Point Lookout, MO – After taking three of four games from the William Woods Owls over the weekend, The College of the Ozarks Baseball Bobcats returned to the diamond at Coach Bob Smith Field for a mid-week nine-inning matchup with the Valor of Evangel University. The Bobcats took the earlier meeting between the two teams by a score of 8-4 in Springfield on February 20 and the Bobcats were looking for a repeat performance on a warm Wednesday afternoon.

Aaron Gross took the mound for the Bobcats and a double and a single put the Valor on the board with an early 1-0 lead. Gross closed the door with minimal damage and the Bobcats came to the plate. Chuck Hill led off with a hit by pitch, and singles by Caleb Johnson and Spencer Greene quickly evened the score. Ty Rush was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out and Hunter Lewis delivered the timely two-RBI single to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead. Aaron Fisher smacked an RBI double to left and the Bobcats had runners at second and third with one out. Zane Kelley picked up an RBI with a groundout to short and the Bobcats took a 5-1 lead to the second. Gross cruised through the next two innings allowing only a single and the Bobcats picked up a Caleb Johnson single and a walk to Rhett Hill, but they were unable to add to their lead. The Valor picked up a run in the fourth with a single, a walk, and a Bobcat error, but Gross limited the damage, and the Bobcats came up leading 5-2. The Bobcats used a trio of walks, a single by Caleb Johnson, and doubles by Rhett Hill and Jake Leeker to bump the lead to 11-2. Gross retired the Valor in order in the fifth and the Bobcats added another pair of tallies with Chuck Hill reaching on an error, a Caleb Johnson double, and a single off the bat of Rhett Hill. The Bobcats were well in control with a 13-2 lead after five. The Valor picked up a pair of runs in the top of the sixth with a double and a pair of singles and the gap was cut to 13-4. The Bobcats were far from finished however, as the Valor struggled to find the strike zone and a Logan Daniels hit by pitch was followed by walks to Chuck Hill and Caleb Johnson. Spencer Greene promptly launched a grand slam over the left field wall and the Bobcat lead grew to 17-4. Sam Teaster came on in relief and pitched around a one out walk in the top of the sixth to close out the run rule win.

Caleb Johnson (2B) turned in a four-hit performance at the plate and Rhett Hill (2B) had three hits in four tries. Spencer Greene had two hits, including a grand slam, along with Hunter Lewis who had two hits in the win as well. Aaron Fisher (2B) and Jake Leeker (2B) each added a hit in the win.

The Bobcats will return to action at home Friday when they host Mission University in a 1:00 and 3:00 double header. They will then travel to Ozark on Saturday to face Mission at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.