PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team was unable to tame the explosive Pittsburg State offense Monday afternoon (Feb. 26), falling in the series finale, 18-5. The Tigers dip to 7-6 on the year and 3-0 in MIAA play, while the Gorillas are now 9-4 overall and 3-0 in league action.
The Gorillas took control early and never relented, batting around in each of the first three innings. Trailing 4-0 in the top of the second, the Tigers answered with a run when Jordan Wilkerson drew a walk to lead things off. After moving to third on a double off the bat of Marcus Altman, the junior came in to score when Jason Nicholson sent a sacrifice to the left side of the infield.
Nicholson added a second RBI in the fourth inning when he doubled to left center, bringing Ryan Grasser around to score.
Fort Hays State started a bit of a two-out rally in the sixth inning, putting up three runs to close within 18-5. Grasser worked a walk in the first at bat of the inning before the next two batters were retired. Nicholson then drew a walk before Bryce Baumwart picked up a pinch-hit single, loading the bases for the top of the order. Addison Kaasch came through with an RBI single before Clayton Basgall drove in two with a double down the left field line, but the rally ended there.
The Tigers loaded the bases once again in the seventh inning, but the Gorilla bullpen recorded one final strikeout to finish things off.
Ben Ramberg (2-1) took the loss, giving up four runs on four walks. Seven different Tigers took to the mound, with Cole Schumacher and Sam Capps both recording scoreless innings. Schumacher retired all three batters he faced, striking out two, while Capps picked up the only other strikeout for a Tiger pitcher.
Basgall collected three of FHSU’s eight hits on the day, including a pair of doubles. Altman added two doubles while Nicholson was 1-for-1 with a double, a sacrifice, a walk and a hit by pitch.
The Tigers will return to Larks Park on Wednesday (Feb. 28) when they host Northwestern Oklahoma State in a midweek matchup. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.