SHAWNEE, Okla. - After winning the series opener at Hillcat Complex, the Rogers State baseball team came up short on Saturday afternoon as Oklahoma Baptist won the series by sweeping the twin bill at Ford Park in Shawnee, Okla.
The Hillcats rallied to score seven runs in the top of the fifth to tie the score 7-7 but OBU first baseman Daniel Baptista ended the game with a leadoff home run as the Bison walked-off with the 8-7 win. OBU carried the momentum into the nightcap as it registered a 20-11 victory to take the series.
GAME ONE
Baptista started the scoring for the Bison as he led off the second with a solo shot. A RBI singles by Yael Colon and a RBI double by Greg Nelson kept the offense going. Colon scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Sliger and Dillon Usiak rounded out the scoring with an RBI single to center, giving OBU a 5-0 lead.
OBU struck again in the fourth with a lead off homer by Colon and a RBI single by Daniel Howell.
The Hillcats battled their way back into the game with three long balls in the fifth frame. Keith Poverud led off the inning with a single and Emmanuel De La Cruz followed with a two-run homer over the center field fence. Hector Rivera singled to right field and Colton Campbell sent him home with a two-run blast. Cade McKewon followed with a three-run blast over the center field fence to knot the score 7-7.
After a scoreless sixth, the Hillcats loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh. The Cats were unable to convert a run in the inning.
The Bison made RSU pay in the bottom of the inning as Baptista belted a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh as OBU walked off with the win.
Kyle Duncan (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season as he tossed 4.2 innings while allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
GAME TWO
The Hillcats started the game on the right foot with four runs in the top of the first. A wild pitch by Jonathan Christensen sent Colton Campbell home to ignite the scoring for RSU. Cody Campbell followed with an RBI single and Randy Ramirez capped off the scoring with a two-run homer.
The Hillcats made it a 5-0 game in the top of the second with the help of an OBU error that allowed Poverud score after leading off the inning with a single to center field.
Mitchell Prophet put the Bison on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second with a two-RBI double to right field.
Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly to center field in the third while Alex Cochran scored on an OBU error to take a 7-2 lead.
The Hillcats took over in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs and cut the RSU lead to one run with a pair of runs in the fourth.
The Bison took a big lead in the fifth with nine runs on eight hits. The Hillcats responded with four runs in the top of the sixth but the Bison put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the inning, winning 20-11.
Brandon Bargas suffered the loss for the Hillcats as he allowed 10 runs, nine earned, on 10 hits with five strikeouts.
Rogers State (25-7) returns to the diamond on Thursday as the Cats travel to Chickasha, Okla. to take on USAO. The Hillcats were slated to take on Bacone at Hillcat Complex on Tuesday by the contest was postponed due to severe weather.
