CLEBURNE, Texas – The Rogers State Baseball team picked up a split on day two of the Alpine Fresh 4-Him Classic hosted at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
The Hillcats defeated Southern Nazarene in the first game of the day 14-3 before falling to Colorado Christian 7-3 in the pool play finale.
How It Happened (Game 1): The Hillcats blew the game open with a nine-run second inning. The scoring started when
Victor Ceniceros reached on a fielder's choice and
Grant Ruthenberg and
Cameron Castaneda scored on a throwing error.
Three batters later, with the bases loaded,
Nick Follett continued his hot start to the season with a RBI single to right, scoring Ceniceros.
Brandon Bradshaw followed it up with an infield single to the shortstop, allowing
Christian Merriwether to score. Castaneda then stepped back up for the second time in the inning and hit a two-RBI single to score
Mason Harvey and Follett.
Ruthenberg then singled to center, scoring Bradshaw. The Hillcats then executed a double steal, as Ruthenberg stole second and Castaneda advanced home from third.
Dylan Russell capped off the inning by singling home Ruthenberg to put RSU ahead 9-0.
In the third inning,
Kyle Simms roped a bases loaded double to the gap in right center, scoring Harvey and Follett. Castaneda then hit a sacrifice fly to score Bradshaw and Russell followed it up with a single to score Simms, making it 13-0.
Southern Nazarene would break up the scoreless start to
Nick Marinac's Rogers State debut in the fourth inning. The Crimson Storm would score twice in the inning.
Harvey wrapped up the scoring for the Hillcats with a double to left center in the fifth inning, bringing around Ceniceros for run 14 of the game.
Southern Nazarene would add one more run in the sixth inning.
With an 11-run lead after 6.5 innings, the Hillcats clinched the run-rule victory.
How It Happened (Game 2): The Hillcats took the lead in the top of the first inning with a double down the left field line from Follett to score Harvey.
However, the Hillcats would go scoreless over the next seven innings.
Colorado Christian took the lead in the second inning, plating three runs on a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly.
In the third inning,
Brett Karalius would give up his first collegiate home run, as the Cougars extended their lead to 4-1.
Colorado Christian would add three more insurance runs in the eighth inning before Follett capped off the scoring in the game with a two-run homerun to left, bring around Harvey on the Hillcats first homerun of the season.
Players of Note: Follett finished the day going 6-for-8 at the plate with a home run and a double. The senior also had a walk and drove in four runs while scoring three more.
Harvey was 4-for-8 at the plate and added two walks. He had a double, a RBI and four runs scored.
Bradshaw was also .500 at the plate, going 3-for-6 with two runs scored. The senior also had a pair of walks and was also hit by two pitches.
Marinac picked up the win in game one, going 5.1 innings. Marinac allowed three runs on five hits, but also had six strikeouts.
Karalius finished with the loss in game two. He allowed four runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Key Statistics: In game one, the Hillcats scored seven runs with two outs and did not allow a run defensively with two outs in an inning.
In game two, the Hillcats stranded 11 base runners to just four from Colorado Christian.
Notes: Follett extended his hit streak to nine-consecutive games, dating back to the Heartland Conference Tournament last season, which was also played at The Depot.
Follett has recorded at least two hits in every game this season. He now has 26 career multi-hit games during his time at Rogers State.
Harvey has recorded a hit in all three games this season, extending his hit streak to five games overall.
Rogers State improved to 15-13 all-time against Southern Nazarene with the win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools at a neutral site.
The Hillcats fell to 6-3 against Colorado Christian.
What It Means: With the loss in game two, the Hillcats wrap up pool play in second place in group A at 2-1. Rogers State will take on the second-place finisher in Group B, Newman, in the final game of the weekend.
Up Next: Rogers State will wrap up the 2020 Alpine Fresh 4-Him Classic Sunday morning at The Depot at Cleburne Station, taking on the Newman. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.
