UAFS out-hit Rogers State during their first round game of the Heartland Conference Baseball Tournament, but the Lions couldn't deliver the big hit when they needed it most.

The No. 3 seed Lions left six runners on base as the No. 2 Hillcats posted a 4-0 win at The Depot at Cleburne Station in Cleburne, Texas.

UAFS (26-18) will play No. 1 seed and No. 19-ranked Lubbock Christian in an elimination game at noon on Friday. Lubbock Christian lost to defending tournament champion and No. 4 seed St. Edward's 3-2 in the first game of Thursday's opening round.

The winner of the UAFS-Lubbock Christian game will play the loser of the St. Edward's-Rogers State Game at 7 p.m. on Friday. Live statistics and live stream will be available for all games.

All six of the Lions' hits were singles and came off Hillcats starter Jackson Simonsgaard (8-1), who earned the complete-game win. Simonsgaard did not walk a batter and struck out five over nine innings.

No Lions batter had multiple hits, and UAFS had only one runner reach scoring position. Designated hitter Trent Powell singled with two outs in the seventh inning but was left stranded at third with the Lions trailing 3-0.

Lions ace Javon Rigsby suffered the hard-luck, complete-game loss. Rigsby (5-7), who tossed his school-record 10^th complete game, allowed four runs – three earned – on five hits with two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts – tied for the sixth-most during the program's NCAA Division II era – over a season-long eight innings.

One big hit did all the damage for the Hillcats.

With one out and two on in the third inning, Rigsby gave up a three-run home run to Hillcats first baseman Grant Farris to give the Hillcats a 3-0 lead. Designated hitter Dylan Russell singled and scored on a two-out single by shortstop Zack Mann in the seventh inning to account for the Hillcats' final run.

No Hillcats batter had multiple hits, and Farris' home run – his ninth of the season – was the only extra-base hit of the game for either team.

Post-Game News Conference
 
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
NO. 2 ROGERS STATE 4, NO. 3 UAFS 0
UAFS                          000      000      000      --          0          6          1
Rogers State                003      000      01X     --          4          5          0
Rigsby and Hurt; Simonsgaard and Ford. W – Simonsgaard, 8-1. L – Rigsby, 5-7. HRs – RSU, Farris (9).