BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Fort Hays State Wrestling had four wrestlers compete at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on Friday. Jon Inman (197) and Brandon Ball (141) secured All-America status by advancing to Saturday, while Greg Tooley (157) and Christian Lance (285) saw their seasons come to an end.

Second-ranked Inman advanced to the semifinals for the second time in his career by going 2-0 on the day. Inman started the day off with a big pin over Kutztown’s Jeff Reimel 1:01 into the second period. He punched his ticket to day two and the semifinals with a 5-3 come-from-behind decision over Newberry’s Cody Brundage. Inman fell behind early in the match with Brundage after allowing an early takedown, but ended up taking full control in the third period to claim the victory. Facing Inman in the semifinals on Saturday will be Ashland’s Luke Cramer, ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Redshirt-freshman and 10th-ranked Ball advanced to day two after going 2-1 to start the championships. Ball won his first match of the day with No. 8 ranked Joseph Alessandro from Seton Hill with a 4-1 decision. In the quarterfinals, he dropped a tough 5-3 decision to No. 3 Darren Wynn of McKendree, falling to the consolation bracket. In his first match on the backside, he dominated with a 17-2 technical fall over No. 12 Pete Cunningham of California Baptist.

Tooley officially went 0-2 on the day, but advanced to the second round of the consolation bracket thanks to a medical forfeit. This season provided a taste of what Tiger wrestling will get from the young Tooley as the redshirt freshman still has three years of wrestling ahead of him. Overall, on the year, Tooley was 26-6, and ended the season as the 8^th-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds.

Lance battled hard and just missed attaining All-America status, but dropped a pair of one-point decisions to end his season with a 1-2 day. Lance dropped his first match of the day to fourth-ranked Donnell Walker of Maryville 3-2 to fall to the consolation round. There he picked up the sudden victory win after earning a two-point takedown in extra time over Findlay’s Mimmo Lytle. Lance then faced off with Austin Goergen, the no. 5 wrestler in the nation out of St. Cloud State. Lance gave Goergen all he could handle but ultimately fell 6-5. Lance turned in a great season for the Tigers and as a redshirt-freshman, leading the team in wins with a 44-10 record.

Inman and Ball begin day two of the championships at 10 am on Saturday. As a team, Fort Hays State is 15th in the standings with 19 points generated so far.

FHSU Sports Information

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Fort Hays State baseball team saw a pair of late leads disappear in the final innings of a doubleheader Friday afternoon against Southwest Baptist, losing both games in walk-off fashion. The Tigers move to 7-13 overall and 1-8 in the MIAA while SBU improves to 13-6 this season and 4-5 in the conference following the sweep.

Game One: Southwest Baptist 12, Fort Hays State 11
The Tigers used 14 hits to score 11 runs in the first contest of the day, but the bullpen squandered a 10-4 lead by giving up eight runs in the final four innings. The Bearcats jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind a pair of unearned runs in the first, but Dayton Pomeoroy started the comeback with a leadoff home run in the top of the second, his team-leading fifth long ball of the season. FHSU tied things up in the third when Ty Redington led off with a single to center. After advancing to third on a failed pickoff, the third baseman scored on a bunt single from Jake Lanferman.

Fort Hays State erupted for six runs in the top of the fourth after a pitch hit Ryan Imber to open the frame. Jared Bogosian laid down a sacrifice bunt, but was safe after the Bearcat throw was late to second. Redington plated Imber with a bunt single two batters later, with Nick Hammeke following with an RBI single to left. Pomeroy picked up his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly later in the inning before Clayton Basgall loaded the bases with an infield single. Trevor Hughes followed with a pinch-hit double down the right field line, pushing two runs across. Basgall scored the final run after scampering home on a wild pitch.

Marcus Altman reached on a one-out single in the top of the fifth before coming in to score on a double from Redington, putting the Tigers in front 9-2.

The Bearcats started their comeback in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs in the inning before adding three in the sixth, one in the seventh and four in the ninth.

Fort Hays State tacked on another run in the top of the sixth when Pomeroy drew a leadoff walk. After moving to third on a single from Basgall, the junior came in to score on a wild pitch. The Tigers scored their final run in the top of the ninth when Redington reached on a two-out error. Hammeke made the Bearcats pay for their mistake, crushing an RBI double in the next at bat.

The Bearcats took advantage of five walks and an error to score four runs in the bottom of the ninth, winning the game with just one hit in the inning.

Tiger starter Sam Capps kept the Bearcats at bay through five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits and three walks. Redington had his second-straight three-hit game, scoring three runs. Hammeke also strung together three hits, driving in two. Basgall finished 2-for-5 with a run.

Game Two: Southwest Baptist 3, Fort Hays State 2
The Tigers dropped another heart-breaker in the nightcap, going down after a walk-off home run handed SBU a 3-2 win. Alex Ruxlow (3-4) took the hard-luck loss after holding the Bearcats scoreless through seven innings. The junior surrendered eight hits in the complete-game loss, striking out one and walking none.

