FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State baseball earned a doubleheader split with Emporia State on Saturday (Mar. 29) at Larks Park in Hays. Emporia State took game one by a score of 4-1, but the Tigers held on for a 7-6 win in game two. Fort Hays State is now at 8-18 overall, 7-16 in the MIAA, while Emporia State moved to 18-10 overall and 14-9 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Emporia State 4, Fort Hays State 1
Pitching had the upper hand in game one for both teams as runs were hard to come by in a battle between Steven Federau of Fort Hays State and Jarrod Miller of Emporia State.
Fort Hays State took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Nick Hammeke two-out RBI single to plate Cooper Langley who reached by error earlier in the inning. Unfortunately the Tigers could not get their slim margin to hold up.
After Federau held the Hornets scoreless through four innings, he ran into trouble in the fifth. A walk and double to open the inning led to a pair of runs and Emporia State grabbing a 2-1 lead. ESU tied the game with the first runner coming in on a wild pitch, then a RBI groundout plated the go-ahead run.
With two outs in the sixth, the Hornets extended their lead to 4-1 on an Aaron Gile two-RBI double, ending the day for Federau who allowed the four runs on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Joe Mapes pitched the final 1.1 innings for the Tigers and retired all four batters he faced.
The Tigers only scratched out three hits after the second inning and Miller retired the final nine Tigers that he faced in the game. Miller allowed seven hits, did not walk anyone, and struck out eight to move to 3-3 on the season. Federau moved to 1-5 on the season with the loss for FHSU.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 7, Emporia State 6
Fort Hays State jumped out to a 5-1 advantage over Emporia State in game two, but Emporia State tied the game with four runs in the fourth. The Tigers took the lead back for good with a pair of runs in the fifth and held off the Hornets over the last two innings.
Clayton Garland put the Tigers on the board in the first with a RBI triple and Horace Johnson followed with a RBI groundout to make it 2-0. In the second inning, the lead grew to 3-0 on a Nick Hammeke RBI single. Emporia State cut into the lead with a run in the third, but the Tigers immediately responded with two more runs on a two-RBI double by Kevin Czarnecki in the bottom half of the inning to make it 5-1.
Emporia State rallied for four runs in the fourth on a RBI single, a sacrifice fly RBI, and a two-run game-tying home run by Dean Long.
FHSU starter Austin Unrein battled through the rally and moved in line for the win when the Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-5. Czarnecki recorded his third RBI of the game on a single and Casey Sedbrook also knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice.
With runners at first and third in the sixth, Gabe Cook relieved Unrein on the mound. An error by the Tigers allowed one run to score, but Cook got a flyout to end the threat and keep the Tigers ahead by one at 7-6. He then worked around a pair of singles in the seventh to record his first save of the season and push Unrein’s record to 2-1 for the season. Unrein went 5.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and two walks. Cook allowed two hits and struck out one.
Emporia State starter Kevin Shaffer allowed five runs to the Tigers in 2.2 innings, but reliever Matt Hinkley was tagged with the loss in 1.1 innings of work. He allowed the two runs in the fifth to FHSU after the game was tied 5-5. Brenton Higgins worked the final 2.0 innings for ESU.
Fort Hays State will look for a four-game series split on Sunday in the final game of the series, beginning at 12 pm. You can hear the game on Tiger Radio Mix-103.