CLAREMORE, Okla.- The Rogers State baseball team rounded out Senior Day festivities at the Diamond Sports Complex with an 8-6 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State to secure the three-game Heartland Conference series sweep.
The Aggies jumped out to an early three-run lead with one run in the first and a pair in the second.
The Hillcats battled back cutting the Aggie lead down to one in the bottom of the third with four consecutive one-out hits. Chase Knott started the rally with a single to right field. Caleb Kohlmeyer followed with a double ripped down the third baseline to put runners on second and third. Blake Gipson plated a pair of runs belting a double to left field.
An RBI single by Trey Wooten in the top of the fourth doubled the OPSU lead, 4-2.
In the fifth, Alex Cochran led off the inning with a walk and Knott follow with a single to shallow right-center field. Both runners moved to scoring position with a sacrifice bunt by Kohlmeyer and a single by Gipson drove in Cochran. With the bases loaded, Knott scored on a groundout by Johan Ochoa to tie the game. RSU took a two-run lead with a two-out double smacked in the left-center field gap by Logan Palmer.
RSU added to its lead in the sixth with a RBI single by Kohlmeyer that drove in Cochran after reaching on a walk and stealing second earlier in the inning. OPSU cut the RSU lead with one run in both the seventh and eighth innings. RSU pushed one run across in the eighth but left the bases loaded to end the inning.
The 8-6 lead was all Edward Layton needed to secure the Hillcat win, retiring the side to register the save. Senior Jesse Baird tallied the win on the mound in his final start at the Diamond Sports Complex. He tossed six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while fanning two.
RSU belted 15 hits securing the series sweep led by Ryan Hendricks' 4-for-5 performance while Knott and Kohlmeyer each tallied three hits apiece, with one RBI. Gipson recorded two hits with three RBI for the Hillcats offense.
Zach Tingen suffered the loss for OPSU, allowing six runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings pitched.
Rogers State (16-21, 9-15 HC) returns to action Tuesday for the final home game of season against Arkansas Tech. The game is slated for 5 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
