CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State baseball (8-1) claimed the series win taking both games of the doubleheader against Missouri-St. Louis (2-5) on Saturday.
 
GAME 1 – RSU 7, UMSL 2 (7 Innings)
 
The Hillcats started the game hot as they exploded for four runs in the first inning. Gavin Mestas earned a full count walk and later stole second with one out. A groundout to second moved Mestas to third with two outs. Jesse Holguin earned a 3-1 walk to put runners on the corners. Joel Escalante singled to through the left side of the infield to bring in Mestas. Geovanni Blackshaw reached on a throwing error by the third baseman and scored Holguin. Jhonmy Martinez singled to plate Escalante and Blackshaw.
 
RSU added two more runs in the fourth inning to go up 6-0. Jake Mitchell earned a full count walk and then stole second. A Mestas double down the left field line brought in Mitchell. Prescott Horn then singled and scored Mestas.
 
The Hillcats tacked on one final run in the sixth inning to extend the margin to 7-0. AJ Folds reached on a 3-1 walk and then stole second. A dropped third strike put Mestas on and moved Folds to third. Holguin plated Folds with a sacrifice fly to left.
 
The Tritons finally got on the board in the top of the seventh with two runs to cut the lead to 7-2. Both runs scored on a double down the left field line.
 
Giancarlo Cortez (1-0) earned his first win of the season, working 6.2 innings allowing the two runs while scattering four hits with nine strikeouts. Nick Torres (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
 
GAME 2 – RSU 8, UMSL 3
 
In the second game of the day, it was UMSL that got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first. The first run scored on a ground out to the shortstop. The second run scored on a wild pitch.
 
The Hillcats answered in the home half of the first to tie the game at 2-2. AJ Folds led off with a triple off the center field wall and then scored on a throwing error by the catcher on a failed pick off attempt. Gavin Mestas walked on four pitches and then stole second. Prescott Horn was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. A Jesse Holguin single to center loaded the bases with no outs. Mestas scored as Joel Escalante reached on a fielder's choice.
 
RSU took the lead 3-2 with a run in the second inning. Back-to-back walks to Jake Mitchell and Folds led off the frame. Holguin brought in Mitchell with another RBI single.
 
The Hillcats added two more runs in the fourth to push out to a 5-2 lead. Mestas singled to right and then Horn was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. Escalante earned a 3-1 walk to load the bases. Mestas crossed home on a wild pitch. Geovanni Blackshaw earned a seven-pitch walk to reload the bases. Horn scored as Jhonmy Martinez walked on a full count.
 
RSU put up three final runs in the fifth inning to go up 8-2. Gavin Mestas doubled down the left field line and then moved to third on a wild pitch with two outs. Horn earned a 3-1 walk and moved to second on a wild pitch to put runners in scoring position. Another wild pitch brought in Mestas and moved Horn to third. Holguin earned another 3-1 walk and later scored on the fifth wild pitch of the frame.
 
The Tritons got one run back in the top of the eighth to cut the deficit to 8-3. The run scored on a balk with a runner on third.
 
Colton Anderson (1-0) earned his first win of the season working 6.0 shutout innings out of the bullpen, scattering four hits with six strikeouts. Ryan Berry (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
 
The Hillcats will look to take the sweep in the series finale tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.