TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State baseball jumped out to an 8-0 lead on the back of
Nic Swanson but fell to Rogers State late 10-9 at Thomas C. Rousey Field Friday afternoon. RSU scored all of its runs in the final two innings.
It was the first playoff game in Tahlequah since 1996.
Swanson set the tone early by striking out two in the first inning. In the bottom half of the frame,
Blaze Brothers hit his 12th home run of the season to give NSU the early advantage. The scored remained with a one-run margin until the fifth.
In the fourth,
Collin Klingensmith drew his 30th walk of the season and was the first runner for either team to get into scoring position.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Swanson battled back by getting a swinging strikeout before catching a liner off the bat of the three-hole RSU batter.
In the bottom half, the first three batters reached to add a run. In the sixth,
Jaxon Phipps, who led off the fifth hit a two-run homer over the left center fence on the first pitch he saw to bring the score to 5-0.
The first five RiverHawks reached in the seventh to welcome the first reliever of the day.
Collin Klingensmith pulled a single through the right side to give NSU an eight-run cushion.
Lee Callison came on in relief of Swanson after back-to-back singles. He allowed the next five runners to reach and six runs to come across.
John Rains got the final two outs of the eighth including one strikeout.
The RiverHawks loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth but could not extend their lead.
NSU closer
Dakodah Jones entered the game in the ninth in search of his league-leading ninth save. He had his first rough outing of the season allowing five-straight base hits and could not get through the frame. Jones was charged with four earned runs.
Blake Freeman hit two doubles in the game and his 19th of the season came to lead off the bottom of the ninth as NSU looked for its third walk-off win. Phipps drove him in on a sacrifice fly to right field.
The series will continue at Thomas C. Rousey Field with first pitch of Game 2 scheduled for 12 p.m. The RiverHawks must sweep the rain-forced doubleheader to keep their season alive. They went 18-4 in doubleheaders in 2021.
