CLAREMORE, Okla.- The Rogers State baseball team completed the three-game series sweep of Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College, earning a pair of wins Saturday afternoon at the Diamond Sports Complex.
The Hillcats opened the doubleheader with a 9-5 victory over the Saints, racking up 12 hits. In the nightcap, the Hillcats completed the series with a 12-0 thumping of the Saints in the nine-inning affair.
GAME ONE The Hillcats jumped out to an early lead in game one, tallying three runs in the first frame. With two outs,
Trae BoBo smashed a solo shot over the left field fence to put the Hillcats on the scoreboard.
Andrew Vanisi and
Dustin Exford followed with consecutive walks, allowing
Blake Gipson to bring them both home with a triple placed in the right-center gap.
RSU added to its lead in the second with four runs on five hits.
Garrett Hall led the inning with a single up the middle and
Chase Knott hit a one-out single to put runners on first and second.
Cesar Rodriguez singled down the left field line to drive in Hall. A double steal put both runners in scoring position for BoBo, who belted a two-RBI single through the right side. Gipson rounded out the scoring in the inning with a RBI single up the middle.
The Saints dented the scoreboard in the third with a pair of runs off a two-run double from Ron Marciniak. Hillsdale cut the RSU lead to two runs with a trio of runs in the fifth off three hits.
Gipson ripped a RBI double down the left field line and
Jordan Goode registered a RBI single to center to round out the scoring in the sixth.
Mason Marquette tallied the win for the Hillcats on the mound, allowing five runs on six hits with eight strikeouts. Wesley Shaffer suffered the loss for the Saints lasting 1 1/3 innings, allowing six runs, four earned, on five hits with one strikeout.
GAME TWO After a scoreless first frame, the Hillcats scored runs in the next four innings to take control of the game and cruised to a 12-0 win.
In the second frame, RSU took advantage of a couple Hillsdale miscues to get on the scoreboard and take a 2-0 lead. Exford tallied a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Alex Cochran and
Blake Heston drew consecutive walks to load the bases. RSU scored both runs on a pass ball and a wild pitch with two outs in the inning. The third inning was much like the second with RSU adding two more runs with the help of a wild pitch and an error by the Saints.
The Hillcats tacked on four more runs in the fourth with a RBI double by BoBo and a three-run home run blasted over the left field fence by Gipson.
RSU posted a pair of runs in both the fifth and seventh with three hits in each inning to complete the shutout victory.
Caleb Banks (1-0) tallied the win on the mound for RSU, tossing four scoreless innnings while allowing just two hits. Tyler Holton took the loss for the Saints lasting 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
Rogers State (3-0) will return to action Saturday, February 14 with a doubleheader against Baker (Kan.) at the Diamond Sports Complex. The twin bill is slated to start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at
www.rsuhillcat.com/live.
