OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Northwestern Oklahoma State used timely hitting and spectacular defense to bounce Rogers State from the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament with a 6-3 victory Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
 

The Rangers scored all six of their runs on two out hits and snuffed out two late scoring opportunities for the Hillcats with a pair of double plays. The loss ended RSU's season while Northwestern advanced to play Southern Nazarene Tuesday night in another elimination contest.
 

Hillcat starter Tyler Garner got off to a rocky start in the first inning as he walked the leadoff hitter and hit the next batter. The Rangers cashed in on the early scoring opportunity with three straight two-out singles to go ahead 3-0. RSU tallied its first run in the second when Colton West tripled to deep centerfield and scored on a sacrifice fly by Billy Balak.
 

NWOSU stretched the lead to four with two more runs in the third inning. Zach Theademan and Jacob Walsh delivered two-out singles to make it 5-1. The Diamond Cats answered with two runs in the fourth. Zach Hamby ripped a double down the left field line and West worked a four-pitch walk. Hamby scored on a single by Jairo Valdez and West raced home on a fielder's choice groundout to cut the margin to 5-3.
 

The Cats were threatening in the bottom of the seventh with two on and nobody out before Tyler Harold hit a sharp grounder up the middle that turned into a 6-3 double-play. Luis Caraballo led off the eight with a single, but was erased on another twin killing. Hamby slapped a hard ground ball to the right side of the infield where second baseman Juan Natal made a diving stop. Natal made a perfect feed to second base from his knees and the relay throw beat Hamby by a half-step to complete the double play. RSU loaded the bases in the ninth, but once again couldn't break through.
 

Danny Santiago (8-5) earned the win for the Rangers with six innings of work. The southpaw allowed three runs on four hits with six strikeouts. Josh Swain picked up a three-inning save with three frames of scoreless relief. Garner (8-6) was tagged with the loss after yielding five runs on eight hits over six innings. Casey Cassity tossed the final three innings for RSU. The freshman retired the first eight hitters he faced before giving up a solo homer to Tom O'Gorman with two outs in the ninth.
 

West had two of the Hillcats eight hits while Theademan led Northwestern with three.
 

Rogers State (30-21) notched its second 30-win season in program history this spring. The Diamond Cats will lose seniors Rob Rodriguez, Luis Caraballo, Zach Hamby, Grant Cosby, Cristian Baez, DJ Thompson and Tyler Harold from the 2010 campaign.