LUBBOCK, Texas - The Rogers State baseball team was unable to fend off a ninth inning rally by Oklahoma Christian as it fell 19-16 in the final pool play game at the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at Hays Field on the campus of Lubbock Christian University.
Despite the loss, the Diamond Cats move on to the title game as they face second-seeded Oklahoma Baptist.
Trailing 16-15 in the top of the ninth, Oklahoma Christian designated hitter Zac Coshow blasted a grand slam with two outs and two strikes against him to keep the Eagles in the game. Taylor Parcus retired the side in the bottom of the ninth and for the win.
RSU took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Senior Brandt Barnes led off the inning with a single and stole second base. He advanced to third on a single by Cade McKewon and put the Cats on the board with a sacrifice fly by Colton West. Randy Ramirez capped off the scoring as he belted a two-run homer to left field.
The Eagles battled back in the third and took a 6-3 lead as they scored six runs on five hits.
OC's lead was short lived as the Hillcats posted five runs in the third. Barnes led off the inning with a solo shot over the left-centerfield fence. With the bases loaded, Keith Poverud drew a walk to score a run. Joe Manbodh hit the ball to deep centerfield and Clint Bowker misplayed the ball which allowed RSU plated three runs.
OC catcher Jeff Davis blasted a three-run homer in the top of the fourth to give the Eagles a 9-8 lead. West led off the bottom of the inning with a single and scored on a double by Ramirez to knot the score.
A three-run blast by OC left fielder Dustin Andrews put the Eagles back on top in the fifth inning. They added the final run of the inning with some help from a pair of RSU errors, giving them a 13-9 advantage.
The Hillcats reclaimed the lead in the sixth. West hit a two-run bomb over the left field fence. Manbodh sent a pair of base runners across home plate with a single and Jairo Valdez hit a RBI single to give the Cats a 14-13 edge.
The Hillcats added to the lead in the seventh with a pair of runs to lead 16-13. However, the Eagles rallied to score six runs in the ninth to win the game.
The Hillcats used six pitchers in the contest. Junior Jacob Wenaas was the lone bright spot as he tossed 3.1 innings and shut down nine straight hitters. Mario Mena was tagged with the loss. The junior hurler tossed one third inning and allowed two runs on no hits.
Riley Jones registered the win for OC as he pitched two scoreless innings with one strikeout. Taylor Parcus earned his fifth save of the season as he tossed the scoreless ninth inning.
No. 19-ranked Rogers State (44-13) will play in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship game for the first time in program history on Saturday against No. 5- ranked Oklahoma Baptist. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. The game will be carried live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on www.rsuhillcats.com. LCU is also providing video streaming at www.lcuchaps.com. For more information on the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament visit www.soonerathletic.org.
