Rogers State scored five runs in the top of the first inning of Game 1 and never looked back as the Hillcats swept Oklahoma Wesleyan and extended their win streak to seven games at Bartlesville on Thursday.
Sophomore outfielder Ryan Littlejohn was the story of the day as he went 7-for-8 and hit for the cycle in Game 2. Littlejohn finished the afternoon with four doubles, a single, a double and a home run. He drove in three runs and scored three times. The Vedigris native is now 12-for-16 on the week with 11 extra-base hits.
RSU cranked out seven consecutive hits in the top of the first inning of Game 1 and took a 5-0 lead in the opening frame. The Eagles rallied in the middle innings and closed the gap to 7-6 in the fifth before the Hillcats slammed the door. An RBI single by John Vaughn, a sac fly by Jake Brumble and an RBI double off the bat of Littlejohn gave RSU an 11-6 advantage entering the bottom of the seventh. Josh Walker pitched a scoreless seventh to preserve the win for Dusty Carriger (4-1). Senior Todd Koscheski clubbed his second home run of the season on a solo shot over the left field wall in the third inning.
Oklahoma Wesleyan took a 2-1 lead in the second inning of Game 2, but it was short lived. Zack Bacon regained the lead for the Hillcats with a two-run homer to left in the top of the third. RSU scored three times in the fourth inning and four times in the six in rout to an 11-3 win to complete the doubleheader sweep. Littlejohn doubled in the first inning, tripled in the third and added a single in the fourth. He needed a homer in his final at-bat in the sixth to complete the cycle. With Ryan Salsbury on first and one out, Littlejohn belted the first pitch he saw from reliever Nathan England deep over the left field fence and became the first player in RSU history to hit for the cycle.
Freshmen Creston Moon and Grant Cosby worked consecutive scoreless innings to finish the game as Bryan Hollenbeck (3-2) picked up the win with five innings of work.
Coach Ron Bradley’s club improved to 13-11 with doubleheader sweep. The Hillcats travel to Wichita, Kan., this weekend for a three-game series before returning home on Tuesday to face Oklahoma Baptist.