Alva Review-Courier -

CLAREMORE, Okla. – UA Fort Smith sneaked past Rogers State baseball in game one, 3-1, before blowing the barn doors open in the seventh inning of game two for a 14-3 victory as the Hillcats dropped Thursday's road doubleheader at Crowder Field.

GAME ONE

The Hillcats dropped the first game of the doubleheader 3-1 as the Lions totaled six hits and held RSU to just one hit.

UAFS held the Hillcats hitless until the fifth inning when RSU senior Chris Miguel blasted a ball to left field to even the score at 1-1.

The Lions took an early lead in the third inning with a sacrifice fly by Kasey Cooper that scored Brandan Warner.

In the bottom of the sixth inning the Lions added two runs on a double by Brennan Dooly to take a 3-1 advantage in the seven inning affair.

Hayden Harvey (5-4) faced the minimum in the top of the seventh inning to earn the complete game victory for UAFS. The Lions starter went seven innings allowing just one run on one hit and fanning six Hillcats.

Tim Luce (5-4) allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits as he walked three batters and struck out two in six innings of work in the loss.

Dooly went 2-for-3 at the plate for UAFS and with his double in the sixth inning tallied two RBI.

GAME TWO

UAFS used eight runs in the seventh inning to shut the door on the Hillcats in the nightcap and walk-off with a 14-3 victory.

RSU appeared to get its offense started in the nightcap as left-handed batter Bradley Degnan reached base on a single to the opposite field. Degnan would move to third on back-to-back wild pitches to give RSU a runner in scoring position. Miguel reached base on balls with two outs but the Lions starter Evan Dodd used three pitches to retire the Hillcats' next batter and end the first inning for RSU.

Jace Pitchford's lead-off home run to left field put the Lions on the board, 1-0, in the bottom of the second.

The Lions lead wouldn't last long as Miguel went yard for the second time in the doubleheader with a two run shot to left field to give RSU a 2-1 lead.

Back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning by Sam Casinelli and Matt Seubert forced the Lions to the bullpen calling upon Clayton Whelchel. A groundout by Sam Davison moved Casinelli and Seubert into scoring position but Whelchel struck out the next batter and forced a fly out to retire the Hillcats fourth inning.

In the home half of the fifth, UAFS plated five runs including a two RBI triple by Dion Williams after an error by the RSU third baseman Seubert with two outs that kept the inning alive. The Hillcats allowed four hits in the fifth as the Lions took a 6-2 lead.

A pair of walks and a double by Jason Marley loaded the bases for the Hillcats in the top of the seventh inning as RSU cut the UAFS lead to 6-3 as Bradley Degnan scored on a wild pitch with two outs.

The home half of the inning wasn't as favorable for RSU as a walk off grand slam by Logan Allen secured the 14-3 run rule victory over the Hillcats. The Lions totaled eight runs on eight hits in the seventh inning.

Dodd went three complete innings in the start as he allowed eight hits allowing two earned runs with four strike outs and two walks. Whelchel (4-2) totaled four innings of relief work allowing one earned on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks to earn the victory.

RSU starting pitcher Spencer Bivens (7-2) went five complete innings allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts as he received the loss. Justin Magstadt allowed one hit in his complete sixth inning relief appearance as he did not allow a run.

Brock Knoten gave up six earned runs on six hits in the seventh as the sophomore forced just one out in relief work. Devland Zakar allowed two earned runs on two hits in his one-third inning of relief work.

Casinelli went 2-for-3 in game two while Jason Marley totaled two doubles in four at-bats as RSU totaled nine hits. UAFS finished with 15 hits in game two as six Lions totaled two hits apiece.

Rogers State (26-13, 10-7) will close out the three-game, Heartland Conference series at UA Fort Smith (22-15, 10-4) on Friday, April 14 at 1 p.m. at Crowder Field. UAFS will provide live statistics at http://www.sidearmstats.com/uafortsmith/baseball/ with live pay-per-view video streaming available at http://www.uafortsmithlions.com/watch.