FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State Softball closed out the home portion of its regular season with a sweep of MIAA opponent Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. The Tigers pulled off two comeback victories, winning Game 1, 12-4, in five innings before a four-run sixth inning secured a Game 2 win, 6-4.
FHSU (28-17, 17-9 MIAA) has now won six of its last seven, securing the fourth seed in the MIAA tournament and setting up a first round matchup next Thursday against fifth-seeded Central Missouri in Overland Park, Kan. UNK dropped to 12-28 (9-17 MIAA) with the doubleheader loss.
The Tigers travel north to Kearney, Neb., on Sunday for a non-conference doubleheader against the Lopers to close out the regular season. The doubleheader is set to begin at Noon.
Game 1: FHSU 12, UNK 4 (5 innings)
Down 3-0 after the first, FHSU tied the game in the second before a four-run fourth and a five-run fifth inning to run-rule the Lopers, 12-4.
Jordan Jones (1-0) claimed her first win of the season on Senior Day, tossing the final two innings in shutout fashion, allowing just two hits to shut down the Lopers. Paxton Duran started the game, tossing into the fourth inning and allowing four runs (just two earned) on five hits, striking out two.
Offensively, Biance Adame put together an impressive senior day performance, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and seven RBI – tying the school’s single-game record. Amanda Vaupel was 3-for-3 with three runs scored, while Kellsi Olsen was 2-for-3 and Courtney Dobson (1-for-2) had two walks and two RBI.
After allowing three in the top of the first, FHSU answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Vaupel singled to left center before taking second on Callie Wright’s walk. The bases were loaded as Olsen reached on an error and Adame emptied the bases with a double to left center.
The Lopers struck again in the fourth, taking the lead with a RBI single from Erin Dwyer, but it was short lived as Fort Hays State took over for good in its half of the fourth.
Duran led off the bottom half with a single up the middle, followed by Vaupel’s bunt single and Wright’s sacrifice bunt, putting runners on second and third with one out. Olsen’s first hit of the game followed as she singled through the left side and took second as the throw to the plate was late, scoring Duran and pushing Vaupel to third. Adame’s single up the middle plated Vaupel and Olsen, and as a throw from the centerfielder came in errant, Adame moved up to second.
After a pitching change, Dobson drew a walk and Brinkmann singled through the left side, scoring Adame and putting the Tigers ahead, 7-4.
Looking to extend their lead in the fifth, a one-out burst of offense ended in five runs on five hits to put the game away early. With one out, Vaupel singled to right center for her third hit of the game, followed by a fielder’s choice from Wright that landed both runners safely as a throwing error was wide of the bag at second base.
Olsen’s single to left loaded the bases, and after Madison Putman pinch ran for Wright on second, Adame took a 2-1 pitch into left center for her second double of the game, scoring Vaupel and Putman and pushing Olsen to third. In the next at-bat, Dobson singled home Olsen and Adame, giving FHSU a seven-run lead with just one out in the fifth.
After Brinkmann walked, Samantha Villareal’s single up the middle allowed Adame to scamper home and end the game in walk-off fashion, 12-4.
Game 2: FHSU 6, UNK 4
After finding themselves down again early, the Tigers rallied late for a 6-4 victory in Game 2 to complete the sweep.
Katelyn Kern started the game, tossing 1.2 innings with just two hits allowed and a strikeout, but was tagged for four unearned runs before exiting in the second. Kelsey Kimminau (10-7) entered and threw the final 5.1 innings for the victory, giving up just one hit and striking out two Lopers.
At the plate, Kylie Strand was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Amanda Vaupel went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Danie Brinkmann’s two walks moved her into first all-time in Fort Hays State history for career walks, giving her 77 free passes in her three seasons at FHSU. Brinkmann (1-for-2), Callie Wright (2-for-2) and Tori Beltz (1-for-3) each had doubles in the game.
UNK jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second, taking advantage of three hits and a Tiger error to score four unanswered. That score remained until the bottom of the fourth, when FHSU broke out of its shell score two runs on four hits – though they would leave the bases loaded twice in the fourth and fifth.
Strand led off the fourth with an infield single off the pitcher, and took second on Wright’s sacrifice bunt. Vaupel pushed Strand to third with a single to centerfield before Samantha Villarreal’s pinch hit single to left scored Strand.
Kellsi Olsen reached on an error by UNK’s third baseman, loading the bases as Vaupel slid underneath the tag at third. Biance Adame followed with a sacrifice fly to right, deep enough for Vaupel to dash home and cut the lead in half, 4-2.
Fort Hays State rallied in the sixth with four runs on five hits for the comeback win, starting the offensive burst with a one out single from Courtney Dobson, followed by Brinkmann’s double to right. After Madison Putman pinch ran for Brinkmann, Beltz drove a 3-2 pitch off the right field wall for an RBI double, scoring Dobson and moving Putman to third, once again cutting the lead in half (4-3).
In the next at-bat, Strand worked a 1-1 count before taking a pitch the opposite way to right to score Putman and Rilee Krier (who pinch ran for Beltz), before Strand took third on an error by the right fielder. Strand moved to third on an illegal pitch, and later in the inning came home on Vaupel’s single up the middle to put FHSU ahead, 6-4.