Bethany , OK – It was a tale of two games for the Rogers State baseball team as the Hillcats hit the road for the first time in 2007 on Tuesday.
In the first game of the day, RSU could do no wrong, clubbing three home runs in a 7-1 victory. In Game 2, the Hillcats couldn’t catch a break, losing 7-3 to Southern Nazarene at the Cypert Athletic Complex.
RSU senior pitcher Brent Hill (2-1) turned in his strongest performance to date in the first game of the day. The right-hander twirled a seven-inning complete game and allowed just one run while striking out six and yielding no walks. Brent Hardin led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and scored on a double by his brother Chris Hardin to plate the Crimson Storm’s only run of the game.
The Hillcats tied the game at 1-1 in the third and then took the lead for good thanks to some fourth inning fireworks. Brett Hollingsworth and Todd Koscheski belted back-to-back homers over the centerfield wall in the top of the fourth to give RSU a 3-1 advantage. Tim Gwartney added a two-run blast in the top of the fifth as the Hillcats cruised to a 7-1 win. RSU entered the game with just two home runs on the season as a team through eight games. The Hillcats increased that total to five in the span of just two innings.
Sophomore Tyler Whitaker scattered nine hits over five solid innings of work in Game 2. He left the game after five, trailing 3-2, and allowed two earned runs while striking out five. The game got away from the Hillcats in the sixth as SNU plated four runs on an error, two infield hits and two more hits with the infield drawn in, to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Whitaker, (1-1) suffered his first loss as Chris Hardin, (1-0) picked up his first win for the Crimson Storm.
Coach Ron Bradley’s team (5-5) will travel to Branson , Mo. , Friday and Saturday to play four games against four different opponents over a two-day span. The next home game for the Hillcats is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6.