By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Senior Nikola Kacperska scored 12 points, Tatyana Legette added 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Fort Hays State women to a hard fought 64-43 win over Nebraska-Kearney Tuesday night at Gross Coliseum.

The Tigers (20-7, 11-7 MIAA) used an 11-2 run over a four and a half minute stretch of the third and fourth quarters to push their lead to nine. UNK (11-15, 7-11 MIAA) closed the gap to seven when Kackpersa and Jill Faxon hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 13.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

FHSU shot 40-percent for the game including 67-percent in the fourth quarter as they win 20 games for a record sixth straight season.

The Tigers four seniors, Jill Faxon, Sarah Pimentel, Nikola Kacperska and Taylor Chandler are now 61-3 at home during their careers.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State head baseball coach Steve Johnson has announced that this weekend’s three-game series at third-ranked Central Missouri will begin Thursday, February 23. The teams will face off in a single nine-inning game each day Thursday through Saturday, with all three contests slated to begin at 2 p.m.

Potential inclement weather on the back end of the weekend forced the change to the MIAA-opening series.

The Tigers enter the weekend 6-4 on the season, while the Mules are 7-2 so far this year.

FHSU Sports Information

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Fort Hays State earned a split on its final day of competition at the 8-State Classic in Arkansas. The Tigers fell victim to a big inning by the opposition in a 6-0 loss to East Central (Okla.), but bounced back for a 3-1 win against Ouachita Baptist to move to 3-8 overall on the season.

East Central 6, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State and East Central played to a scoreless tie for a couple of innings until East Central put up five runs in the third. ECU tacked on another run in the fourth and FHSU did not provide much resistance by producing just three hits. Bailey Kennedy had two and Jeni Mohr had the other.

East Central collected a two-run home run in the third to break the scoreless tie, then three straight singles created more trouble with no outs. A sacrifice fly RBI, followed by a walk, loaded the bases again with ECU up 3-0. An RBI single moved runners up one base making it 4-0, and then a miscue in the field allowed another to score making it 5-0. Two of the runs in the inning were unearned. An RBI single in the fourth capped the scoring for ECU.

Fort Hays State starter Lexie Kimminau lasted 5.0 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk. Carrie Clarke pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits and a walk. Kimminau moved to 0-2 on the season with the loss. Kelbie Crelia moved to 3-1 on the year for ECU with a complete game, striking out four.

Fort Hays State 3, Ouachita Baptist 1
Fort Hays State broke free of a 13-inning scoring drought with a three-run third inning against Ouachita Baptist. That would be enough for starting pitcher Hailey Chapman who moved to 3-4 on the season. She threw a complete game, scattering six hits with two walks and one strikeout, while allowing just one run to OBU in the fourth inning.

Jeni Mohr ended the scoring drought for FHSU with a solo home run in the third. Immediately following, Bailey Kennedy and Lily Sale produced back-to-back singles before Veronica Knittig drove home Kennedy with a double. Candace Bollig added a sacrifice fly RBI to cap the scoring for FHSU.

FHSU collected five of its eight hits in the game in the third. OBU starter Kelsey O’Brien gave up all three runs in her complete game effort, allowing eight hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts. She went to 2-3 on the season.

Fort Hays State plays at home for the first time this season on Wednesday when it hosts Wayne State (Neb.) College at 1 pm in a doubleheader.

FHSU Sports Information

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team was unable to overcome a rocky start Sunday afternoon against Colorado Christian, dropping the series finale 12-7. The Cougars batted around in the top of the first, plating seven runs to take the lead for good.

The loss ends a six-game winning streak for the Tigers, moving them to 6-4 on the season. The Cougars improve to 4-7 this season. It was the first win for the Cougars all-time against FHSU (Tigers lead series 7-1).

The Tiger offense strung together 14 hits in the loss, with nine different batters collecting at least one hit. But once the Cougars went to their bullpen, FHSU was unable to manufacture another run.

CCU sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning to take a commanding 7-0 lead. The Tigers got one run back after Ty Redington scored on a sacrifice fly from Nick Hammeke, but the Cougars replied with another run in the second to make the score 8-1.

