Then came the seventh.
Logan Beakley's basehit capped a final-inning comeback as the Rangers made up a four-run deficit to snatch an 8-7 win in high school baseball action Tuesday night.
Muldrow took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but Roland's Kyp Matlock led off with a walk and Michael Gabucci drilled a double off the fence in left field to ignite the rally.
A Bulldog error allowed Matlock to score from third and Zack Manchester to reach first base before Muldrow recorded the first out of the inning. Michael Mendoza's RBI-single cut the gap to 7-5 and Brian Smith looped a single into centerfield to score another. Jacob Sams knotted the score with a grounder to first base, bringing Beakley to the plate with two outs.
Beakley responded with a high fly ball that found an opening between three Muldrow players in shallow right field, allowing Smith to hustle home from second base.
Smith and Beakley were the offensive leaders for Roland, which totaled 11 hits on Tuesday while improving to 5-4 and claiming its second win of the season over Muldrow. Smith went 4-for-4 with four singles and one RBI while Beakley hit 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
Cody Hatman earned the victory for Roland after coming on in relief of starting pitcher Zack Manchester in the third inning. Hatman (1-0) struck out two, walked one and scattered four hits over the final five innings.
Muldrow's most productive inning came in the top of the third. Brandon Cardwell stroked an RBI single and three more runs scored on Roland errors as the Bulldogs went in front 6-1.
Muldrow third baseman Mitt Marshall singled in another run in the top of the fourth to make it 7-1.
However, missed opportunities and fielding errors came back to haunt the Bulldogs. Muldrow left the bases loaded three times, stranded a total of 12 runners and had six errors.
A Muldrow miscue in the bottom of the fourth allowed Smith to score as the Rangers began their comeback. That made it 7-2 and another error put a runner on base in the the fifth inning. Beakley's RBI single brought the runner home to make it 7-3.
The Bulldogs had seven hits in the game. Centerfielder/pitcher Justin Pratt went 2-for-4 with an RBI to pace Muldrow offensively.
Starting pitcher Chris Turner worked the first six innings for Muldrow, giving up seven hits and striking out four batters before leaving the mound before the final inning.
Roland and Muldrow could meet again later this week as both teams travel to the Checotah Tournament, which is scheduled to run Thursday through Saturday.
