CLAREMORE, Okla.-The Rogers State baseball team tallied a doubleheader split against Heartland Conference opponent McMurry University (Texas) Friday at the Diamond Sports Complex.
RSU fell behind early in the opener and couldn't get the offense going as the War Hawks cruised to a 6-0 victory. The Hillcats belted 12 hits and took an eight-run lead in the nightcap and held on for the 8-7 win.
GAME ONE
The Hillcats' bats were cold in the opener, held to just one hit in game one. The War Hawks dented the scoreboard in the top of the first as Ben Douglas hit a bases-loaded double to center field scoring two runs.
McMurry tacked on three runs in the second. The inning started with back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases. Kyle Sergent drew a bases loaded walk to drive in a run and Zack Hagan rounded out the scoring with a two-run single down the left field line.
RSU's lone hit of the game came in the second with a lead-off single by Blake Gipson but the lead runner was erased with a double play.
The War Hawks put the game away in the fifth with an insurance run. Lanny Zier registered the complete-game victory on the mound, allowing just one hit while fanning five. RSU starter Jesse Baird tallied the loss with one inning of work, allowing five runs on four hits with four walks.
GAME TWO
The Hillcats saved all their offense for the second game of the twin bill and jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the second. Gipson led with an infield single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Hendricks. Logan Palmer drove Gipson in with a double down the left field line. James Marks tallied a two-out RBI single up the middle to give RSU a 2-0 lead after two innings.
In the fifth, Caleb Kohlmeyer hit an RBI single to right field and Gipson blasted a two-run triple to deep center pushing the lead to 5-0. In the seventh, RSU tallied three more runs on three hits to push the advantage to 8-0. The War Hawks wouldn't go quietly, cutting the deficit to 8-3 in the eighth with three runs on three hits with the help of two RSU errors. The Hillcats held on for the win in the top of the ninth despite giving up four runs on five hits stranding the game-tying run to squeak past McMurry.
Kyle Duncan (3-0) earned the win on the mound allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Joel DePorte (2-3) was tagged with the loss, tossing 6.1 innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits with seven strikeouts.
Rogers State (12-8, 5-6 HC) returns to action Saturday in the rubber game against McMurry at 12 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
