FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State defeated McPherson College for the second time in as many weeks with a 12-4 win on Tuesday night at Larks Park in Hays. After dropping their last three contests with just a total of three runs, the bats came alive as the Tigers churned out 16 hits in the non-conference win.

FHSU did the majority of its damage in the first five innings, jumping out to an 11-1 advantage. FHSU scored three times in the first, second, and third to build a 9-1 lead, then added single runs in the fourth and fifth. FHSU added its final run in the eighth to push its lead back to eight at 12-4 after the Bulldogs scored once in the seventh and two in the eighth.

Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup recorded hits in the game. Kevin Czarnecki, Cooper Langley, Connor Ross and Alex King all had two in the game. Clayton Basgall also recorded two hits after entering the game in the fifth. Langley had the only home run for FHSU, a two-run shot in the first, while Ross had two of five doubles for the team.

Joe Mapes picked up the win for FHSU, going a predetermined 4.0 innings in the start. He allowed just one run on five hits. Mapes is now 1-0 on the season. Steven Federau relieved for two innings, retiring all six batters he faced with three strikeouts. Will Amen pitched 1.1 innnings, allowing three runs, while Ty Thomas finished the game with 1.2 innings of work, retiring all four batters he faced (including a double play to end the eighth).

The Tigers moved to 7-21 overall on the year with the win. FHSU hosts Missouri Western in a four-game conference series this Friday and Saturday (Apr. 3-4) in Hays.