The Tigers put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs. Jason Nicholson singled through the hole at short before Marcus Altman followed with his first career hit. Ryan Imber kept things going with a sharp grounder just out of reach of the Cougar second baseman, plating Nicholson. Redington swatted a fourth-consecutive single for the Tigers to score two more runs.

After Austin Weiser posted the first scoreless inning of the day for the Tigers, FHSU appeared poised to tie things up in the bottom of the third. Jake Lanferman reached on catcher’s interference before Trevor Hughes went deep for the fourth time this season, narrowing the gap to 8-6. Singles from Dayton Pomeroy and Clayton Basgall and a walk to Altman loaded the bases for Imber with one out. After Pomeroy scored and the other two runners advanced on a wild pitch, Imber lifted a potential game-tying sacrifice fly to right center. However, the Cougars appealed that the runner at second left early and the umpires upheld the appeal, disallowing the tying run.

Colorado Christian added one insurance run in the fourth and eighth innings and two more in the ninth to pad the lead to 12-7. The Tigers had their chances, advancing runners into scoring position in three different innings, but were unable to capitalize.

Justin Hersch (0-1) took the loss after failing to get out of the first inning. Weiser came on to give up three runs (two earned) on six hits in 3.2 innings before Sam Capps struck out five batters and gave up just three hits in 2.1 innings of work.

The Tigers will hit the road to open MIAA play next weekend against third-ranked Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo. The three-game set will begin with a 2 p.m. first pitch Friday afternoon at Crane Stadium.

FHSU Sports Information

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

EDMOND, Okla. – Rob Davis hit an 8-foot floater with 6.5 seconds to play to give Fort Hays State a one-point lead, Jordan London then missed a 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired and the Tigers hold on for a 67-66 win over Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Fort Hays State (16-9, 10-7 MIAA) scored the game’s first seven points and led by as many as 13 in the first half. UCO (15-10, 10-7 MIAA) used an 11-0 run to pull within two early in the second and took their first lead on a Josh Holliday 3-pointer with 5:34 to play.

The Bronchos stole the ball after a Tiger in-bound pass and Holliday scored a layup to give UCO a 66-65 lead with 13 seconds to play. FHSU came down on the next possession and Davis hit his third field goal of the second half to put the Tigers ahead for good.

Hadley Gillum scored a career-high 25 points to lead FHSU. Davis added 15.

The Bronchos were led by Josh Holliday who scored 19.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Fort Hays State struggled to score runs on the second day of competition at the 8-State Classic in Arkansas. The Tigers fell to Southwest Baptist 6-0 and took the No. 5 ranked team in the nation, Southern Arkansas, to extra-innings eventually falling 5-1. FHSU is now 2-7 overall.

Southwest Baptist 6, Fort Hays State 0

Southwest Baptist took advantage of an error in the first inning to score a pair of unearned runs and steadily pulled away to win 6-0 in the first contest of the day. The Tigers committed three errors that resulted in a total of three unearned runs for the Bearcats. SBU also had a pair of solo home runs in the game.

The Tigers had several opportunities to score, leaving 10 runners on base. Six of the 10 were left on over the first three innings. Hunter Middleton pitched the first 2.1 innings for SBU, allowing five walks and a hit, but Claire Miller pitched the final 4.2 and allowed just two hits and a walk to the Tigers. Miller picked up the win in relief.

Hailey Chapman pitched a complete game for FHSU. She allowed seven hits and four walks and surrendered just three earned runs. She is now 2-4 overall.

#5 Southern Arkansas 5, Fort Hays State 1 (9 inn.)Carrie Clarke held the nation’s No. 5 ranked team to just one run over eight innings, but ran into trouble in the second extra inning of the game. The Tigers could not capitalize on two chances to upset the Muleriders.

Clarke surrendered a solo home run in the fifth, but Bailey Kennedy knotted the game back up at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single.

FHSU had runners reach base in both the sixth and seventh, but could not come up with a hit to break the tie. Extra innings were played without using the international tiebreaker rule, so both teams went quietly in the eighth.

In the ninth, the Mulerider offense came alive on a two-run homer by Brooke Goad. SAU knocked in two more runs on RBI singles before Lexie Kimminau entered to get the final out of the inning. The Tigers had a runner reach base with one out in the ninth, but could not produce a rally.

Southern Arkansas starter Victoria Taylor moved to 7-0 on the season, allowing six hits and a walk in her complete game effort. Clarke allowed 12 hits and six walks in the loss. She is now 0-2 on the season.

