Bobcat Baseball Rebounds with Road Sweep

The College of the Ozarks Baseball Team picks up momentum going into the home stretch of the season.

The information below is from College of the Ozarks Sports Information:

Coming off a tough 5-5 stretch where they had not won consecutive games, the College of the Ozarks Baseball Bobcats hit the road to Moore, Oklahoma to face the Randall University Saints. Looking to repeat a mid-February sweep of the Saints, the Bobcats were looking to get on a roll heading toward the final stretch of the season.

C of O vs Randall – Friday, April 14 – Game 1
The Bobcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first when Ryan Daggs was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Caleb Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice and Daggs was forced out at second. Spencer Greene walked, and Trey Riley followed with an RBI double. Rhett Hill ripped and RBI single and Chuck Hill did the same to give the Bobcats the first inning lead. Rhett Hill took the mound for the Bobcats and made quick work of the home team. Neither team could produce any offense until the Bobcats went back to work in the top of the fourth. Rhett Hill and Chuck Hill smacked back-to-back singles and Titus Atkins walked to start the inning. A Tyas Rush RBI single drove in Rhett Hill and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Daggs added another run. Caleb Johnson bunted to bring in Atkins and the Bobcats led 6-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth. Hill pitched around a pair of singles in the fourth and was able to keep the Saints off the board. The Bobcats continued to apply pressure in the fifth with a Trey Riley walk, and singles by Rhett Hill, Titus Atkins, and Tyas Rush. When the dust settled, the Bobcats had added three more runs and were in control, 9-0. Hill cruised through the bottom half of the inning and the Bobcats returned to the plate. Trey Riley drew a one out walk, and Aaron Fisher reached on an error. Chuck Hill ripped an RBI single, and the Bobcats held a 10-0 lead going to the bottom of the sixth. Hill continued his dominance on the mound and the Saints went down in order again. Spencer Greene singled in the top of the seventh but that would be all the offense and the Bobcats were three outs away from securing the opening game win. Hill went back to work and hit his first rough patch of the game. A pair of walks, a single and an error gave the Saints a pair of runs, but Hill slammed the door closed and finished the game for the 10-2, complete game, win.

Chuck Hill and Rhett Hill led the offensive attack with a trio of hits each. Ty Rush added a pair of hits and three RBI’s and Spencer Greene, Trey Riley (2B), and Titus Atkins each added a hit to the cause. Rhett Hill finished the complete game allowing two runs on three hits and striking out four.

C of O vs Randall – Friday, April 14 – Game 2
Looking to win back-to back games for the first time since the end of March, the Bobcats wanted to keep the game one momentum rolling into game two. A Ryan Daggs walk in the opening frame was erased by a double play and Rhett Hill smashed a double to center for the only offense the Bobcats could get. Tyler Buchanan received the pitching assignment for the Cats, and he worked around a single and a hit by pitch to keep the game scoreless heading to the second. The Bobcats got the bats going in the top of the inning with a trio of Saints errors, a Ty Rush RBI double, and singles by Blake Hultgren, Caleb Johnson, and Trey Riley. A Rhett Hill sacrifice fly added a run and the Bobcats exploded for six runs to take a commanding early lead. Buchanan pitched around a single and a little trouble in the bottom of the second but continued to keep the Saints off the board. Chuck Hill drew a leadoff walk in the third and promptly stole second. Hill advanced on a ground out and scored on a Titus Atkins sacrifice fly. Blake Hultgren reached on a bunt single and swiped second. Ryan Daggs singled to bring in Hultgren and the Bobcat lead was 8-0. Buchanan worked around a walk and a single in the bottom of the third and a Trey Riley double in the top of the fourth was the extent of the offense. The Saints picked up a run in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of hits, but the Bobcats were still in control, 8-1. A Chuck Hill single in the top of the fifth would be all the Bobcat offense and Buchanan cruised through the bottom of the inning. The Bobcats manufactured a run in the top of the sixth with a Hultgren walk, a single by Daggs and a double steal. Rhett Hill drove in Hultgren with a ground out to the right side, and the Bobcats expanded their lead to 9-1. A double in the bottom of the sixth would provide a little hope for the Saints but Buchanan stopped the threat and sent the game to the seventh. Spencer Greene walked and stole second to lead off the top of the inning and he moved to third on a ground out. Ty Rush added to his RBI total with a single to score Greene and the Bobcats led 10-1, with three outs to go. Joe Lee came on in relief of Buchanan and his quick work retired the Saints to secure the win.

Ty Rush (2B), Blake Hultgren, Ryan Daggs, and Trey Riley (2B) all turned in multi-hit games with two each and Caleb Johnson, Chuck Hill, and Rhett Hill (2B) added one hit each to the cause. 

