Hillcats Capture Heartland Conference Championship with 13-inning Walk-off Single for 5-4 Win The Rogers State softball team captured its first-ever Heartland Conference championship with a walk-off game-winning single by Megan Porter in the bottom of the 13th inning as the Hillcats won 5-4 over No. 2 seed Oklahoma Christian at the Heartland Conference Championship game on Sunday (May 6). The win clinches a spot in the South Central Regional for the navy and red.
The Hillcats (39-18) took the league championship when Porter plated the game-winning run with an infield single to score Tailee Reding for the 5-4 win in the 13th inning.
The three hour and 30 minute affair saw the navy and red total key runs in each of the seventh, 10th and 13th innings.
Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Reding sent the game to extra innings with an RBI single to score Merissa Smith, who reached base on a double, and tie the score at 3-3.
In the 10th inning, RSU again evened the score at 4-4 when Rylee DeLozier drove in Danelle Day with a single through the infield.
Early in the contest, the Eagles took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. The Cats responded with one run in the bottom of the inning on a solo shot from DeLozier for a 2-1 score.
Reding finished 3-for-7 with two RBI. DeLozier was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Katy Taylor and Allie McFetridge each posted two hits.
Senior Alex Brake started in the circle, going 5.1 innings. She allowed three runs on nine hits with two strikeouts. Freshman Andrea Morales went the final 7.2 innings and got the victory, moving to 15-7 on the season and 2-0 against the Eagles in the conference tournament.
The Hillcats are now in Grand Junction, Colo., competing as the #8 seed in the South Central Regional Tournament. They play #1 seed Colorado Mesa on Thursday, May 10, at 6:30p.
