ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — No. 9 Rogers State Baseball (37-11, 25-9 MIAA) suffered a 10-2 defeat in the series-opener at Missouri Western (25-22, 18-16 MIAA) on Thursday at the MWSU Spring Sports Complex.
Rogers State managed just three hits, including a double and a triple, while Missouri Western hit three home runs in its offensive display.
MoWest took an early lead in the first inning with an RBI single by Seth Winkler, bringing Micah Kobuszewski home after his steal to second.
In the second inning, Luke Shannahan extended the lead with a solo home run, making it 2-0 in favor of Missouri Western.
The third inning saw a three-run homer by Miguel Cantu, scoring Jordan Austin and Kobuszewski. This increased the Griffons' lead to 5-0 after three innings.
Rogers State got on the board in the fifth inning with
Nathan Gutierrez's RBI triple to center field, allowing
Kade Goeke to score, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
Missouri Western scored three more runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Winkler, bringing the score to 8-1 after seven innings.
In the eighth inning,
Andrew Ramirez hit an RBI double, scoring Gutierrez for RSU. However, the Griffons followed with two runs in the bottom half, increasing their lead to 10-2 that would stand until the final out.
Zach Horwith (5-3) made his 12th start for RSU and pitched 2.0 innings, allowing five earned runs on four hits, with three walks and one strikeout. Damon Anderson Wolf relieved Horwith, throwing 5.0 innings and surrendering three runs on six hits, while striking out three and walking one.
Christian Estep closed out the game, pitching 1.0 inning and giving up two runs on three hits with a walk.
Gutierrez contributed with one hit, his third triple of the season, driving in a run and scoring once himself. Ramirez added to the offense by hitting a double, scoring once, and collecting an RBI.
Trevor Spainhoward excelled defensively by catching two runners attempting to steal.
The Hillcats and Griffons will run it back tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. in St. Joseph, Missouri.