The game remained scoreless until FHSU broke through in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of a leadoff hit by pitch. Jason Nicholson bunted over Trevor Hughes before the catcher came in to score on a single from Marcus Altman.

Altman came through with another clutch hit in the ninth, tying things up at two after the Bearcats took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Hughes once again reached to lead off the inning, this time with a single past the second baseman. Another sacrifice bunt and a groundout moved pinch runner Colton Helm to third with two outs. Altman delivered with a single through the hole at short, driving in Helm. The Bearcat pitching staff loaded the bases with a walk and another hit by pitch, but got out of the jam with a flyout.

Altman was the only Tiger with multiple hits, driving in both Tiger runs. The rest of the team combined to go 0-for-11 with runners on base.

The Tigers will return home for six-straight games at Larks Park starting Tuesday when FHSU hosts Newman in a non-conference matchup at 3 p.m.

FHSU Sports Information

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Fort Hays State sprinter Dillando Allotey qualified for the finals of the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday. By just .02 seconds, Allotey was able to make the cut for the final race on Saturday at 4:30 pm.

Allotey ran a time of 21.53 seconds on Friday to edge his way into the finals finishing eighth in the prelims. He knocked out Kenneth Jackson of Texas A&M-Kingsville by just .02 seconds. Academy of Art’s Mobolade Ajomale had the top time of the day in 21.09 seconds. Ajomale came into nationals with the nation’s top time.

Allotey’s performance makes Fort Hays State 2-for-2 in qualifying for the finals from prelim races. On Thursday, Brett Meyer qualified for the finals in the 800 meters. Watch both compete in the finals on Saturday, with Meyer racing at 4:10 pm and Allotey racing at 4:30 pm. Click on the watch live link on the Men’s Track and Field schedule to locate the stream.

FHSU Sports Information

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State Softball had a great start to MIAA play on Friday when it swept a doubleheader at home against Northeastern State. The Tigers improved to 8-12 overall, 2-0 in the MIAA, with wins by scores of 10-2 and 6-4. NSU dropped to 9-12 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Game 1: Fort Hays State 10, Northeastern State 2
Northeastern State briefly held a 1-0 lead after a half inning, but Fort Hays State took control the rest of the way and won by run rule in the sixth inning. Bailey Boxberger started the offensive onslaught for the Tigers by hitting a missile through the teeth of a chilly wind for a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to put the Tigers up 2-1.

A dropped fly ball off the bat of Kylie Strand in the second started another two-run rally. Jeni Mohr knocked Strand in on an RBI single and then Lily Sale had an RBI double to make it 4-1.

The RiverHawks benefitted from two Tiger errors in the fourth to cut the lead in half at 4-2, but the Tigers pulled away with three runs in both the fifth and sixth inning to invoke the run rule. In the fifth, Candace Bollig had an RBI double and Mohr had another RBI single. The Tigers also scored a run on a bobble by the shortstop on a ball put in play by Strand. With the bases loaded in the sixth, Bollig walked to get a run home, Tess Gray knocked in a run with a single, and Strand ended the game with a fielder’s choice hit out to the shortstop that scored another run from third.

After allowing a run and three hits in the first, Carrie Clarke settled in for the remainder of the game to improve to 3-2 on the season. She allowed just three hits over her final five innings of work and allowed just one earned run overall. Mollie Carter of NSU fell to 1-1 on the season allowing seven runs (three earned) on nine hits over 5.0 innings of work.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 6, Northeastern State 4
Both teams struggled to find many hits through the first three innings, but the Tigers broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the fourth and four in the fifth to build a 6-1 lead. NSU scored three runs in the seventh, but FHSU held on 6-4 for the doubleheader sweep.

Like game one, the Tigers fell behind 1-0 before tying up the game in the third on an awkward defensive play. Bailey Kennedy stole second base, but the catcher’s throw was low and dug out by the shortstop. But Kennedy collided with the fielder trying to block the base and in the midst of the collision, Jeni Mohr took home on the catcher’s choice to throw down to second.

In the fourth, Tess Gray provided a line-shot solo home run over the left field wall to push the Tigers in front 2-1. Mohr led off the fifth with a single and then a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Kennedy had the Tigers in business with runners at the corners. Sale came up with a bunt single that scored Mohr, then Veronica Knittig smacked an RBI double down the right field line to make it 4-1. Bailey Boxberger and Candace Bollig provided back-to-back sacrifice flies to push the lead to 6-1.

The RiverHawks did not go quietly as they strung together two singles, a double, and a triple in the seventh to cut the lead down to two, but a groundout and flyout ended the game.

Hailey Chapman went the distance for the Tigers in the circle, allowing four runs on seven hits and five walks with seven strikeouts. She is now 5-7 on the season. Jennifer Wolf fell to 1-4 on the season for NSU, allowing six runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings of work.

The Tigers return to the diamond on Saturday (Mar. 11) when they host No. 9 ranked Central Oklahoma in another conference doubleheader.