BETHANY, Okla. - The Rogers State baseball team won its eighth straight game on Thursday afternoon as it blasted Sooner Athletic Conference opponent Southern Nazarene 11-2 at Cypert Athletic Complex in Bethany.
The Hillcats led from start to finish as they posted runs in all but two innings.
RSU came out swinging with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Cody Campbell drove in both run with a single up the middle.
After a scoreless second inning, RSU tacked on two more runs in the third. Brandt Barnes led off the inning with a walk and Jairo Valdez followed with a single. A double steal put both runners in scoring position. Barnes scored on a wild pitch and Valdez crossed home plate with a sacrifice fly by Randy Ramirez.
The Crimson Storm cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning as they answered with two runs. Colton Campbell got one run back in the top of the fourth with a leadoff home run over the left field fence.
Junior Lance Rymel added to the advantage in the sixth as he belted a two-out solo shot over the fence in left field.
Coach Ron Bradley's squad put the game on ice as they plated runs in each of the next three innings. Senior Colton West led off the seventh with a walk and scored on an error by the right fielder. Ramirez reached on a single and score on a double by Colton Campbell to push the lead to 8-2.
In the eighth, Barnes singled to left field and stole second. Valdez followed with a single up the middle to send Barnes across home plate.
Colton Campbell ended the scoring for the Cats in the top of the ninth with his second leadoff homer of the afternoon.
Senior Grant Cosby registered the win on the mound for the Hillcats. The Fayetteville, Ark. native tossed seven innings and allowed two runs on three hits while fanning a season-high 12 batters. Mario Mena tossed the scoreless eighth and Zach Williams closed out the ninth.
Rogers State (38-10, 16-8) will complete the series with SNU on Saturday at Hillcat Complex. The twin bill is set to start at 1 p.m. and the Diamond Cats will honor seven seniors prior to first pitch. The game will be broadcast live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on www.rsuhillcats.com.
