Oklahoma Baptist rallied from a 7-1 deficit to defeat Rogers State 13-7 at Bison Field in Shawnee on Tuesday.
The game got off to a promising start for RSU as Todd Koscheski belted his fifth homer of the season in the top of the second inning to put the Hillcats on top, 1-0. RSU added another run in the second and five more in the third to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Koscheski keyed the third-inning with a two RBI single to right field.
However, timely hitting coupled with six walks issued by Hillcat pitching allowed the Bison to climb their way back and eventually take a 10-7 advantage after five innings. RSU starter Brent Hill was relieved in the bottom of the fourth inning after giving up back-to-back bases loaded walks. Lefty Dusty Carriger came on in relief of Hill and allowed another bases loaded walk before finally getting out of the inning with the Hillcats still clinging to a 7-6 lead.
OBU roughed up Carriger for four more runs in the fifth to take the lead. The Bison scored in every inning after the first and finished with 13 runs on 14 hits before the game was called due to darkness in the eighth. Chris Cox and Josh LaTour had four hits a piece for OBU. Ryan Littlejohn and Koscheski tallied multi-hit games for the Hillcats.
Carriger (5-5) suffered the loss for RSU in relief. Jordan McAvitt (2-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen for OBU. Coach Ron Bradley’s club fell to 23-19 with the loss and will look to rebound on Saturday when RSU hosts Hillsdale Baptist College at the Hillcat Complex. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.