The Tigers play two more games on Sunday facing East Central and Ouachita Baptist.

HAYS, Kan. – A walk-off single off the bat of Dayton Pomeroy in the 12th inning lifted the Fort Hays State baseball team past Colorado Christian Saturday afternoon at Larks Park, linching the series victory.

The Tigers are now 6-3 this season after collecting their sixth-consecutive win, with the Cougars dipping to 3-7 overall.

Pomeroy’s single to left center drove in Jake Lanferman for the game-winning run after Lanferman connected with a one-out double into the gap. The Tigers needed just one run to win thanks to some clutch pitching. After the Cougars loaded the bases in the top of the 12th with an error, a double and a walk, ZacRothert struck out the next batter looking. Freshman lefty Ryan Ruder (2-0) came in to face the left-handed Dillon McTague, inducing an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, good enough to collect his second win of the season.

Starter Ben Ramberg was locked in a pitcher’s duel with CCU’s Joey Loranger for much of the afternoon, with both pitchers putting up zeros until the bottom of the fifth inning. Ramberg’s best outing of the season resulted in a no decision after giving up just two runs on six hits in 7.1 innings of work. The junior struck out nine Cougars on the day, the most for a Tiger pitcher so far this season.

The Tigers broke through in the fifth after jared Bogosian led off with a single to left. The catcher moved to second on a groundout before coming around to score on a single from Ty Redington.

Colorado Christian finally got to Ramberg with a solo home run to lead off the top of the seventh. The Tigers responded with another run in the home half, loading the bases after an error and a pair of bad decisions on sacrifice bunts by the Cougar defense. The visitors tried to get the lead runner each time, but both throws came in late. Redington delivered his second RBI of the day when he lifted a sacrifice fly to left.

The Cougars again tied the score with an unearned run in the eighth, forcing the Tigers to go to the bullpen. Rothert allowed one inherited runner to score, but an outfield assist from Lanferman picked up the final out in the inning at home plate.

The Black and Gold grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the eighth when Lanferman was hit by a pitch to lead things off. After swiping second, the sophomore came around to score on a double to left center from Trevor Hughes.

CCU sent the game to extras by tying things up at three in the ninth with a pair of singles, but Rothert stranded the go-ahead run at third by forcing a harmless flyout to right. The Tigers had two on with one out in the bottom of the inning, but the Cougars escaped with a pop up and a strikeout.

Redington and Pomeroy both finished 2-for-5 to lead the Tigers, with five other players adding a hit. The pitching staff combined to strike out 12 Cougar batters, the most in a game for FHSU since 2015 (13, Colorado Mines, 3/10/15).

The teams will face off in the series finale Sunday at noon.

FHSU Sports Information

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State went scoreless for over six minutes to start the fourth quarter as they see their four-game win streak snapped by Central Oklahoma 76-72 Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Fieldhouse. The Tigers (19-7, 10-7 MIAA) led by 13 in the first quarter and by 11 with 20 seconds to play in the third, but the Bronchos (21-5, 12-5 MIAA) switched to a zone defense to stymie the Tigers and end their four-game losing streak

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

After hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter, FHSU was held to three the rest of the game and were outscored by 11 at the free throw line.

Carlie Heim led the Tigers with a career-high 23 points. Freshman Madision Mittie added a career-best 17 and Tatyana Legette added 11.

HAYS, Kan. – A called third strike with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth helped the Fort Hays State baseball team hold on to defeat Colorado Christian in game one of a three-game set Friday afternoon, 7-6.

The Tigers improved to 5-3 with the victory, extending their winning streak to five games. The Cougars dipped to 3-6 on the year.

Jake Lanferman finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, clubbing his third home run of the season in the third. Dayton Pomeroy and Jared Bogosian also collected a pair of hits at the dish. Alex Ruxlow (2-1) worked around six hits and four walks to give up four unearned runs in six innings of work, earning the win. Clayton Basgall picked up his second save of the season after holding the Cougars scoreless over the final 1.1 innings.

Colorado Christian jumped in front in the top of the second with four unearned runs, all crossing the plate with two outs. The Tigers got two runs back when Lanferman sent a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left in the third, scoring Ty Redington.

