CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State baseball team split a Heartland Conference doubleheader with Texas A&M International on Thursday afternoon at the Diamond Sports Complex.
The Hillcats shutout the Dustdevils in the opener, plating five unanswered runs to earn the win. In the nightcap, fans were on the edge of their seats until the final out as RSU left the bases loaded to end the inning, falling 6-5.
GAME ONE The Hillcats dented the scoreboard in the bottom of the second to take the early advantage.
Trae BoBo led the frame with a full-count walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Chase Knott. BoBo scored on a double belted down the left field line by
Zack Ashford.
Alex Cochran kept the offense alive with two outs, ripping a triple down the right field line, bringing Ashford in to score, pushing RSU's lead to 2-0.
In the fourth, RSU added to its advantage with a RBI single placed in shallow left by
Garrett Hall.
RSU pushed the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of runs. Kohlmeyer got the inning started with a one-out single to left field. With two outs and runners on the corners,
Andrew Vanisi stole second and BoBo followed with a two-RBI double down the left field line.
Mason Marquette (4-4) went the distance on the mound for the Hillcats, earning the complete-game shutout. The senior southpaw scattered six hits and fanned four batters in the victory.
BoBo led the charge for the RSU offense, going 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored in the opener.
GAME TWO RSU took an early lead in the finale but had to battle to a late-inning rally that fell short.
The Hillcats used a two-out rally to take the lead in the nightcap. Rodriguez reached on an error with two outs and Vanisi followed with a two-run home run smashed over the left field fence.
A four-run top of the fifth gave the Dustdevils the lead. Connor Belvin put TAMIU on the board with a RBI single and Erasmo Gonzalez gave the Dustdevils the lead with a three-run home run. The round trip was initially ruled a triple, but the umpires declared it a home run after deliberation.
The Hillcats threatened in the bottom of the sixth but couldn't produce a run. In the top of the seventh, TAMIU looked to increase its lead with runners on first and second.
Edward Layton came in the game in relief for RSU and registered a quick out. Alexander Cabezas followed with a two-out single, but the Hillcats ended the inning unscathed as Belvin was tagged out at home to ending the threat.
The Dustdevils extended their lead to 6-2 in the top of the eighth with a pair of runs on three hits.
RSU battled back to cut the deficit in the bottom of the eighth as Vanisi blasted his second two-run home run of the game to shrink the TAMIU lead, 6-4.
In the bottom of the ninth,
Garrett Hall led off the inning with a walk and
Blake Heston came in to pinch run. Heston advanced to second on a wild pitch and Cochran reached on an error to put the winning run at the plate. With one out, Kohlmeyer singled to load the bases and Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to drive in a run. However, TAMIU was able to escape with the win retiring the next two batters.
Michael Fusselman (2-4) was tagged with the loss for RSU, allowing four runs on four hits in 6.1 innings of work.
Jared Curnel (2-1) earned the win, allowing two unearned runs on seven hits.
Rogers State (11-19, 3-11 HC) will complete the series with TAMIU Friday at the Diamond Sports Complex. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
