WICHITA, Kan. – After falling in game one, the Rogers State baseball team responded with an 11-5 victory in game two to split a doubleheader at Newman on Friday (April 27) at McCarthy Field. RSU dropped game one, 4-3, as the Jets rallied with two late runs.
NU 4, RSU 3
The Hillcats (23-21, 9-13 Heartland) opened up 3-0 edge in game one, but the Jets rallied to win 4-3 with the game-winning tally in the sixth inning.
With the score tied at 3-3, Channing Williams of Newman doubled down the line to score Jake Hanson in the sixth inning for the 4-3 advantage.
RSU scored the first three runs of the game to open up a 3-0 margin after two and a half innings. In the first,
Brendan Griffith started the scoring with a double to plate
Blake Chiaramonte.
Grant Farris drove in Griffith with a single to the gap in left to increase the score to 2-0. Senior
Bradley Degnan pushed the edge to 3-0 with a solo home run to right in the third inning.
The Jets began the comeback in the third inning with two runs on a Paul Rupnik single to left. The score drew even in the fifth inning due to an error in centerfield that allowed Clay Druin to come home for the 3-3 tie.
Farris finished 2-for-3 with one RBI. Chiaramonte was 2-for-3 with one run scored.
Senior
Tim Luce pitched 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and four runs allowed on five hits.
Brock Knoten came in for 1.0 inning of relief.
RSU 11, NU 5
The navy and red poured on five runs in the seventh inning to help the team pull away late for the 11-5 victory in game two.
Senior
Brooks Douglass was outstanding at the plate in the nightcap, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored from the ninth spot in the lineup.
With the score tied 1-1 in the second inning, Douglass gave the Cats a 2-1 advantage, a lead RSU didn't relinquished for the rest of the game, with a single to right to score
Garrett Hall. Chiaramonte opened the scoring in game two with a double down the line to plate
Zack Mann in the first inning.
Douglass knocked out a solo home run in the fourth inning to extend the score to 4-2. Mann made it 5-2 when he hit a single up the middle in the sixth inning.
After the Jets cut the deficit to one at 5-4, the visiting Cats put up five runs in the seventh inning to pull away for the win. Douglass drove in two runs with a double to the gap in right. A wild pitch made it 8-4. With the bases loaded, a walk by Chiaramonte and a hit by pitch by Farris scored two more runs for the 10-4 score. Hall added RSU's final run in the ninth on a single up the middle.
Preston Whitten earned his second straight win, going 5.2 innings with one strikeout and four runs allowed on eight hits.
AJ Deason came in for the final 3.1 innings with one run given up on four hits.
Mann went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Chiaramonte registered a 2-for-4 performance with two RBI.
The four-game series ends on Saturday (April 28) with two games starting at 12 p.m. at McCarthy Field. Video streaming, live audio and live stats will be available for both contests.
