WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State Softball fell twice to Newman University on Wednesday in non-conference action. The Jets took game one with a four-run rally in the sixth to win 4-2, then took the nightcap in extra innings in a 1-0 pitching duel. FHSU is now 22-23 overall, while Newman finished its season at 16-35 overall.

Game 1: Newman 4, Fort Hays State 2
The Tigers and Jets played scoreless softball until the fifth inning when the Tigers broke through with a pair of runs. A Grace Philop RBI single broke the scoreless tie after two free passes allowed a pair of Tiger runners on base. Then with the bases loaded, Bailey Boxberger drew a walk to force in a second run.

Michaelanne Nelson held Newman scoreless over five innings on just two hits, but ran into trouble in the sixth. A pair of singles and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases for Newman with one out. A walk forced in the first run and then a bases-clearing double to the gap by Kameron Pope was the game changer, immediately putting Newman in front 4-2.

Nelson pitched a complete game for the seventh time this season and moved to 9-11 on the season. She allowed six hits and three walks, but struck out five.

Four of the seven walks allowed by Newman pitcher Dominique Payne occurred in the two-run fifth inning for FHSU. Payne allowed just three hits otherwise and struck out four in a complete game effort, moving to 10-11 on the year.

Game 2: Newman 1, Fort Hays State 0 (8 innings)
Fort Hays State and Newman locked in a pitching duel in game two as Hailey Chapman went toe-to-toe with Bailey Bugner. Chapman took the hard-luck loss after both threw seven shutout innings. A leadoff walk and a timely hit in the bottom of the eighth allowed Newman to sweep the doubleheader in walk-off fashion.

The Tigers pieced together only four hits in the contest, but could not take advantage of the five walks allowed by Bugner. The Tigers’ had two main threats in the game. The first was Katie Adler attempting to score on a Sara Breckbill single in the third, but she was tagged out just before she reached the plate with her foot. FHSU loaded the bases in the seventh on a single, walk, and hit batter. However, an infield grounder ended another threat.

After a leadoff walk and then a sacrifice bunt in the eighth, Newman won the game on an RBI single by Dominique Payne.

Chapman struck out 10 Jets and allowed four hits with three walks. She moved to 11-12 on the year with the loss. Bugner moved to 3-12 on the year with the complete-game win. She struck out six Tigers.

Up Next
Fort Hays State now turns its focus to the big doubleheader against Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday (Apr. 27) in Hays. The Tigers are looking for a pair of wins that could possibly vault them into the MIAA Tournament field. The doubleheader is set for 2 pm.

MONKEY ISLAND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State men’s golf team finished sixth at the MIAA Championships (April 22-24), hosted at Shangri-La Country Club. The first round was played as at 7,009 yards, the second round was played at 7,006 yards and the third round was played at 6,788 yards. All rounds were par-72. The Tigers finished the week with rounds of 305, 301 and 310.

Senior Mac McNish claimed a solo 18th finish for the week. McNish carded rounds of 74, 73 and back to 74 in the third round to round out the event at 5-over par (221). McNish carded 12 birdies for the week.

Connor Schultz posted rounds of 76, 71 and 83 on his way to a tie for 34th individually. Schultz posted the only under-par round for a Tiger in the second round of the tournament. Schultz finished the week 14-over par (230) and carded 11 birdies in the championship.

Bryce Cowan also finished in a tie for 34th after firing rounds of 77, 78 and 75. Cowan picked up five birdies throughout the week. Isaiah Grover finished in a tie for 43rd after shooting rounds of 78, 82 and 79. Grover posted nine birdies in the tournament. Pete Carney fired rounds of 84, 79 and 82 with four birdies.

Lindenwood took home the team title with an aggregate score of 21-under par (843), winning the tournament by 12 strokes. Northeastern State placed second after finishing with a total score of 855 and Central Missouri finished third with an 865. Fort Hays State finished the week 52-over par as a team. Markus Lindgren of Lindenwood claimed the individual crown with an 11-under par (205) score for the tournament, narrowly beating out Alexander Hughes of Central Oklahoma by one stroke.

MAYETTA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State women’s golf team claimed an eighth-place finish at the MIAA Women’s Championship (April 22-24), hosted at Firekeeper Golf Course, a 5,880-yard, par-72 course. The Tigers shot rounds of 342, 341 and 323 to finish 142-over par (1006) for the tournament.

Senior Taylor DeBoer led Fort Hays State as she earned a tie for 23rd individually. DeBoer fired a first round score of 82 before finishing with identical 78’s to finish 22-over par (238) for the week. She finished the tournament with a team-high six birdies on the scorecard.

