The College of the Ozarks Baseball Bobcats returned home Friday after splitting a four-game series at Dallas Christian College the week before and falling to William Woods University in Fulton on Tuesday.
 

C of O vs Arlington Baptist University – Friday, April 7 – Game 1
Rhett Hill took the mound for the Bobcats looking to get the series off to a good start. A double, a walk, and a pair of Bobcat miscues gave the Patriots the early 2-0 lead. The Bobcats wasted little time providing a response and evened the score with a Ryan Daggs single, a double by Caleb Johnson, and a triple by Rhett Hill. With the score knotted at two apiece, Hill went back to work. A pair of strikeouts and a line out brought the Bobcats back to the plate, and a two-out walk to Caleb Johnson started the offense. A Trey Riley single forced a wild throw and Johnson came around to score. The Bobcats took a 3-2 lead and the game moved to the third inning. Hill recorded another three-up, three-down inning and then ripped a double to start the Bobcat third. A Chuck Hill triple, and an RBI single off the bat of Ty Rush gave the Bobcats a 5-2 lead moving to the fourth inning.  Hill pitched around a pair of infield singles in the top of the fourth, and the Bobcats came up looking to extend their lead. A one-out triple off the bat of Trey Riley set up another run when Andrew Hert reached on an error. A Spencer Greene single drove in another run and the Bobcat lead grew to 7-2. The Patriots put together a rally for three runs in the top of the fifth, and the Bobcats needed to respond. A quick two outs and the Bobcats seemed to be headed toward a short inning. Ryan Daggs turned the tide, however, with a double and Caleb Johnson drove a shot over the left field wall. Trey Riley followed with a single and Logan Daniels blasted his first career homerun over the left field fence. The Bobcats had built an 11-6 lead by the time the final out was recorded, and the game moved to the sixth inning. Hill pitched around a leadoff single in the top of the sixth to retire the Patriots and the Bobcats came back to the plate. Aaron Fisher led off with a single and Chuck Hill added a pair of runs with a blast over the scoreboard in left field. Ty Rush followed with a single and Ryan Daggs bounced one over the fence in left for a double. A Blake Hultgren ground out drove in another run and the Bobcat lead was up to 14-6. The Patriots scored a run in the seventh, but Hill closed the door and secured the 14-7 win.

Several Bobcats recorded a multi-hit game with Ryan Daggs (2B, 2B) and Trey Riley (3B) leading the way with three hits each. Caleb Johnson (2B, HR), Rhett Hill (3B, 2B), Chuck Hill (3B, HR), and Ty Rush each had a pair of hits in the win. Logan Daniels launched his first career homerun and Aaron Fisher and Titus Atkins each tacked on a hit.

C of O vs Arlington Baptist University – Friday, April 7 – Game 2
Conference pitcher of the week, Tyler Buchanan, took the mound for the Bobcats in game two, and it had the makings of a pitcher’s duel in the early innings. The Patriots recorded a single in the opening frame and another in the fifth, but the Bobcats were held hitless through four. The Bobcats threatened in the bottom of the fifth with an error and a pair of walks, but the hit was still elusive, and the game moved to the sixth with no score. Both pitchers cruised through the sixth, but the seventh created challenges for Buchanan and the Bobcats. A pair of singles and a pair of walks sent three runs across for the Patriots, and Colin Pyatt came on to pitch in relief. Pyatt gave up a walk but retired his next man to bring the Bobcats to the plate. Needing three runs to extend the game, the Bobcats were looking for some late inning heroics. Two quick outs gave way to walks to Ryan Daggs and Caleb Johnson and the Bobcats needed a hit. Trey Riley delivered an RBI single for the first Bobcat hit and also put the first run on the board. A Patriot pitching change did the job and the Bobcats were unable to extend the game. The Patriots took game two, 3-1.

Trey Riley delivered the lone hit for the Bobcats with his single and RBI in the seventh inning.

C of O vs Arlington Baptist University – Saturday, April 8 – Game 3
After an outburst of 14 runs and then a one-hit, 3-1 loss, the Bobcats were back in action at home against Arlington Baptist University. Spencer Greene took the ball for the Bobcats, and he was looking to get them back in the win column.

