Cleveland State was unable to win the conference series with Jackson State, but they were able to finish out their regular season with a one-run win.
After falling to the Generals (32-18, 16-11) in a 13-0 game on Friday, the Cougars (33-16, 13-14) came up one run short in a 4-3 game to start off Saturday’s sophomore day doubleheader. They bounced back in game two to win 1-0, leaving them 1-2 in the series.
“We were able to split today's doubleheader with Jackson ,losing game one 4-3, before winning game two 1-0,” Cleveland State coach Mike Policastro detailed.
Cleveland State finishes in fifth place in the TCCAA, behind Jackson State, Walters State and No. 1 Dyersburg State.
The TCCAA tournament runs May 7-11 at Volunteer State.
One run and stellar pitching from Jake Rogers (9-1) was all it took the Cougars to snag the second game of the day.
Rogers gave up only two hits in the game and struck out 12 General batters.
In the first inning, John Hennen picked up a one-out single, which gave John Sharpe the chance to score.
Hennen was 2-for-3 at the plate, while Brandon Mason hit a triple and Sharpe had a double.
Jackson State scored all four of their runs in the first inning, leaving Cleveland State to play catch up.
Mason hit a two-run homer in the second inning, cutting the Cougar’s deficit to two runs.
Cleveland State’s final run was scored by Noah Hill on a fielder’s choice.
“We had scoring opportunities throughout the game and could not push the tying run across,” Policastro said.
Sean McDermott was 2-for-3 at the plate, which included a double.
Hooper Mills (6-6) took the loss from the bump, giving up four earned runs in the first inning.