WICHITA, Kan. – No. 21 Rogers State baseball (10-3, 1-2 MIAA) won the series finale 14-9 in an offensive explosion against Newman (6-7, 2-1 MIAA) on Sunday.
 
The Hillcats struck first taking an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. AJ Folds led of the game with an infield single to the shortstop. Gavin Mestas moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Prescott Horn brought in Folds with a RBI single to left.
 
They added three more runs in the top of the second to push out to 4-0. Geovanni Blackshaw reached first on an error by the shortstop to start the inning and then proceeded to steal second. Carson Cheatwood reached on an error by the pitcher, putting runners at the corners with one out. Ethan Rivera cleared the bases with a two RBI double to center scoring both Blackshaw and Cheatwood. Mestas singled and advanced to second, bringing in Rivera.
 
Newman got a run back in the home half of the frame to cut the lead to 4-1. The run scored from third on a wild pitch.
 
RSU tacked on another run in the fourth to go back up 5-1. Folds walked and then stole second with one out. Mestas was hit by a pitch. Folds stole third as Mestas was caught stealing second for the second out. Horn drove in Folds again with a RBI single, this time to center.
 
The Hillcats expanded their lead to 6-0 in the top of the sixth. Horn reached on a fielder's choice with two outs. Jesse Holguin drove him in with a RBI double down the left field line.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Jets exploded for six runs to take their first lead at 7-6. The first run scored on a wild pitch. The second and third runs scored on bases loaded walks. A bases clearing, three RBI double to center brought in the final three runs of the frame.
 
They pushed across another run in the bottom of the seventh to go up 8-6. The run scored on a RBI single to short.
 
RSU tied the game at 8-8 with two runs in the top of the eighth. Folds singled to left to lead off the frame. Mestas then went yard with a two-run shot over the left field wall.
 
Newman retook the lead 9-8 with a run in the home half of the frame on a solo homer of their own to straight away center.
 
The Hillcats rallied in the top of the ninth to complete the comeback with their own big inning of six runs to claim the 14-9 win. Mitchell Smith singled to left to start the inning, and was pinch run for by Major Due. Cheatwood walked to put runners on first and second. Due advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt while Cheatwood stole second. Jhonmy Martinez plated both runners with a double to left. Folds singled to center to put runners on the corners with no outs, and was pinch run for by Adler Isbell. Mestas launched his second homer of the day to center. Prescott Horn walked and stole second. Jesse Holguin grounded out to the pitcher for the first out of the frame and moved Horn to third. Horn then scored on a Joel Escalante sacrifice bunt for the game's final run.
 
Octavio Sanchez (1-0) earned his first win of the season, working the final 3.2 innings out of the bullpen allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Ian Lecki (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
 
The Hillcats will return to the Diamond Sports Complex on Tuesday, Feb. 28 for a mid-week matchup against Northwestern Oklahoma State. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.