For the first time since winning their season opener at West Texas A&M back on February 24th, the Fort Hays State baseball team is above .500. The Tigers moved to 19-18 with a 12-8 win over Nebraska-Kearney in non-conference play on Tuesday evening at Larks Park in Hays, Kan. THe Tigers head to Bolivar, Mo. for a four-game MIAA series with Southwest Baptist starting with a doubleheader Friday.
Steve Johnson Post Game Interview:
post4-17-12
Game Highlights:
highlights4-17-12
FHSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings. JC Ochoa had an RBI single, then later scored from second on a failed pick off attempt by UNK starter Ross Mortensen that went into center field. Sheldon Howell had an RBI double in the second inning.
Starter Tyler Treinen did not allow a hit to his first seven batters faced. He ran into some trouble in the third though. After retiring the first batter of the inning, Treinen hit two and allowed a single over the next three batters to load the bases. He picked up the second out before allowing a wild pitch, then a pair of singles that tied the game. Tayler Davis entered in relief to get the final out of the inning and keep the game tied.
FHSU took the lead back briefly in the bottom of the third on a Luke Kordsmeier RBI single, his first RBI this year that was not on a home run. However, Kearney struck again for two runs against Davis in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. That would be the only lead of the night held by UNK.
Mace Krol delivered a big blow for the Tigers in the bottom of the fourth with a grand slam, his ninth home run of the season and second consecutive that was a grand slam. He had a grand slam against Truman this past weekend on Saturday. The Tigers went up 8-5 on his shot to right field over the scoreboard. It was the fourth grand slam hit by the Tigers this season.
The Lopers cut back into the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth to make it 8-7. Tayler Davis was responsible for the first run, but FHSU held on to the lead from that point on, so he picked up his first win of the season. Sam Thornton and Casey Pierce picked up the three outs in the fifth to preserve the win opportunity for Davis.
FHSU added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly RBI by Brett Macari. He and Kyle Leroy would be instrumental in holding the Lopers at bay the rest of the way.
Leroy pitched the sixth and seventh innings, allowing one run in the Lopers in the seventh. He got a ground ball double play in the seventh to limit the Lopers to just one run with a bases-loaded, no-out situation.
FHSU picked up a pair of runs in the seventh on a Howell 2-RBI double down the left field line before turning to closer Brett Macari in the eighth and ninth. Macari did not allow a hit and struck out two over the final two innings to record his fourth save of the season. FHSU scored once more in the eighth when Howell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Tigers are currently in sixth place in the MIAA standings at 16-15 entering the four-game series at Southwest Baptist this weekend, but just a half game back of Missouri Southern for fifth and one and a half games back of Washburn and Emporia State for third.
– FHSU Sports Information –