Hannah Perkins captured a solo 35th-place finish overall after shooting rounds of 88, 83 and 77 to post an overall score of 248. Perkins carded five birdies throughout the week. Katie Brungardt finished solo 40th with scores of 86, 87 and back to 86 in the third round. Brungardt carded an overall score of 259 while making three birdies and an eagle on a par four in the championship.

Kira Mestl posted round of 86, 93, and 82 to finish in a tie for 41st. Mestl picked up two birdies for the week. Kelsey McCarthy fired rounds of 91, 99 and 88. McCarthy finished with one birdie in the championship.

Northeastern State claimed the team title with an aggregate score of 38-over par (902). Central Missouri finished runner-up with rounds of 304, 296 and 305 (905), while Central Oklahoma captured third with a 920. Shi Qing Ong of Missouri Western grabbed the individual crown with a 1-under par score (215) for the tournament.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State senior golfer Hannah Perkins has been named to the All-MIAA team, announced Sunday by the league office. Perkins was listed as a first team All-MIAA performer for her outstanding senior season at FHSU.

Perkins earns All-MIAA status for the second time as a Tiger. The Wichita, Kan. native led the team with a 77.06 stroke average this season and was the top Tiger finisher in all eight of FHSU’s tournaments in 2018-19. She picked up her third career victory at the Rockhurst Invitational (March 26-27), posting four top-10 finishes to go along with seven top-25 finishes.

Perkins will be competing in the MIAA Championships this week (April 22-24), played at Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta, Kan. She will await her draw in the NCAA Division II Central Regional later on in the week.

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Fort Hays State experienced a case of déjà vu, having to salvage the final game of four MIAA road games on Saturday. It was the second straight weekend where the Tigers led in all four games of the weekend, losing the first three before winning the final contest. Southwest Baptist snapped a 16-game losing streak in game one with help from a pair of Tiger miscues, taking the contest 3-1 before Michaelanne Nelson tossed her first shutout of the season in game two for FHSU in a 5-0 win with its postseason hopes hanging in the balance. Fort Hays State is now 20-21 overall, 11-13 in the MIAA, while SBU moved to 6-43 overall, 3-19 in the MIAA.

Game 1: Southwest Baptist 3, Fort Hays State 1
Fort Hays State picked a bad time to struggle offensively and defensive mistakes in the fifth inning allowed Southwest Baptist to sneak by the Tigers in the first contest. Sierra Rodriguez provided the Tigers’ only run with a solo home run to left field in the second inning, putting the Tigers up 1-0.

Fort Hays State clung to that 1-0 lead all the way until the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs and a runner on second, a fielding error on an infield grounder allowed the inning to continue with runners at first and third. Then a passed ball allowed SBU to score and tie the game. Moments later, a bloop single into shallow left-center field drove in the runner that reached by error from second base giving SBU a 2-1 lead. The Bearcats added on to their lead in the sixth on a solo home run, their only earned run of the game.

FHSU recorded only two hits over the final five innings of the game against SBU pitcher Maddie Massanelli. From the third inning through the sixth inning, Massanelli retired 11 straight Tigers. She allowed just four hits overall and struck out three, moving to 2-18 on the season.

Hailey Chapman took the loss for FHSU in her 13th complete game effort of the season. She allowed eight hits and a walk, while striking out nine with only one earned run allowed.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 5, Southwest Baptist 0
With their potential MIAA Tournament life hanging in the balance, the Tigers received a big performance in the pitching circle from Michaelanne Nelson. She tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout to keep the Tigers in a position to potentially qualify for the MIAA Tournament, to be determined next Saturday (Apr. 27) in Hays. It was Nelson’s first shutout of the season.

The Tigers scored the majority of their runs in the third inning, plating four on a string of two-out singles from Sara Breckbill, Sierra Rodriguez, and Jeni Mohr. Breckbill drove home the game’s first run before Rodriguez followed a couple batters later with two RBIs. Mohr followed up Rodriguez with another RBI.

Rodriguez continued her big day at the plate for FHSU, giving the team an insurance run in the seventh with another RBI single.

It was plenty for Nelson, who had a no-hitter going through 4.1 innings. Emily Hall broke up that no-hit bid in the fifth on an infield single. Paige St. Pierre was the only other Bearcat to record a hit against Nelson, which occurred in the sixth. Nelson struck out six and walked three, moving to 9-10 on the season.