C of O vs Randall – Saturday, April 15 – Game 3
The Bobcats wasted little time setting the tone for game three. Caleb Johnson reached on an error and advanced to second. A fly ball moved Johnson to third and another error brought him across the plate. With a gifted run in the opening frame, Spencer Green took the mound leading 1-0. The Saints were unable to get anything going in the first and the Bobcats could only get a Chuck Hill double in the top of the second. Greene pitched around a hit and a Bobcat miscue in the bottom half and the game moved to the third with the Bobcats clinging to the 1-0 lead. The Bobcats added a run in the top half when Ty Rush reached on an error and moved to third on a ground out. Ryan Daggs picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly and the Cats lead was expanded to 2-0. Greene hit a speed bump in the bottom of the third when Randall picked up four runs on five hits and a Bobcat error. For the first time in the series, the Bobcats were trailing and needed to bounce back. Trey Riley led off the top of the fourth with a free pass but was erased on a double play. Andrew Hert doubled to extend the inning and Chuck Hill smashed a triple to left field to score Hert. That was all the offense the Bobcats could muster, and the Saints held a 4-3 lead coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth. Greene recorded a pair of strikeouts and a line out to keep the inning short and bring the Bobcats back in to pick up the lumber. Ty Rush started the fifth with a single and Caleb Johnson doubled to drive him in tying the score, 4-4. Johnson advanced on a deep fly ball and Greene picked up a walk then swiped second. Trey Riley ripped a two-RBI double to the gap in right center and the Cats regained the lead, 6-4, heading to the bottom of the fifth. Greene cruised through the fifth. Chuck Hill ripped a one out double to start the offense in the sixth and stole third. Hill scored on a pop out and the Bobcat lead grew to 7-4. Unlike the previous two games, Randall was within striking distance and was not ready to concede. A trio of singles and a double scored a pair of runs and Colin Pyatt came on to pitch in relief. One more run scored, and the score was tied going to the seventh. The Bobcats needed to answer if the streak of wins was going to continue. Caleb Johnson started the seventh with a single and Ryan Daggs doubled to put runners at second and third. Spencer Greene drew an intentional walk to load the bases and the Bobcats had something going. A fielder’s choice by Rhett Hill gave the Bobcats the lead and a Saints miscue sent another run across. That was all the Bobcats could get and it was up to Pyatt to close out the game. Pyatt and the Bobcats clamped down the defense in the seventh and a quick inning resulted in the game three win, 9-7.

Chuck Hill led the offense with three hits (2B, 2B) and Caleb Johnson (2B) added two. Ty Rush, Andrew Hert (2B), Ryan Daggs, and Trey Riley each added a hit in the win. 

C of O vs Randall – Saturday, April 15 – Game 4
With the dramatic win in the previous game, the Bobcats were entering the final game of the series looking for the sweep. Caleb Johnson started the attack with a leadoff walk and Ryan Daggs doubled to right to put runners at second and third. Spencer Green delivered a sacrifice fly to score Johnson, and the Bobcats took the early lead. Trey Riley ripped an RBI single, and the Bobcats led 2-0 with the Saints coming to bat. Brody Baumann took the mound for the Bobcats and the Saints quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Using three hits and a walk, the Saints pushed two runs across to erase the Bobcat lead, heading to the second. Both teams went down quietly in the second and the Bobcats went back to work in the third. Blake Hultgren led off with a single and swiped second base. Ryan Daggs bunted for a hit and Hultgren scored on a double steal. That was all the offense, but the Bobcats had regained the lead, 3-2. Baumann pitched around a walk and a single in the bottom of the third and held the Saints off the board. Rhett Hill led off the fourth with a single and the Cats were looking to build their lead. Chuck Hill reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. Ty Rush delivered an RBI single, and the lead was 4-2. Randall battled back in the bottom of the inning and used a walk, a single and an error to cut the lead to 4-3. Ryan Daggs took back the fourth inning Saints run with a bomb over the left field fence. Spencer Greene singled and Rhett Hill walked but the Bobcats could not bring them in, and the game moved to the bottom of the fifth. Baumann tossed a three-up, three-down inning and the Saints were running out of time. A Blake Hultgren bunt for a hit and two stolen bases had the Bobcats threatening again but the RBI hit was elusive, and the Saints came back to the plate trailing 5-3. Another quick inning by Baumann sent the game to the final stanza. Looking to add some insurance, the Bobcats used a Saints miscue, a single by Trey Riley, a Rhett Hill hit by pitch, and a Chuck Hill single to add one more tally. Leading 6-3, the Bobcat coaching staff sent Baumann back out to try to get the complete game win. Another quick inning was the result, and the Bobcats completed the sweep with the 6-3 win.

Ryan Daggs led the offense with three hits including a homerun and a double. Blake Hultgren and Trey Riley logged a pair of hits each and Chuck Hill, Ty Rush, Rhett Hill, and Spencer Greene each added a hit in the win. Brody Baumann went the distance for the complete game win, giving up five hits and striking out seven.

The Bobcats will return home for senior weekend Friday and Saturday as they host Champion Christian College.