Just two days removed from being swept for the first time all season, Rogers State turned in a dominating performance in posting back-to-back shutout victories over Southern Nazarene in Bethany on Thursday.
Freshmen pitchers Kelli Dunagan and Stephanie Eggers combined for 12 scoreless innings as RSU cruised to 5-0 and 11-0 victories. The Hillcats led 2-0 in the sixth inning of Game 1 when Dunagan laced a double to center to start the inning. Kacy Ward followed with an RBI double to left and Bridgett Stewart cranked an RBI triple to right. Dunagan (16-5) pitched the first five innings to earn the victory. She and Eggers combined to allow just three hits and three total base runners while striking out eight in the Game 1.
RSU escaped trouble early in Game 2. The Crimson Storm loaded the bases against Eggers in the bottom of the second inning and looked poised to take its first lead of the afternoon before Dunagan came on in relief and induced Katie Snodgrass into an inning ending groundout. The Hillcats led 2-0 before blowing the game open in the fourth inning. RSU sent 13 hitters to the plate in the inning and scored nine runs on eight hits. Dunagan tallied two hits, two RBI and two runs scored in the fourth inning alone. She pitched the final 3.1 innings to pick up her second win of the day and improve to 17-5. Stewart, Dunagan, Kacy Ward and Randi Tyler had two hits each in Game 2.
Coach Dawn Reed’s club improved to 27-13 with the doubleheader sweep. Reed currently stands just one victory shy of career win No. 200. The Hillcats moved up three spots to No. 22 in the national ranking this week and will close out the regular season at home next Tuesday. RSU will host Oklahoma Christian for Senior Day at the Hillcat Complex. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 2 p.m.