MIAA Tournament Scenario
Fort Hays State was looking for a sweep on Saturday to move back into seventh place in the MIAA standings, but came up short of that goal and now sits in 10th place alongside Missouri Southern with just two conference games remaining. Nebraska-Kearney switched spots with FHSU in the standings over the weekend, now in a three-way tie for seventh with Pittsburg State and Lindenwood, all at .500 in MIAA play.

Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney will sit idle on Friday (Apr. 26) while several other MIAA contests will shape up the standings for the final day of MIAA play on Saturday, April 27. FHSU and UNK will meet in Hays on the 27th in a doubleheader that will likely determine both teams’ postseason fate. The only way FHSU can jump UNK in the standings is with a sweep of the upcoming doubleheader.

Tiger Notes
-Sierra Rodriguez drove home four of Fort Hays State’s six runs in the doubleheader.
-Michaelanne Nelson tossed her first shutout of the season.
-FHSU pitchers recorded an 0.54 ERA for the day, yet still had to settle for a split in the doubleheader.
-FHSU has now scored 1 or less runs in 13 of its 21 losses this season.
-FHSU is now 14-2 this year when scoring at least 5 runs in a game.

Up Next
Fort Hays State has a pair of non-conference doubleheaders in the coming week before the big showdown with Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. FHSU will host Central Christian (Kan.) College on Tuesday before heading down to Newman University in Wichita on Wednesday.

EDMOND, Okla. – After playing competitive games in the first two games of the series with Central Oklahoma, Fort Hays State baseball team could not keep it close in Saturday’s series finale, losing 18-3. The Tigers fell to 3-34 overall and 2-25 in MIAA play, while the Bronchos moved to 27-14 on the season and 17-10 in conference action.

The Tigers were only able to produce four hits on the afternoon as Caleb Egan and Cody Starkel poked back-to-back hits in the third inning and Tim Fitzgerald and Egan earned consecutive hits in the seventh frame. Caleb Egan then scored the Tigers first run on a sacrifice line out from Dawson Sramek in the third frame. Cody Starkel ripped a 2-RBI triple to center field in the seventh, scoring Egan and Fitzgerald.

Central Oklahoma plated 18 runs on 12 hits in the contest, a season-high in runs for the Bronchos. UCO pushed across run in the first three innings before putting away the Tigers with an 11-run sixth frame.

Jake Taylor (0-5) was charged with the loss for the Tigers after throwing 3.0 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits with five walks and one strikeout. Ryan Brown relived Taylor with 2.1 innings of relief, allowing seven runs on three hits with two strikeouts and four hit batters.

The Tigers finished off the road trip with a three-game set against Central Missouri next weekend (April 26-28). First pitch against the Mules on Friday is slated for 6 p.m.

AZUSA, Calif. – After three days of competition in California, the Fort Hays State women’s track and field team earned multiple strong finishes, as well as a provisional. The Tigers competed in the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific this past Wednesday through Friday, an event which brought in over 10,000 entries.

Alexcia Deutscher earned the lone provisional for the Tigers over the week after placing 11th in the javelin with her throw of 142 feet, 3 inches. Alongside this provisional was a first place finish by Yessenia Gonzales who navigated the 5,000-meters with a top time of 17:41.14.

Among these two performances were multiple high finishes in the competitive event. The women’s 4×400 relay, made up of Peri Lange, Lindsay Schupe, Mattie Rossi and Grace Buessing place 12th with a time of 3:57.65. In the high jump, Summer Kragel claimed 13th with her height of 5 feet, 5 ¼ inches. In the discus, Laurel Haley finished in 20th place with her throw of 136 feet, 3 inches and Peri Lange totaled 4,258 points in the heptathlon to finish in 11th place.

Besides California, FHSU was being represented elsewhere this week. Julia Wagner participated in the Kansas Relays as she earned an 18th place finish in the hammer throw with her distance of 143 feet, 5 inches.

The Tigers are back in action in their final meet before conference championships as they travel to Concordia, Kan for the Cloud County Invitational on Thursday (April 25).

AZUSA, Calif. – The Fort Hays State men’s track and field team enjoyed the week in California participating in the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific. Throughout the three-day meet, the Tigers earned numerous provisional marks alongside strong performances.

Philip Landrum earned two provisional with an 11th place finish in the 100-meters at 10.55, followed by a fifth place finish in the 200-meters with a time of 21.07. Malcom Gardner was close behind in the 200-meters, claiming his provisional with a 12th place time of 21.24.

