Hillcats Take Series Finale at OPSU, 12-0
April 9, 2017
GOODWELL, Okla. – The Rogers State softball team used strong hitting and pitching to roll to a 12-0 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday (April 8) to sweep the three-game series against the Aggies.
After posting two runs in the first three innings, RSU ramped up the offense with eight runs in the final three innings to win 12-0 in only six innings due to the run rule
Morgen Blanchard started the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning to put the Cats up 1-0. The senior infielder knocked out her sixth of the season to right center field.
The navy and red added another run in the third inning to increase the margin to 2-0. After a single and stolen base put Harli Wheeler in scoring position, Kenzie Lloyd drove in Wheeler with a single to the gap in left for the 2-0 score.
RSU started its offensive outburst in the fourth inning with three runs to push the edge to 5-0. The Hillcats opened the inning with three straight hits, including a two-run triple by Kayla Patterson. Arika Araujo led off the inning with a single to left. Taylor Santistevan singled to put two Cats on before the triple to the gap in right by Patterson to plate two runs for a 4-0 score. Patterson scored due to a wild pitch for the 5-0 margin.
Two consecutive doubles in the fifth inning added two more runs for the navy and red, moving the lead to 7-0. Santistevan doubled to center to score Blanchard, who reached due to a hit by pitch, and Patterson doubled to left center to plate Santistevan to increase the RSU lead to 7-0.
The Hillcats ended the game in six innings due to the run rule with five runs scored in the inning for a 12-0 score. With runners at the corners, Blanchard's infield single scored one for an 8-0 advantage. Araujo brought Lloyd home with a single up the middle to increase the margin to 9-0. Santistevan drove in the final three Hillcats with a three-run homer to left, the navy and red's fifth straight hit of the inning. The three-run bomb was Santistevan's seventh of the season.
Santistevan finished a perfect 4-for-4 hitting at the plate with four RBI. Patterson was 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Blanchard posted a 2-for-3 performance with two RBI. The Cats totaled 15 hits in the game. Six Hillcats posted multiple hits in the victory.
For the series, RSU tallied 47 runs, the most runs in a three-game stretch in the history of RSU softball.
Megan Rosewell earned her second win of the weekend series, pitching a three-hitter in six innings. She totaled one strikeout and forced 12 groundouts and four fly outs. The junior pitcher moved to 19-12 on the season.
The Hillcats return home for five-straight home games. The stretch starts with in-state rival Northeastern State for Military Appreciate Day on Tuesday at the Diamond Sports Complex. The doubleheader is set to start at 5 p.m. with coverage available on the Hillcat Network at http://www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
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