Fort Hays State tied things up in the fourth after Pomeroy doubled down the line in left. Bogosian followed suit two pitches later, sending a sharp grounder over the third base bag for another double. Jace Bowman laced a single right up the middle two batters later to plate Bogosian and tie the score at four.

The Tigers took their first lead of the day in the fifth when Lanferman reached on an infield single to deep short. After the sophomore swiped second, Lanferman came around to score when the Cougar second baseman botched a line drive off the bat of  Trevor Hughes.

The Tigers weren’t done, adding a pair of much-needed insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bryce Witchurch drilled a double to right center before the wheels came off for CCU. Two runs came in to score after the Cougars made a pair of throwing errors on two sacrifice bunt attempts.

The Cougars got one run back in the seventh and another in the eighth to close within one, but Basgall came on to slam the door with two outs in the eighth. After inducing a groundout to end that threat, the junior issued a hit and two hits to put runners at the corners with one out. The next Cougar at the plate popped up a bunt right back to Basgall. After a walk loaded the bases, Basgall struck out the final batter of the game, painting the inside corner on a 3-2 pitch.

The teams will face off again Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

FHSU Sports Information

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Fort Hays State earned a split of its two games on Friday at the 8-State Classic in Arkansas. The Tigers fell victim to a big inning in a 10-0 loss to Henderson State, but bounced back for a 5-1 win over Southern Nazarene. The Tigers moved to 2-5 overall on the season.

Henderson State 10, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State and Henderson State played to a scoreless tie until the top of the fourth. In that frame, Henderson State erupted for eight runs, helped by a pair of 3-run home runs, and held FHSU at bay the rest of the way in a 10-0 decision by run-rule after five innings. HSU tacked on its last two runs in the fifth on a pair of solo home runs.

The Tigers scratched out three hits against HSU starter Michelle Sorenson, all singles. Those hits came from Bailey Kennedy, Bailey Boxberger and Claudia Vazquez. Sorenson threw a complete game with four strikeouts and two walks, improving to 2-4 on the season.

Carrie Clark took her first loss of the season in the pitching circle, allowing 10 runs (six earned) on 11 hits with three walks. She struck out one batter and is now 0-1 on the season.

Fort Hays State 5, Southern Nazarene 1
The Tiger bats produced eight hits and Hailey Chapman threw a complete game in a 5-1 win over Southern Nazarene. Chapman allowed just two hits with four walks, while striking out five. She moved to 2-3 on the season.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Candace Bollig RBI triple. Veronica Knittig added another run to the lead in the third with an RBI single. In the fourth, FHSU extended its lead to 5-0 three runs on five hits. Jeni Mohr drove home a run with a single, then Bailey Kennedy drove home two more with another single.

Southern Nazarene used a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single to generate its only run in the fifth. After that, Chapman navigated her way through the Crimson Storm retiring the opposition in order in the sixth and seventh for the win.

Brooke Tate took the loss for SNU, throwing 5.0 innings. She surrendered all five runs (four earned) and eight hits.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they face Southwest Baptist at 11 am and Southern Arkansas at 1 pm.

FHSU Sports Information

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Northeastern State tied a season-high hitting 12 3-pointers and scored 28 points off of 19 Fort Hays State turnovers in a 66-60 win Thursday night at the NSU Event Center, ending their 10-game losing streak and the Tigers four-game win streak.

The RiverHawks (4-20, 3-13 MIAA) led by 10 in the first half and by 12 in the second before the Tigers (15-9, 9-7 MIAA) put together a 10-0 run to pull within two with 7:06 to play.

Down eight with a little over a minute to play, Hadley Gillum and Rob Davis hit back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the deficit to 62-60 with 0:53 left. After a missed layup, FHSU had the ball with a chance to tie but Davis was called for a charge while driving in for what would have been the game tying layup. Northeastern hit all four of their free throws in final 30 seconds to seal the win.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Thre RiverHawks, who were the worst shooting team in the MIAA, hit 45-percent for the game including 12-of-23 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers shot 39-percent and were only 6-of-26 from long range.

Hadley Gillum led three Tigers in double-figures with 15 points. JaQuan Smith added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Rob Davis tallied 11.

Freshman Tyler Williams led the RiverHawks with a career-high 17 points.