CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State baseball team opened its home slate with a doubleheader sweep over Baker (Kan.) on Saturday afternoon at the Diamond Sports Complex.
In game one, the Hillcats had to battle back to register a 5-3 come-from- behind victory over the Wildcats. In the nightcap, RSU pounded out 15 hits in route to a 12-2 run-rule victory in eight innings.
Game One
The Hillcats staged a comeback victory in the seven-inning opener. The Wildcats took the early advantage with two runs in the first inning of the game and increased their lead with one run in the third.
The Hillcats evened the score in the bottom of the third frame. Chase Knott got the scoring started with a two RBI double down the left field line. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error to tie the game. RSU took its first lead of the game in the fifth with the help of an error by the Wildcats. Alex Cochran gave the Hillcats an insurance run with a two-out RBI single in the sixth.
After giving up runs in the first and second inning, the Hillcats held Baker scoreless over the final five innings. Jesse Baird (2-0) registered the win on the mound, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with five strikeouts. Edward Layton secured the win and earned his first save of the season as he faced the minimum in the seventh with one strikeout.
Cochran went 3-for-3 in the game with two runs scored and one RBI to lead RSU. Ryan Hendricks was the only other Hillcat with a multiple hit game, going 2-for-3.
RSU has won four-straight home openers. With the win, the Hillcats moved to 6-2 all-time in home openers.
Game Two
The Hillcats took control early in the nightcap, scoring nine runs in the first three innings of the game en route to a 12-2 run-rule.
After a scoreless first inning, RSU dented the scoreboard with an RBI single by Logan Palmer that drove in Caleb Kohlmeyer, who led off the inning with a single up the middle. The lead was short-lived as the Wildcats answered in the top of the third with a two-out RBI single by Ryan Terstriep.
Joe Crow ignited an eight-run third inning for the Hillcats with a leadoff double off the left field wall. Chase Knott put RSU back in the lead with a RBI single to center field. Two Wildcat errors allowed RSU to tact two runs to its lead. Blake Gipson tallied a two RBI double in the right-center field gap, Ryan Hendricks registered a RBI bunt single and Austin Cullwell belted a RBI triple to keep the momentum going. The Hillcats batted around in the inning and Crow capped the scoring with RBI single.
RSU continued to add to its lead, tallying a run in both the fourth and fifth innings. Baker posted one run in the sixth but RSU ended the game early in the eighth with a walk-off single by Logan Palmer.
T.J. Law (1-1) tallied the win on the mound for the Hillcats, allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in six innings of work. Kyle Deaton closed out the contest with two scoreless innings of work while fanning one.
Crow led the Hillcats, going 4-for-4 from the plate with one RBI and two runs scored. Palmer drove in three runs in the game on two hits.
Rogers State (4-1) returns to action on Sunday as the Hillcats close out the four-game series against Baker with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
