CLAREMORE, Okla. – The 20
th-ranked St. Edward's Baseball team let a 6-2 lead slip away in the late innings as they fell to Rogers State, 7-6, Friday afternoon at the Diamond Sports Complex.
St. Edward's (18-7, 5-2 HC) opened the scoring in the second inning when Jonathon Arrowood led off with a single up the middle. After a sacrifice bunt moved Arrowood to second,
JONATHAN DAVIS doubled to the gap in right field to put the Hilltoppers ahead, 1-0.
After Rogers State (9-12, 2-5 HC) retook the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second off a home run from Chase Knott, the Hilltoppers came right back with three runs in the top of the third inning.
NATE TURNER led off with a single to right field. After two outs and an error by Rogers State, Arrowood stepped up with runners on first and second. He laced a single to right to score Turner.
KEVIN MAYO followed with a double to the left field gap to score two and put St. Edward's ahead, 4-2.
Davis was at it again in the fifth inning. After Arrowood tallied another lead-off single,
KEVIN MAYO singled to left field. Both advanced a base on the play and that set the stage for Davis. The rightfielder singled to left field to plate both runners and increase the lead to 6-2.
The Hillcats got two runs back in the sixth inning and another in the seventh to inch closer to the Hilltoppers, 6-5.
Chase Knott came up big again for Rogers State with a two-run, two-out double in the bottom of the eighth to push the Hillcats in front, 7-6.
CAM HATCH (3-3) suffered the loss for St. Edward's, allowing two runs on three hits in his one inning of work.
COLLIN SHERROD took a no-decision, as he allowed four runs on seven hits, while striking out four in 6.0 innings of work.
Arrowood was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI, while Davis ended 2-of-3 with three RBI.
St. Edward's Head Coach Rob Penders was attempting to become the school's all-time wins leader with a victory in game one of the series. He will get another chance in Saturday's games to pass former head coach and SEU Hall of Famer John Knorr who produced 317 victories at the helm.
The Hilltoppers and Hillcats will conclude their series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for noon at the Diamond Sports Complex. Live audio and stats will be available on the Hillcat Athletic Website.
