The Fort Hays State baseball team was in position to take three of four games in the weekend series with Truman after a 6-2 win in Game 1 Sunday, but a disappointing 15-4 loss in Game 2 allowed Truman to leave Hays with a split. The Tigers are now 18-18 overall and 16-15 in the MIAA.
Steve Johnson Postgame Interview
fhsu coach interview 04-15
Game 1: Fort Hays State 6, Truman 2
Both teams were hitless through 2 1/2 innings until Nash Smith logged the first hit for FHSU in the third. Sheldon Howell followed with another hit and then with two outs, Truman intentionally walked Ryan Busboom for the second time in the game. Mace Krol made Truman pay with a grand slam to left field to put the Tigers up 4-0.
FHSU starter Jesse Hart finally allowed his first hit to Truman in the fourth on a solo home run by Steven Rose. Hart would go on to last 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on just three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. He moved to 3-0 on the season with the win.
FHSU added insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings to push its lead to 6-1. They took advantage of an error by Truman to start the fourth, which led to a squeeze bunt RBI for Chris Santoscoy. Brandon Hoefler had a two-out RBI single in the fifth.
Kyle Leroy got the Tigers out of a jam with runners at first and third and two outs with the score 6-2 in the top of the sixth. He got Jarod Hahn to fly out to center field to end the rally. He worked a scoreless seventh inning to pick up his first save of the season, allowing no hits in his 1.1 innings of work.
Game 2: Truman 15, Fort Hays State 4
Truman held a 1-0 lead after two innings, but touched up FHSU starter Andy Lewton in the third for four runs on four hits to extend the lead to 5-0. Truman then blew the game open with an eight-run fifth to push the advantage to 13-0.
Lewton allowed seven runs in the start, lasting just 4.0 innings. He was responsible for the first two runs in the fifth.
The Tiger bullpen struggled mightily in relief of Lewton. Connor Beer recorded one out before allowing a pair of singles and a three-run home run. Tayler Davis also recorded just one out and allowed two runs, but both were earned after right fielder Nash Smith dropped a routine fly ball that would have prevented the final three runs from scoring in the inning. Sam Thornton walked three batters and did not record an out. Nathan Zimmerman finally recorded the final out of the fifth, but then surrendered two in the top of the sixth without recording an out. JJ Jaramillo finished the game for FHSU, allowing just two hits in his 2.0 innings of work.
Fort Hays State finally ended its scoreless drought in the sixth on a Chris Santoscoy two-RBI single down the right field line. Sheldon Howell would later follow with a bases-loaded RBI single and JC Ochoa had an RBI groundout to make it 15-4. The Tigers could have had a huge inning with two runners in scoring position, but Ryan Busboom struck out to end the inning. FHSU went quietly in the seventh, allowing Truman to leave with a run-rule victory in the scheduled nine-inning contest.
Truman’s Daniel Jewett held the FHSU bats quiet over the first five innings before allowing the four runs in the sixth. Only two of the four runs he allowed were earned. He lasted 5 1/3 innings to record his first win of the season.
Game Highlights
fhsu game 04-15 highlights