Fort Hays State ended its three-game slide to begin MIAA play with a doubleheader sweep of Washburn at Larks Park in Hays on Tuesday. Fort Hays State won game one by a slim 5-3 margin, then ran away with game two 14-2 by run-rule in seven innings. The Tigers moved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the MIAA. Washburn moved to 2-3 overall and 2-3 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 5, Washburn 3
A two-out single in the first inning by Nate Miller put the Tigers up 2-0 early, but Washburn cut the lead in half in the fourth inning on a RBI ground out by Dakota Kell.
The Tigers responded with two more in the bottom half of the fourth when Sam Thornton and Clayton Garland each generated one RBI each on infield grounders after Jay Sanders and Jordan Miller started off the inning with back-to-back singles and a double steal.
Washburn continued to chip away with one run in the fifth and one in the sixth to make it 4-3 late in the 7-inning contest, but Fort Hays State gained an insurance run courtesy of a throwing error on the Ichabods in the sixth when they tried to turn a double play to get out of the inning.
Kyle Leroy shut the door on the Ichabods, allowing just a leadoff single in the seventh before retiring the final three batters. He picked up the first save of the season for FHSU in 2.0 innings of work after entering one batter into the sixth for starter Nathan Zimmerman. Zimmerman went 5.0 innings in the start, allowing three runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 14, Washburn 2
Fort Hays State opened the scoring in the second contest with three in the second. Sam Thornton and Clayton Garland had back-to-back RBI singles. Jordan Miller scored in the inning on a wild pitch. Ryan Busboom added to the lead with a solo home run in the third to make it 4-0.
After Washburn picked up a run in the top of the fourth, the FHSU offense exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. Thornton started the scoring with a safety squeeze bunt to plate a run. Garland backed that with a RBI single followed by a Chris Santoscoy RBI double. Nathan Miller knocked in a run with a single before Kelton Rule topped the inning off with a three-run home run to give FHSU an 11-1 advantage.
Washburn added its final run in the fifth before Busboom pushed the advantage back to 10 in the sixth with his second solo home run of the game. Rule scored on a wild pitch later in the inning and Thornton drove home his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to make it 14-2.
Nathan Briar did not allow a run in relief over the final two innings, allowing FHSU to win by run-rule after seven innings. He preserved the win for Alex Ellison, who went 5.0 innings in the start. He allowed just four hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Only one of the runs he allowed was earned. Ellison moved to 1-1 on the season.
The Tigers are scheduled to play a three-game weeekend series at Central Oklahoma on Saturday and Sunday.