In their third walkoff of the weekend, Cleveland State defeated Roane State to complete the series sweep by a score of 10-9.
In what was a back and forth affair, the Cougars wasted no time by tacking on 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. It was a Joey Roberson 3-run home run that did it, scoring Logan Peterson and Noah Peterson. Cleveland State didn't enjoy there lead for long, as Roane State scored three runs of their own in the top of the 2nd inning. Cleveland State answered by scoring a run in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, bringing the score to 6-3 entering the 5th inning. Roane State hit a home run in the top of the 5th inning while the Cougars couldn't answer in the bottom part of the inning. After a scoreless 6th inning, Roane State picked things up with a 5 run performance in the top of the 7th inning. Cleveland State added 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 7th, tying the game up at 9 a piece. The Cougars enter the bottom of the 9th inning, tied at 9-9. Brandon Mason started things off with a single, followed by Cameron Payne drawing a walk, putting Cleveland State on 1st and 2nd base. Cameron Hankins pulled off a sacrifice bunt and moved Brandon Mason and Cameron Payne to 2nd and 3rd base. Noah Hill then steps up to the plate and is intentionally walked. Noah Peterson follows and strikes out swinging. With the bases loaded and 1 out, Hunter Oliver steps up to the plate. Oliver smacks an RBI single, scoring Brandon Mason and securing the walkoff win over Roane State.
Head Coach Mike Policastro has said that the Cougars need to work on their offense and they did just that today. Noah Hill and Noah Peterson each had a double while Brandon Mason recorded 2 doubles. Joey Roberson smacked 2 home runs on the day. Noah Hill, Hunter Oliver, Logan Peterson, Cameron Payne and Cameron Hankins each recorded an RBI while Joey Roberson collected 4 RBI's. Camerin hankins recorded a sacrifice bunt while Noah Hill had a sacrifice fly. Noah Peterson also snagged a stolen base.
Ryan Lloyd was the starter in today's matchup, going 5 innings allowing 4 earned runs, 6 walks and 5 strikeouts. Brock Browning came on in relief and pitched 2 innings, allowing 5 earned runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Tyler Zak was 3rd Cougar pitcher used today, going 1 inning allowing 0 earned runs and issuing one walk. Greg Tye closed this one out, securing his 3rd win of the season, pitching 1 inning, allowing no runs while issuing 2 strikeouts.
Head Coach Mike Policastro commented on today's win, "We had another good walkoff win today. I thought our offense had quality at bats throughout the entire lineup. We were able to have multiple solid innings to help pick up our pitching staff, resulting in the come back win."
This win completed the series sweep of Roane State after the Cougars won both games of their Saturday doubleheader. All three wins were won by way of walkoff. Game one ended in a bases loaded, walkoff hit by pitch. Game two ended with a 3-run walkoff bomb by Logan Peterson while game three ended in a walkoff RBI single by Hunter Oliver.
The Cougars now sit at 11-5 (3-0) on the season. Next up, they'll take on Tusculum College JV in a double header at home on Wednesdsay, March 7th starting at 1:00 PM.