Cold and windy conditions in Springfield, Mo., made for a tough afternoon for Rogers State as the Hillcats dropped a doubleheader to Evangel University on the road Thursday.
Dusty Carriger (5-4) took the loss in Game 1 despite a solid effort by the junior left-hander. Carriger tossed a six-inning complete game and allowed four runs, three earned, while scattering six hits and striking out six. The Hillcats took a 1-0 lead in the first when Jake Brumble walked and scored on a single to left by Eric Bunch. Evangel gained a 2-1 advantage with single runs in the second and third innings. RSU re-tied the game with a run in the fourth as Blake Hollingsworth singled and scored on a base hit by Zack Bacon. Evangel surged back ahead for good with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth and held the RSU bats in-check the rest of the way for a 4-2 victory.
Starter Chris Gerleman picked up the win for Evangel with six innings of work. Seth Thompson pitched the seventh to earn the save for Crusaders.
The Hillcats trailed 2-0 entering the fourth inning of Game 2 when they put together a four-run rally with five hits. However, the Crusaders answered with eight runs in their half of the fourth inning, sending 13 hitters to the plate. RSU used three pitchers before finally escaping the inning and never recovered. The Hillcats plated three more runs in the top of the fifth, but Evangel answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the inning to reach the final margin, 13-7. John Vaughn paced the Hillcats offensively, going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Littlejohn, Bacon, and Blake Hollingsworth tallied three hits a piece in the doubleheader. Starter Bryan Hollenbeck (4-3) suffered the loss for RSU. Zach Farmer earned the win for the Crusaders.
Coach Ron Bradley’s club fell to 23-18 with the losses. The Hillcats will have the weekend off before traveling to Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday, April 10. The nine inning contest will be broadcast live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.