CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State baseball team claimed sole position of third place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with a doubleheader sweep over Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon at the Hillcat Complex.

The Diamond Cats completed the three-game sweep in dramatic fashion with a pair of come from behind victories. A RBI single by senior Brandt Barnes in the ninth inning gave the Hillcats a 4-3 walk-off victory in the opener. In the nightcap, senior Colton West led off the fifth with a triple and scored the go ahead run on a sacrifice fly sophomore Cody Campbell. RSU added a pair of runs in the sixth to complete the 8-5 victory and sweep the series.

GAME ONE

It took extra innings for the Hillcats to register the series victory.  In the ninth inning, senior Jairo Valdez reached base after being hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position with the help of a pass ball.  Barnes followed with a single to centerfield that sent Valdez home and gave the Cats the 4-3 win.

SNU jumped out to an early lead in the fourth inning. Ryan Williams led off the inning with a double and Alex Hill followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Derek Glenn tripled to right field allowing both runners to score.  Glen scored on a bobble by shortstop Randy Ramirez to give the storm a 3-0 advantage.

RSU battled back in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of triples. Barnes led off the inning with a triple to deep right-center field. Cade McKewon followed with a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Barnes to score and put the Cats on the board. West singled and Ramirez walked to put the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs. Cody Campbell delivered a triple to left field and knotted the score 3-3.

Matt Sample (1-0) retired the final two batters in the ninth to record the win. Starter Jim Miner tossed three and two third innings and allowed three runs, two earned on five hits with two strikeouts. Junior Eric Faust relieved Miner and pitched four and two third scoreless innings, allowing four hits while fanning five.

GAME TWO

RSU took an early lead however, the Crimson Storm fought back and the Cats earned a come from behind victory to complete the sweep over SNU in the nightcap.

Barnes led off the first with a single. McKewon and West followed with back-to-back walked to load the bases. Ramirez belted a two RBI double to deep left field to give the Cats the early advantage.

The Storm rallied in the top of the second to score four runs.  With bases loaded and one out Senior Jordan Clark ran into some trouble. The right-handed hurler walked in back-to-back runs before Drew Taylor relieved him. Derek Glenn hit an RBI single and Chase Glaum drove in a run with a fielder's choice ground out.

After a scoreless third, SNU tacked on a run in the top of the fourth. RSU tied the contest in the bottom half of the inning as the plated three runs. With runners on second and third, senior Joe Manbodh greeted reliever Jake Bidleman with a single to deep centerfield that allowed both runners to score. Junior Taylor Estes came in to courtesy run for Manbodh, stealing second and reaching third on an error. A ground out by Barnes sent Estes across home plate.

West led off the fifth with a stand-up triple blast off the wall in centerfield. He scored the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly hit to deep right field by Cody Campbell.

RSU added some of insurance runs in the sixth with a two-run homer by Barnes. The home run was the Bentonville, Ark. native's seventh of the season. With the blast, Barnes broke the single-season record for hits with 68. Zach Hamby previously owned the record with 67 hits during the 2009 season. Barnes tallied five hits on the day with four RBI and three runs scored.

Freshman Tyler Brown (6-0) shut down the Storm in the final three and two third innings. The Berryhill, Okla. native held SNU scoreless and gave up just one hit with three strikeouts.

Rogers State (41-10, 19-8) will return to action on Thursday for its final series of the regular season as it hosts No. 3 Oklahoma City at Hillcat Complex. The game is slated to start at 6 p.m. and will be carried live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on www.rsuhillcats.com. The teams will finish the three-game series on Saturday at Oklahoma City with a twin bill starting at 2 p.m.