CLAREMORE, Okla. - A night after putting together its biggest offensive numbers of the season, Rogers State showed it can win playing "small ball" too.
 

The Hillcats edged Bacone College, 3-2 in a tight game despite wet and soggy conditions at the Hillcat Complex Wednesday night. The two teams combined for five runs and just 12 hits after an 18-13 slugfest broke out Tuesday in Muskogee.
 

It looked as if Wednesday would be another offensive showcase early as Bacone's Joel Torres homered in the top of the first inning to put the Warriors in front, 1-0. RSU answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to claim a 2-1 advantage. Brandon Denton reached on an error to start the inning and went to third on a double by Ryan Littlejohn. Blake Kelly and Zach Hamby followed with RBI groundouts to give Hillcat starter Tyler Whitaker the lead.
 

Whitaker (3-2) responded by turning in his best performance of the season. The junior right-hander tossed six solid innings and allowed just one run on five hits while striking out five.
 

The Hillcats added an important insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Ryan Salsbury ripped a one-out double down the right field line and scored on a pinch-hit single by Randy Jones. It would prove to be the winning run of the ball game.
 

Torres drew a one out walk from RSU reliever Brett Trzcinski in the eighth and scored on a double by Julian Alvarez to cut the lead to one. Trzcinski kept the lead intact by striking out Victor Alicea and getting Jeremy Carey to fly out to end the inning. D.J. Thompson pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to record his first save of the season.
 

Dan Wheeler (3-1) took the loss for the Warriors who fell to 31-10 with back-to-back losses to the Hillcats. Denton went 2-for-4 for RSU and tallied six hits in the two-game series.
 

Rogers State (21-11) won its third straight game and is 5-1 in its last six contests against teams receiving votes in the NAIA national polls. The Hillcats will travel to Shawnee Thursday to resume conference play against St. Gregory's. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.