CLAREMORE, Okla. – In front of a packed crowd at the Diamond Sports Complex, No. 15 Rogers State failed to put on a show as No. 24-ranked Bacone College drilled the Hillcats 19-5 Monday night.
The Hillcats played host to Sequoyah Elementary students with more than 500 spectators on hand for an evening of baseball.
After allowing one run in the top of the first inning an eight run second inning by the visiting Warriors proved to be too much for the hometown Hillcats to overcome.
Bacone added a trio of runs in the third inning before RSU dented the bottom half of the scoreboard for the first time all game. A two out single by Hector Rivera followed by a Jose Olazagasti double to right-center field put runners in scoring position. Colton Campbell added to his season RBI total with a single scoring Rivera and trimming the Bacone lead to 12-1 after three innings.
The Warriors answered with another five runs in the top of the fourth inning while holding RSU scoreless until the sixth. A leadoff single by Johan Ochoa was followed with a one-out double to right-center by Caleb Kohlmeyer to cut the deficit to 17-2.
The Warriors put a pair of runs up in the top of the seventh before RSU posted three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Hamilton Hernandez led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch and moved to third on a double to deep right-center field by Jean Francois Dumais-Fyfe. A RBI ground out by Andrew Garrison plated Hernandez and advanced Dumais-Fyfe to third. A single by Kohlmeyer to right-center scored Dumais-Fyfe. Three batters later Austin Culwell singled to left scoring Kohlmeyer and cementing the score at 19-5.
Casey Cassity (3-2) received the loss in the start for the Hillcats as he lasted just 1.1 innings giving up six earned runs.
Four Hillcats saw action out of the bullpen including Sean Patton. The Jenks, Okla. native pitched 2.1 innings did not allow a run while fanning four batters.
Matt Durbin (4-0) earned the victory for the Warriors pitching 5.2 innings of work striking out five and allowing just two earned runs.
The Warriors have now outscored opponents 71-25 in its last four games.
Rogers State (29-13) will face NCAA Division II member Northeastern State at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Okla. tomorrow Tuesday, April 16 for a 3 p.m. first pitch. RSU Radio 91.3FM will provide live play-by-play coverage with a simulcast available on www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
