The Rogers State Baseball team picked up a series sweep of Texas A&M International on Saturday, taking game three 18-7 on the opening weekend of Heartland Conference play.
The Hillcats put together 21 hits and seven walks to score a season high in runs, but the visitors actually fell behind early as the DustDevils plated three runs in the bottom of the first on a homerun to take an early advantage.
Rogers State responded with two runs in the second inning as Griffin Keller hit a two-run homerun to right field. Keller would then start a seven-run inning in the third with an RBI single to tie the game at three.
Brendan Griffith then singled to score Nick Follett as the Hillcats took a lead that they never relinquished. Christopher Ford followed it up with a two-RBI single to center scoring Keller and Griffith.
Christian Merriwether, Grant Farris and Brandon Bradshaw all had RBIs in the inning as well, as the Hillcats led 9-3 after three innings.
The Hillcats continued to add runs as Zack Mann hit a sacrifice fly to score Grant Ruthenberg in the fourth and Griffin Keller added his second two-run homerun of the day in the fifth inning, as Rogers State went ahead 12-3.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Hillcats added two more runs off the bat of Griffith, who singled up the middle to score Farris and Follett.
Texas A&M International fought off a run-rule defeat with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Hillcats finished off the game in the eight with four more runs.
Farris singled home Merriwether to start the scoring in the inning. Bradshaw then hit a two-RBI triple to score Farris and Mann. Griffith brought home Bradshaw to cap the scoring for the game.
Preston Whitten tossed 5.2 innings for his first win of the season. Whitten allowed two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
The Hillcats will return to action on Tuesday, traveling to Alva to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State in a non-conference single game. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
