CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State baseball team rallied in the bottom of the 10th inning for two runs pulling off a dramatic, 3-2 victory over Oklahoma Christian Sunday afternoon at the Diamond Sports Complex.
 
Ismael Orozco drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home the tying run in extra innings before a wild pitch allowed Caleb Kohlmeyer to cross home plate for the game winner running into a mob of Hillcats near the dugout in celebration.
 
In what was a tightly-contested affair from start to finish, RSU avoided the series sweep defeating the Eagles behind an impressive pitching performance from starter Michael Fusselman. The senior threw a season-high eight innings giving up just an unearned run on four hits and kept OC off balance all afternoon.
 
The Hillcats got back-to-back walks to Jordan Garr and Kohlmeyer opening the first inning against Eagles' starter Jared Sterling before a Cesar Rodriguez sacrifice bunt. Orozco stepped to the plate and ripped a one-out, RBI single plating the first run of the game giving the Cats an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Eagles answered back posting an unearned run in the top of the second as Kyle Lacy hit a one-out single and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ben McKenzie evening the score, 1-1.
 
The starting pitchers for both sides took over from that point keeping the opposition off the scoreboard as neither team was able to put more than one runner on base until the ninth inning.
 
Rusty Huber entered the game in the ninth in relief of Fusselman and walked the first batter before the second reached on an error. The Eagles moved the runners up on a sac bunt before Huber struck out former MLB draft pick Alex Polston and then issued an intentional walk to load the bases. Huber and the Hillcats escaped the inning unscathed as he forced a fly ball into right field where Zack Ashford was waiting.
 
OC threatened again in the 10th inning, but this time scored a run on a single by Lacy with the bases loaded, his third hit of the game, to take its first lead of the day, 2-1. The Eagles nearly added another run before the defense threw out a runner at home ending inning leading to the dramatic finish.
 
Ashford led the bottom of the 10th singling through the right side of the infield before exiting to pinch runner Colton Crocker. Kohlmeyer delivered a one-out single and Rodriguez followed by loading the bases hitting his second single of the contest. Orozco brought one run home drawing a full-count walk tying the score, 2-2. The first pitch to Chris Miguel bounced off home plate and high off the backstop netting as Kohlmeyer raced home for the winning run, 3-2.
 
Rodriguez was the only RSU player with a multi-hit effort as seven different players recorded a hit in the victory. Orozco picked up the only two RBI for the Cats offensively and it was Huber earning his first win of the season allowing one unearned run in two innings of work.
 
The Hillcats (16-8 overall, 3-3 HC) are back on the field with a Heartland Conference series at nationally-ranked and league preseason favorite, St. Edward's, for a three-game series starting March 24.