AUSTIN, Texas – The Rogers State baseball team opened a four-game series at St. Edward's with a doubleheader split on Friday (April 6) at Lucian-Hamilton Field. After a 4-1 loss in game one, the Hillcats (18-14, 4-6 Heartland) responded with a 10-6 victory in game two.
 
SEU 4, RSU 1
 
The Hilltoppers turned in three runs, all on home runs, in the sixth inning to pull away late for a 4-1 victory in game one.
 
With the game tied at 1-1 heading into the sixth inning, SEU hit a lead-off solo home run to gain a 2-1 edge. After a double, another homer -- this time a two-run shot to left -- extended the margin to 4-1.
 
The contest was a pitching duel early with the first run of the game being scored in the fifth inning when the Hillcats went up 1-0. After a double to the gap in left by Brendan Griffith opened the inning, Garrett Hall drove in the first run of the contest with a double to left center to score Griffith for the 1-0 edge.
 
St. Edward's tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single to left.
 
Tim Luce earned the start and went 5.1 innings. He allowed three earned runs in the sixth inning on the two home runs. The senior registered six strikeouts.
 
Juan Cortina and Jake Davis of SEU limited the Hillcats to only three hits in the seven inning game. Cortina went 5.1 innings with nine strikeouts and three hits given up. Davis finished the game with 1.2 innings and two strikeouts.
 
RSU 10, SEU 6
 
The Hillcats used a seven-run seventh inning to top the Hilltoppers, 10-6, in game two of the doubleheader.
 
With the navy and red already up 3-2, the Cats poured on seven runs in the seventh inning to increase the margin to 10-2. Hall started the scoring in the inning with an RBI single and an error allowed another run for a 5-2 score. Matt Seubert drove in one run with a single to right for a 6-2 lead.
 
Bradley Degnan put the next three runs on the scoreboard with a three-run homer to right to make it 9-2. Brooks Douglass concluded the scoring in the inning with a single up the middle.
 
SEU scored four late runs, but came up short in the 10-6 game.
 
After allowing two runs in the first inning, RSU tallied one run in the third on a Grant Farris RBI double to left center to score Zack Mann.
 
Mann evened the score at 2-2 with a sac fly in the fourth inning. A wild pitch allowed Seubert to score to give the navy and red a 3-2 advantage.
 
Senior Spencer Bivens moved to 6-2 on the season, going 6.2 innings on the mound. Bivens totaled three strikeouts with only one earned run and nine hits allowed. Landon Nealon and Brock Knoten pitched in relief.
 
Hall went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored. Mann went 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Degnan paced the Cats with three RBI with the home run. Seven Hillcats posted hits in game two.
 
The Hillcats and Hilltoppers end the four-game series tomorrow at 12 p.m. in Austin, Texas. Live stats and video streaming will be available.