LAREDO, Texas – The Rogers State softball team suffered an 11-3 loss on the road at Texas A&M International closing the opening weekend of Heartland Conference action.
 
Morgen Blanchard provided the offense for the Hillcats with her second home run of the year, a solo shot starting the fourth inning, and finished the day leading the team going 2-for-3 at the plate.
 
The Dustdevils opened the bottom of the first with a single and used a one-out home run to take a quick 2-0 lead. A bases-loaded single later in the frame added the third run for TAMIU and the margin stretched to 4-0 on a RBI groundout in the second.
 
RSU used strong defense in the third to limit a bases-loaded with no outs opportunity for the Dustdevils to one run. Arika Araujo, Courtney Davis, and Katlin Alexander turned a double play going from third to home to first before a RBI single made it 5-0 for TAMIU.
 
Blanchard used one swing to get the Hillcats on the scoreboard in the fourth on a lead-off home run. RSU stranded a pair of runners in scoring position later in the inning.
 
TAMIU answered by hitting a home run of its own opening the bottom half of the frame and tacked on a grand slam capitalizing on a pair of two-out walks for a 10-1 advantage.
 
RSU scored twice in the fifth as Alexander and Araujo were both hit by pitches with the bases loaded plating the two runs cutting the deficit to 10-3, but could get no closer as the Dustdevils claimed the series sweep with the winning run on a walk-off single by Brittany Mussett with the bases loaded in the sixth.
 
RSU (6-12, 0-3 HC) is back in action March 1 for a non-conference doubleheader at Southwest Baptist. Game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Bolivar, Missouri.