble in the fifth, but reliever Jordan Clark came on to escape the jam with a strikeout and a fly out.
Rodriguez put RSU back in front with an RBI double in the fourth and Harold made it 5-3 with a run-scoring single up the middle in the fifth. Rodriguez and Joe Mandbodh doubled in the sixth and Caraballo capped the scoring with a two-run triple to right field.
Garner (4-0) kept his perfect record intact with 4.1 innings of work while Clark earned his second save with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.
GAME TWO
RSU wrapped up a three-game sweep of the Cavaliers with a short-game victory in the nightcap. The Hillcats scored early and often with 14 runs on 14 hits.
Coach Ron Bradley's club trailed 4-3 before capitalizing on three SGU errors with six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Cats added two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to halt the game at a 10-run margin.
Jairo Valdez ripped a two-run double to left field in the sixth and Danny Bishop delivered the final blow with his first hit of the season, a walk-off single up the middle.
Sophomore Josh Phillippi (1-0) earned the victory with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just three hits and struck out three with no walks. Jake Merritt took the loss for the Cavaliers after surrendering nine runs, one earned, on nine hits over four innings of work.
Rogers State (10-1, 3-0) continued its hot start with the three-game conference sweep. The Hillcats will return to action Thursday when they host Oklahoma Baptist in a single game at the Hillcat Complex. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m.
