CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State baseball (22-16, 12-14 MIAA) earned a gritty 7-5 win over Central Oklahoma (29-12, 19-10 MIAA) in a hard fought battle on Tuesday.
"That was one we needed in a bad way," said head coach Chris Klimas. "I told our guys after the Pitt State game on Sunday, we need something good to happen to us to get to feeling good again. I think we were starting to press a little bit and trying to do too much. I told our staff before the game, today's one of those games where we need to hit some balls that find some holes because we really haven't caught any breaks. Then in the eighth, Romero hits that one in the hole at short to bring in the winning runs and that was exactly what we needed."
The Bronchos got on the board early in the first inning with a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly to center.
The Hillcats answered back in the second to tie things at 1-1. Jackson Romero laced a ball through the left side of the infield for a one-out single and moved to second on a Jake Mitchell fly out to left. Luis Fuentes drove him in with a single to center.
In the top of the fifth, UCO went back in front 2-0 with an RBI double to left center.
Again, RSU leveled things at 2-2 in the sixth beginning with a leadoff double down the left field line from Blake Nichols. Romero put runners on the corners with another single through the left side of the infield. Later in the inning, Nichols crossed home on a Fuentes ground out to short.
The Bronchos put up another run in the seventh to go back up 3-2 off an RBI single up the middle. However, the Hillcats would not be denied in the bottom half as Nichols drove in Andrew Ramirez with a single through the right side of the infield to knot things at 3-3.
In the top of the eighth, an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to center gave UCO a 5-3 advantage.
In the home half of the frame, Carson Cheatwood got on with a one-out, four-pitch walk. Tyler Nelson followed suit, earning a seven-pitch walk. On a 2-1 count, Ramirez blasted a double into right center, scoring Cheatwood and Nelson for a 5-5 tie. Back-to-back walks of Weston Peninger and Nichols loaded the bases with two outs. Romero came up big with his fourth hit of the day, a single through the left side of the infield, and brought in Ramirez and Peninger to secure the 7-5 comeback win.
Landon Riley (3-2) earned the win with 2.0 hitless innings in relief and three strikeouts. Cole Abbott was also solid in his 6.2-inning start, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Chase Yarger (3-1) took the loss.
The Hillcats will be back in action on Thursday, April 17 as the open a three-game series against Missouri Western on Roosa Elementary and Cherokee Nation Day at RCB Bank Sports Complex. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.