Brett Meyer continues to make his mark as he earned a provisional in the 1,500-meters with his 29th place time of 3:44.60. In the high jump, Kolt Newell captured seventh place to earned his provisional with a jump of 6 feet, 9 inches. Ryan Stanley finished in 14th place in the pole vault with his provisional height of 15 feet, 9 inches. Rounding out the provisional marks for the Tiger men on the week was a sixth place finish in the decathlon to Matthew Pieper who totaled a provisional-worthy 6,386 points.

Throughout the weekend, other Tigers earned top-ten times including a runner-up finish in the 5,000-meters by Justin Moore with a time of 14:47.85. Layton Werth placed seventh with a time of 31.24.14 in the 10,000-meters. The men’s 4×100 relay, made up of Brayden Soza, Landrum, Gardner and Matthew Pieper earned a tenth place finish at 41.82.

Fort Hays State also sent two runner to participate in the Kansas Relays this past week as well. Reed Rome and Robbie Schmidt turned in times in the 5,000-meter run with Rome claiming a tenth place finish at 15:01.96 and Schmidt coming in 21st at 15:42.07.

The Tigers are back in action in their final meet before conference championships as they travel to Concordia, Kan for the Cloud County Invitational on Thursday (April 25).

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State held leads in both contests at Central Missouri on Friday afternoon only to see each slip away. Central Missouri rallied for three runs in the final inning of game one to win in walk-off fashion 4-3 before coming from behind twice in game two to win 8-5. Fort Hays State moved to 19-20 overall and 10-12 in the MIAA with the losses, while UCM improved to 28-16 overall and 12-6 in the MIAA.

Game 1: Central Missouri 4, Fort Hays State 3
Fort Hays State led from the top of the second until Central Missouri’s final turn at bat, but squandered what could have been a big conference win in game one. Central Missouri rallied for three run in the bottom of the seventh before the Tigers could record an out. The Jennies took game one by a score of 4-3.

Elise Capra pushed the Tigers in front 2-0 with a two-RBI double in the second inning, scoring Sara Breckbill and Grace Philop. The Tigers kept a shutout in tact until the Jennies broke through with a run in the sixth, cutting the lead to 2-1. Katie Adler pushed the Tiger lead back to a two-run margin in the sixth with an RBI single to make it 3-1 going to the bottom of the seventh.

Tiger pitcher Hailey Chapman held the Jennies hitless through 3.2 innings before allowing one in the fourth. The Jennies collected their second hit in the sixth to produce their first run. Chapman stood just three outs from a 13th complete game this year, but her solid outing unraveled in the seventh. Chapman hit the first batter she faced in the inning, then a single put runners at first and second. She walked the third batter of the inning, which loaded the bases. Another single by UCM pushed the first run of the inning across and then Chapman hit another batter to force in the tying run. Michaelanne Nelson relieved Chapman, but UCM leadoff hitter Lauryn Deer placed a ball back to Nelson well enough to score the winning run from third.

Chapman took the loss, moving to 10-10 on the season. She allowed four hits, three walks, and hit three batters. Gentry Wishard (8-4) picked up the win in an inning of relief work, allowing one hit with a strikeout. UCM starter Alexa Bradley pitched 6.0 innings, allowing three hits and two walks with a strikeout.

Game 2: Central Missouri 8, Fort Hays State 5
Fort Hays State jumped out to a good start in game two with a three-run first, only to have it immediately erased in the bottom half of the inning with three runs by UCM. The Tigers led once more after a run in the second to make it 4-3, but UCM tied the game once again in the bottom of the third with one run. The Jennies took their first lead with two runs in the fourth and extended the lead to 8-4 with two more runs in the fifth. A run in the seventh by FHSU was too little, too late.

FHSU chased UCM starting pitcher Shelby Clark from the circle just two outs into the game. Clark was charged with all three first-inning runs by FHSU. Allison Jurgensen was hit by a pitch, Sara Breckbill walked, and Grace Philop singled to load the bases. Bailey Boxberger knocked in two runs with a single, then Jeni Mohr added an RBI single two batters later.

The Jennies quickly took all of the Tiger momentum away with a walk, single, and two-RBI double to open their half of the first inning. The third run came in later on a double steal attempt where FHSU got the out at second but surrendered the run at the plate.

Grace Philop put the Tigers back in front in the second with an RBI single, driving in Katie Adler from second base.

A throwing error by the Tigers in the third allowed UCM to get the game tied once more. The first lead for UCM came in the fourth on a two-out RBI triple by Hailey Crabtree. Jessica Sader followed with an RBI single.

