EDMOND, Okla. — No. 9 Rogers State Baseball (38-13) fell to Missouri Western (28-23) with a final score of 9–5 on Thursday in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals at Wendell Simmons Field.
Missouri Western opened the scoring in the first inning with two runs. Seth Winkler's single to left field brought home Micah Kobuszewski and Jordan Austin, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead.
RSU responded in the third inning when
Blake Conrad (3) homered to center field, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
In the fourth inning, after the Griffons added a run in the top half,
Andrew Ramirez hit his seventh homer of the season to left field, cutting the deficit back to a run at 3-2.
Both teams scored in the fifth inning. The Cats' saw Conrad score on a double by
Luis Fuentes, bringing the score to 4-3 in favor of Missouri Western.
The sixth inning was a key turning point, as the Griffons tallied four runs, including home runs by David De Hoyos, Luke Parmentier, and Micah Kobuszewski, extending their lead to 8-4. The Hillcats added one run in the bottom half when Ramirez scored on
Jake Mitchell's sacrifice fly, narrowing the gap to 8-4.
In the eighth inning, Missouri Western added a run with Jordan Austin's RBI single, making it 9-4. RSU answered with
Zak Nelson's triple and
Andres Contreras' RBI groundout, but it was not enough as MoWest held on for the 9-5 win.
Dillon Dibrell (8-3) made his 14th start of the season, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing three earned runs on seven hits and striking out one batter.
Elijah Knowlton provided relief with a solid performance, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing only one earned run on five hits, striking out four batters.
Ramirez contributed with a home run and scored two runs, driving in one with a walk. Conrad also hit a home run, adding one RBI and scoring twice. Nelson recorded a triple and crossed the plate once.
RSU will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday at 9 p.m. Stay tuned to
Rogers State University Athletics - Official Athletics Website for announcements and watch party information.