Greene pitched around a two-out single to retire the Patriots and Ryan Daggs applied the early pressure with a double to right center. A two-out single by Spencer Greene drove in Daggs, and the Cats took the early 1-0 lead. Andrew Hert kept the inning alive with a single, but the next batter was retired, and the game moved to the second inning. The Patriots responded in the top of the second with a run, on three consecutive singles, and the Bobcats came back to the plate. The Cats went back to work and regained the lead with a leadoff walk to Aaron Fisher, Ty Rush reached on an error, and Ryan Daggs added to his RBI total with a sacrifice fly to deep right field. The game moved to the third with the Bobcats clinging to a 2-1 lead. Greene set the Patriots down in order in the third and an Andrew Hert single and a double off the bat of Rhett Hill would be all the offense for the Bobcats. Another three up, three down inning for Greene brought the Bobcats back to the plate. Ty Rush led off with a single and Ryan Daggs walked. Caleb Johnson bunted for a single and the bases were jammed. Two quick outs seemed to spell the end of the inning, but Andrew Hert delivered his third hit of the game to drive in a pair of runs. Rhett Hill followed with an RBI double, and Aaron Fisher smacked an RBI single to bump the Bobcat lead to 7-1. A Chuck Hill walk kept the line moving and an RBI single by Ty Rush made the score 8-1. The next out was recorded, and the game moved to the fifth. Greene pitched around a pair of singles and kept the Patriots off the board again in the top of the fifth. A Blake Hultgren walk, a Trey Riley single, and a Spencer Greene hit by pitch had the bases loaded and the Bobcats threatening to add to their lead. A sacrifice fly by Rhett Hill tacked on a run and a two-RBI single off the bat of Aaron Fisher bumped the lead to 11-1, moving to the sixth inning. A solo home run to start the Patriot sixth cut the gap to 11-2, but Greene retired the next three straight to end the inning. The Bobcats went down quietly in the bottom of the sixth and the stage was set for Greene to get the complete game win. A three up, three down inning closed the door on the Patriots and the Bobcats took the contest 11-2.

Andrew Hert recorded three hits, Rhett Hill added two (2B, 2B), and Aaron Fisher added a pair of hits in the win. Ryan Daggs (2B), Caleb Johnson, Trey Riley, Spencer Greene, and Ty Rush each contributed a hit to the cause.

C of O vs Arlington Baptist University – Saturday, April 8 – Game 4
Looking to secure the series win, Brody Baumann went to the mound for the Bobcats. A pitcher’s duel ensued and neither team could get the offense going. The Bobcats picked up an Andrew Hert single in the first and the Patriots had a single in the second but that was all the offense through the third. The Patriots added a pair of singles in the fourth, but Baumann got out of the inning unscathed and the game remained scoreless. The Bobcats went down in order and the Patriots came to life in the fifth. Three singles and a double gave the Patriots a pair of runs. A single added another tally and the Patriots took a 3-0 lead to the bottom of the fifth. The Bobcats needed to respond and a Trey Riley hit by pitch got things started. A Chuck Hill single extended the inning, but the Bobcats could not keep it going. A leadoff single in the top of the sixth brought in Colin Pyatt to pitch in relief for the Bobcats. A hit by pitch was followed by a pair of singles to add to the Patriot lead and Joe Lee came in to take over the pitching duties. Lee picked off a runner and struck out one to end the frame and bring the Bobcats to the plate trailing 5-0. The Bobcat bats remained silent in the sixth and Lee returned to the mound to try and hold the Patriots through the seventh. A Bobcat miscue, a single, a double and a walk added three runs for the Patriots and the Bobcats needed a long offensive inning in the bottom half. A couple of Patriot errors in the seventh gave the Bobcats a chance and a Chuck Hill single drove in the first Bobcat run. The next batter was retired, and the Patriots took the final game of the series 8-1.

The Bobcats gathered three hits in the game with Chuck Hill recording two and Andrew Hert collecting one.

The Bobcats will be back in action Friday and Saturday, April 15th and 16th at Randall University in Moore, Oklahoma.