FHSU Sports Information
15th-ranked Fort Hays State University closed out the first weekend of MIAA play with a doubleheader sweep of Southwest Baptist on Monday in Hays, Kan. The Tigers took Game 1, 9-5 before a 6-0 win in Game 2.
The Tigers (14-5, 4-0 MIAA) pushed their win streak to four with 15 total runs on 21 combined hits.
FHSU hosts No. 21 Emporia State and Washburn this weekend (March 14-15) for conference doubleheaders at Tiger Stadium. Friday’s game time is set for 4 p.m. and Saturday’s action scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game 1: FHSU 9, SBU 5
Fort Hays State took a 4-0 lead in the first and never looked back, taking the first game with 12 hits and eight RBI.
Kelsey Kimminau (6-1) threw 6.0 innings for the win, striking out four and allowing five runs (none earned) on 10 hits. Katelyn Kern picked up her fourth save of the season by holding the Bearcats hitless in the seventh.
Offensively, Courtney Dobson went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, while Samantha Villarral was 2-for-4 with two RBI and Amanda Vaupel had a double with two RBI.
Bianca Adame started the Tigers offensively with a one-out single in the first and moved to second on Dobson’s single. After Danie Brinkmann reached on an error by SBU’s Amanda Smith, Villarreal’s ground ball pushed Adame home. Vaupel followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Dobson and Brinkmann. Jenna Lang’s single put runners on first and third with two down, and Vaupel came home on a wild pitch during Amy Dunn’s at-bat.
SBU closed the gap to two (4-2) in the second, but a three-run fourth inning for the Tigers put the game out of reach.
With one out in the fourth, Kellsi Olsen singled up the middle and took second on a misplay in center field. Rilee Krier walked and was thrown out at second on Adame’s fielder’s choice, putting runners on the corners with two down. Adame stole second base during Dobson’s at-bat, who added a single to score both Adame and Olsen. Brinkmann followed with an RBI-single up the middle to score Dobson.
In the fifth, the Bearcats got three runs back on two hits and three FHSU errors, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers tacked on two more in the sixth.
Krier started off the inning with a bunt single and wheeled around to third on a throwing error, then scored on Adame’s single up the middle. With one out, Adame stole second and came around to score on Villarreal’s RBI-single to right.
Game 2: FHSU 6, SBU 0
Paxton Duran (6-3) threw a complete game shutout in the second game of the day – scattering three hits and striking out nine batters.
Rilee Krier and Bianca Adame each went 2-for-4 at the plate as Adame earned two runs and an RBI. Courtney Dobson had two walks in a 1-for-2 performance while Amanda Vaupel had two RBI on a double.
FHSU picked up four first-inning runs for the second time on the day to jump ahead for good, starting with back-to-back singles from Krier and Adame. Krier would be thrown out stealing second, but Adame moved to second as Dobson worked a walk. With one down, the Tigers took advantage of an overthrow on a double steal as Adame scored and Dobson reached third. Later in the inning, Samantha Villarreal was hit by a pitch and Vaupel’s double to right field cleared the bases. In the next at-bat, Duran singled up the middle as Vaupel was ruled safe on a collision at the plate.
The Tigers tacked two more runs in the sixth – the final half inning for Fort Hays State offensively. Madisoin Putman and Kellsi Olsen started the sixth with back-to-back singles before Adame’s one-out single scored Putman. Dobson’s single loaded the bases, and a fielder’s choice for Tori Beltz kept the bases juiced. A fielding error on SBU’s Londyn Backfisch allowed Villarreal to reach first and Adame to score the final run of the day for FHSU.