Over the weekend, the Hornets traveled to Claremore, Okla., to play a series against the number-15-ranked Rogers State. In the three-game series, the Hornets struggled in the first two games and lost them, but got a win in the final game to prevent a sweep on the road.
Game one saw junior Seth Stover take the mound for the Hornets, and his start would be all over the place as he gave up three first-inning runs. Starting the game offensively, the Hornets looked to be in business, getting two batters on base via walks, but those would be the only baserunners all game for the Hornets.
Stover tried to keep the Hornets in the game with two clean innings after the first, but Rogers State got going again in the fourth. They tacked on four more runs to end Stover’s day early. The Hornet bullpen didn’t fare much better as they gave up seven more runs as Rogers State won game one 14-0.
Looking to bounce back, the Hornets sent their ace sophomore Colby Deaver to the mound to start game two. Both teams got out of first-inning jams, giving up no runs, but the Hornets would not be so lucky in the second inning. Rogers State had two runners on, and a fielding error from the Hornets allowed those runners to score on a play that could have ended the inning.
That lead would be enough to win, as the Hornet bats continued to struggle at the plate, only mustering two hits and three walks. Rogers State continued to score in bunches in multiple innings of play. The fourth inning played out similarly to the second, where Rogers State got runs through another Hornet error and a single. They added another run in the fifth via the long ball to make it 6-0 and end Deaver’s day.
In the sixth and seventh innings, Rogers State added four runs combined to give them a 10-0 lead as the Hornets struggled to get anything going in game two. For the final game of the series, the Hornets sent out freshman Quinton Chindamo to try to get back in the win column.
The Hornet bats got out to a quick start, ending their scoreless stretch, as junior Dylan Brisbois drove in a run on a groundout and another run scored off a Rogers State throwing error to give them an early 2-0 lead. Rogers State scored in the bottom of the inning to make it 2-1, but it could have been worse if Chindamo didn’t get out of the jam as the first four batters reached base.
The next two innings saw both starters settle in and keep the game at 2-1 until the bottom of the fourth inning. Rogers State hit an RBI double to tie the game and knock Chindamo out of the game as the Hornet bullpen looked to stifle the bats of Rogers State. In the top of the fifth, junior Logan Myers singled in a run after sophomore Brady Unrein’s double to give the Hornets the lead back. It was a lead they would not relinquish, either.
The bullpen, after replacing Chindamo in the fourth, held Rogers State scoreless for the rest of the game, and the bats added some more insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Senior Dominic Felix doubled in a run in the eighth, senior Noah Steele singled in another run in the ninth, and freshman Tyler Coffin smacked a three-run home run for his first career home run. The Hornets won 8-2 to take a game in the series.
With the series concluded, the Hornets move to 23-8 on the year and 10-7 in MIAA play. Next up, they return home for a midweek match against Missouri Western on March 31.