Michaelanne Nelson recorded the first out of the fifth inning before handing the ball to Hailey Chapman with runners at second and third. Chapman got one out by strikeout, but gave up a two-out, two-RBI single to Ashlyn Cook, which gave UCM breathing room.

UCM reliever Gentry Wishard continued her strong day in the circle against FHSU by throwing the final 6.1 innings to earn a win. The run she allowed to FHSU in the seventh was unearned. The Tigers picked up that run on a sacrifice fly RBI by Elise Capra. Wishard allowed five hits without a walk and struck out one, moving to 9-4 on the season.

Nelson moved to 8-10 on the season with the loss. She threw 4.1 innings and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and four walks. Chapman threw the final 1.2 innings of the contest, striking out two with one hit allowed.

Tiger Notes
-Grace Philop led the Tigers with three hits in the doubleheader.
-Elise Capra led the Tigers in RBIs for the day with three.
-The five runs scored by FHSU in game two was its second most in a loss this year, second only to an 11-8 setback to Oklahoma Baptist on March 13. FHSU is now 13-2 when scoring five or more runs in a game this season.

Up Next
Fort Hays State is now on the outside looking in for a conference tournament berth at the end of the season. The losses at UCM pushed the Tigers down into a tie for 10th place in the MIAA standings with Missouri Southern. There is now a four-way tie for sixth place in the standings with three teams at 11-11 and one at 10-10. Only four games in conference play remain for FHSU. The Tigers seek a sweep at Southwest Baptist on Saturday (Apr. 20) to jump back into that cluster of teams on the tournament cutline. Southwest Baptist has struggled of late, currently on a 16-game losing streak. The Bearcats enter Saturday at 5-42 overall and 2-18 in the MIAA.

EDMOND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State baseball team fell to the Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Friday, 7-3. The Tigers moved to 3-33 overall and 2-24 in MIAA play, while the Bronchos moved to 26-14 on the season and 16-10 in conference action.

The first frame showed the Tiger bats when Landon Erway, Ryan Grasser and Taylan Mullins-Ohm started the contest with three-consecutive hits. Mullins-Ohm ripped a single through the right side, scoring Erway. The Tigers were able to plate two more runs in the first inning as Grasser scored on a wild pitch. Then, Tyler Olson earned an RBI groundout, scoring Mullins-Ohm.

Central Oklahoma scored seven unanswered runs in the final eight innings to earn the victory as the Bronchos plated one in the second, third, fifth, sixth and three in the eighth.

Tiger starter Ryan Ruder was charged with the loss (1-7), while producing 7.2 innings of work, allowing seven runs on 11 hits with two walks and five strikeouts in the game. Cody Rottinghaus came on in relief on Ruder and retired the only batter he faced.

The series finale between the Tigers and Bronchos is scheduled for on Saturday (April 20). First pitch is slated for 1 p.m from Wendell Simmons Field.

EDMOND, Okla. – A strong pitching performance from starter Ethan Booe was not enough for the Fort Hays State baseball team Thursday (April 18), with the Tigers (3-32, 2-23) falling to Central Oklahoma (25-14, 15-10) in the series opener, 4-1. The freshman did not give up a hit over the first 6.2 innings before the Bronchos took the lead for good with a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh.

The Tigers had a good chance to strike first after Landon Erway doubled down the left field line to open the contest, but he was stranded on third after two of UCO starter Dylan Hall’s 14 strikeouts got the Bronchos out of the inning.

Booe retired the first eight hitters he faced before a Broncho reached on an error in the home half of the third. The righty bounced back to retire the next nine batters in order, keeping the game scoreless heading into the seventh inning.

Fort Hays State also had its struggles at the plate, with Hall retiring 19 consecutive batters after surrendering the double in the first at bat of the game. The Tigers put two in scoring position in the top of the seventh, but Hall picked up another big strikeout to escape.

After Booe got two quick outs in the seventh, UCO scraped together three straight hits to take a 2-0 lead before adding a pair of unearned runs in the eighth.

Trailing 2-0 in the top of the eighth, the Tigers called on Jared Haynes to come out of the dugout and pinch hit. The Hays native made the most of the opportunity, sending a 2-2 pitch soaring over the fence in right center for his first collegiate home run. The long ball helped FHSU cut the deficit in half, 2-1.

Booe (0-9) finished with six strikeouts over seven-plus innings of work, allowing just two earned runs on four hits and one walk. Ryan Brown came on to finish the game, giving up one hit and striking out one while tossing one full frame. Jordan Wilkerson collected the only other Tiger hit on the evening.

FHSU and UCO will continue the weekend series Friday at 3 p.m. from Wendell Simmons Field.