CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State baseball team opened its home slate with a doubleheader sweep over Pittsburg State (Kan.) at Legion Field on Tuesday afternoon in Claremore.
In the opening game, RSU plated four runs in the first frame and held on for a 4-1 victory. The Hillcats scored early and often in the night cap as they posted runs in all but one inning and tallied an 11-3 win.
GAME ONE
The Hillcats used a four run first and an impressive six-inning pitching performance from junior Brandon Bargas to register a win in the home opener.
With one out in the bottom of the first, three consecutive batters walked to load the bases for the Hillcats. Lance Rymel reached first on a bobble by first baseman Matt Garcia, allowing Hector Rivera and Randy Ramirez to scored. With two outs, Colton Campbell hit a two RBI single to right field and gave the Hillcats a 4-0 advantage.
The remainder of the contests was a pitching duel. Each team registered just two hits in the game. Bargas tossed five scoreless innings before giving up a run in the sixth on a RBI single by the Gorillas designated hitter Chase Barnes. Bargas, an Owasso, Okla. native, hurled 6 innings and was tagged with one earned run while fanning five batters and allowing just two hits. Senior Zack Williams earned the save as he closed out the seventh and faced the minimum with one strikeout.
Matt Stalcup suffered the loss on the mound for PSU as he tossed 3.2 innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on two hits with five strikeouts.
GAME TWO
The Hillcats posted runs in all but one inning as they cruised to an 11-3 win.
Eric Baker led off the first frame with a single and scored on groundout by Cody Campbell. Blake Heston led off the second with a walk and scored on a groundout by Baker. Rivera doubled down the right field line to send McKewon home and gave the Cats a 3-0 lead. Cody Campbell led off the third with a first pitch home run, the blast with the first of the season for the St. Cloud, Fla. native.
A pair of doubles off the wall in the left-centerfield put the Gorillas on the board in the fourth inning however; the Hillcats added a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to give them a 6-1 lead.
RSU sealed the win in the sixth, tallying five runs on three hit with help from one PSU error. The Gorillas managed two runs in the seventh before calling it quits.
Senior Eric Faust tallied the win on the mound for the Hillcats as he pitched five innings and allowed one run on four hits while fanning four. Senior Tyler Garner worked fast in the sixth facing just three hitters and Drew Taylor closed out the contest allowing two hits and two runs.
Dustin Ulrich was tagged with the loss for PSU allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits with two strikeouts.
McKewon went 3-3 at the plate with three runs scored. The Inola, Okla. native tallied one of the Hillcats two hits in game one. Cody Campbell registered three hits with five RBI and two runs scored and Eric Baker went 2-3 with two RBI.
Rogers State (6-0) travels to Dallas, Texas to play Tabor College and Dallas Christian College on Friday and Saturday. First pitch is set for Friday at 2:30 p.m. against Tabor.
