CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State baseball team split with College of the Ozarks in the final weekend doubleheader before conference season on Saturday at the Diamond Sports Complex. The Hillcats dropped game one, 3-1, but responded to take game two, 7-2.
GAME ONE The Bobcats' Christian Vonderheid, who came into the game with a 1.35 ERA, held RSU to only one run and seven hits to get the win for College of the Ozarks. He went the full seven innings and totaled four strikeouts.
College of the Ozarks pulled out to a 3-0 advantage early on. In the third inning, the Bobcats got on the scoreboard after an RBI single to left field plated one run for a 1-0 score. The lead grew to 2-0 after an infield single in the fourth. Also coming in the fourth was the final run on a single to left field.
The Hillcats tried to rally, tallying one run in the sixth, but the comeback fell short in the 3-1 loss.
Tyler Kruse started and went the first four innings. He allowed the three runs on five hits. Kruse started the game with three strikeouts in the first inning and finished with five.
Justin Magstadt went the final three innings and didn't allow a hit with three strikeouts.
GAME TWO The bats came alive in the second game as the Hillcats totaled 16 hits to win 7-2.
Ozarks again gained an early lead as a single through the infield made it 1-0 in the first inning.
RSU responded with runs in the third and fourth innings to go in front 2-1.
Cesar Rodriguez singled up the middle to plate
Jordan Garr for the 1-1 score, and
Caleb Kohlmeyer hit a sac fly in the fourth inning to bring in
Jason Marley for the 2-1 advantage.
After a Bobcat home run tied the score at 2-2, the Hillcats finished with the final five run to pull away for the 7-2 win.
The Hillcats tallied runs in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to cruise to the win. In the sixth inning, Marley doubled to the gap to score
Zack Ashford for a 3-2 edge. Kohlmeyer drove in the second run of the sixth with a single to right center to plate
Colton Crocker for a 4-2 advantage.
Two more runs scored in the seventh inning. Marley singled up the middle to again bring in Ashford. An error allowed Marley to score after Garr reached on the play. The final RSU run scored on a Garrett Hill single to plate
Ismael Orozco.
Michael Fusselman went the first six innings and allowed only one earned run on seven hits.
Josh Eclavea went 1.2 innings, and
Rusty Huber got the save after going the final 1.1 innings with only one hit allowed.
Kohlmeyer went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with two RBI. Morley was 3-for-5 with two RBI, and Hall finished 3-for-5 with one RBI.
The Hillcats (13-4) go on the road for five-straight contests. After a nonconference game at Mid-America Christian on Tuesday (March 8), RSU starts Heartland Conference play next weekend at St. Mary's in San Antonio, Texas.
