OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Rogers State softball team used strong hitting to roll to two road wins at Mid-America Christian on Thursday (Feb. 9) at Jack Allen Field. The Hillcats were victorious by the scores of 9-2 and 14-2, totaling 30 hits, to win four straight games dating back to the second day of the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational.
Rogers State 9, Mid-America Christian 2
The navy and red poured on six runs in the first two innings of game one to pull away for the 9-2 victory.
Freshman
De'Leigh Emarthle started the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning to put the Cats up 1-0 early. Senior
Morgen Blanchard continued the hot hitting with a grand slam home run in the second inning to give the navy and red a 6-0 advantage.
In the fifth inning,
Arika Araujo added a run with an RBI single to left. MACU plated its first run with a triple to right for an 8-1 score.
The Hillcats got their final run of the game on a
Taylor Santistevan RBI single in the seventh inning for the 9-2 final score.
Megan Rosewell started in the circle, going the first 5.0 innings and allowing only one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts.
Edie Fairchild pitched 2.0 innings of relief and allowed only three hits and one run.
For the game, RSU totaled 11 hits.
Harli Wheeler went 3-for-3 with two runs scores from the nine spot. Blanchard finished 2-for-4 with four RBI, and Santistevan was 2-for-4 with one RBI.
Rogers State 14, Mid-America Christian 2
The bats were even better in the nightcap as the Cats totaled 14 runs on 19 hits in only five innings due to the run rule.
Kayla Patterson continued her fast start to the season with a two-run home run to right in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. In the second inning, the Cats added three more runs for a 5-0 score. Wheeler singled to center to score the first run of the second. A wild pitch allowed Gamble to come home from third for a 4-0 margin. Blanchard singled to plate Wheeler to make the score 5-0 after two innings.
RSU continued to produce runs with eight in the third inning to open up a 13-0 advantage. Two runs scored on a Wheeler single to left field. Blanchard doubled to bring home three runs, and Patterson added her second homer, this time a three-run shot, to put the Cats up 13-0.
The final run from the Cats came in the fifth inning on a
Megan Scott single to make it 14-0.
MACU put up two runs in the fifth inning for the 14-2 final margin.
Ten Hillcats posted hits in the victory, including eight multi-hit performances. Blanchard went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Patterson finished 2-for-3 with five RBI.
Rosewell picked up her second win of the doubleheader in the circle, totaling 3.1 innings in the nightcap. She allowed only one hit with five strikeouts. Fairchild came in for the final 1.2 innings.
The Hillcats (4-2) return to action next weekend at the UAM 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. RSU plays six games from Friday to Sunday, starting with Nebraska Kearney and host Arkansas Monticello on Friday. Live stats will be available for each of the six contests.
