HAYS, Kan. – Missouri Western raced out to an early 6-0 lead then held on the rest of the night as they defeat the Fort Hays State Tigers 16-7 Thursday night in the opening game of their three game series at Larks Park. The Griffons, who average over nine runs per game, used three, four-run innings to move to 19-3 on the road and 26-11 overall. The Tigers have now dropped five of their last six and are 17-20 overall and 11-15 in the MIAA.

Steve Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

 

Kyle Vogt (4-6) allowed 11 runs on 13 hits over 5 1/3 innings and takes the loss. Vogt, who struck out two and walked none, stuggled to get out of innigs, allowing three early runs with two outs.

Griffon starter Weston Caindel allowed five runs, two earned, on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings for his second straight win.

Alex Weiss had three hits and drove in three while Connor Ross had two hits including a home run and also knocked in three.

The series resumes Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 3 pm. You can hear both games on Tiger Radio Mix-103.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Mitchell Robinson held Fort Hays State to three runs on 11 hits in his first career complete game and Nebraska-Kearney beat the Tigers 11-3 Wednesday night at Larks Park. The sophomore struck out five and walked two as the Lopers (14-20, 11-14 MIAA) move into a 10th place tie with the Tigers (17-19, 11-14 MIAA) in the MIAA.

Steve Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Dallas Schramm hit a hit a three-run homer in the first inning off starter D.J. Carr (3-5) to give the Lopers the lead for good. Carr gave up seven runs, five earned, on five hits over 3 2/3 innings.

The Lopers took advantage of four walks and seven hit batters for their 11th win on the 13 games with the Tigers.

Connor Ross led Fort Hays State’s 11 hit attack with a double and home run and scored all three of the Tigers runs. Nick Hammeke and Austin Unrein both had two hits.

FHSU continues their four-game homestand Thursday at 7 pm against Missouri Western. The Tigers and Griffons will play two nine inning games on Wednesday beginning at 3 pm. You can hear all three on Tiger Radio Mix-103.

FHSU Athletics

OKLAHOMA CITY – Fort Hays State saw its road woes continue on Tuesday (Apr. 12), falling twice to Oklahoma Christian in non-conference action. The Tigers fell by scores of 1-0 and 5-2, seeing their road losing streak grow to 11 games. FHSU is now 17-28 overall. Oklahoma Christian improved to 21-23.

Game 1: Oklahoma Christian 1, Fort Hays State 0
The Tigers suffered their eighth walk-off loss in their last 11 road games by failing to get a runner past second base in a 1-0 loss. Pitcher Paxton Duran held Oklahoma Christian scoreless through the first six innings, but could not extend the game in the seventh when OCU loaded the bases with no outs and pushed the winning run across with a one-out single.

The Tigers had just four hits and a pair of walks off Oklahoma Christian’s Madison Hagood. The bottom of the Tiger lineup (batters No. 6 through 9 in the order) struggled going 0-for-10 at the plate in the game. Hagood struck out three Tiger batters.

Duran allowed six hits and a walk, while striking out eight in the tough-luck loss.

Game 2: Oklahoma Christian 5, Fort Hays State 2
Fort Hays State enjoyed a 2-1 lead for three innings before Oklahoma Christian rallied past in the fifth. The Tigers benefitted from a pair of Oklahoma Christian errors in the second to plate their only runs of the day.

Oklahoma Christian took the lead early with a run in the first, but the Tigers rallied with two outs in the second. With two outs, Mackenzie Villarreal hit a double and then an error by the Oklahoma Christian right fielder off the bat of Madeline LaPolla plated Villarreal to tie the game at 1-1. Then Erin Elmore reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed LaPolla to come around to score from second to give FHSU its first lead.

After benefitting errors to take the lead, FHSU committed an error in the fifth that gave the lead back to Oklahoma Christian. Carrie Clarke surrendered a two-out RBI single that tied the game, but then a fielding miscue off the bat of Haley Squier allowed the go ahead run to come all the way around from first to score. Oklahoma Christian tacked on a two-run home run in the sixth to go on and win 5-2.

Clarke gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk. She struck out one batter. Kaylie Upton picked up the win for Oklahoma Christian, throwing a complete game with just five hits and a walk allowed.

Fort Hays State now turns its focus to its final MIAA doubleheader of the season against Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, April 23 in Kearney. Currently sitting in seventh place, Fort Hays State will look to earn a berth into the MIAA Tournament in Oklahoma City. The top eight teams in the conference standings qualify. The Tigers will likely need to end their current road skid to do so, but several other conference games will shape the picture of the conference standings in the next 10 days. FHSU will have a better idea of what it needs to do to get in late next week.

PARKVILLE, Mo. – Fort Hays State women’s golf claimed the team title at the Virginia McCoy Intercollegiate Tournament held Monday and Tuesday, hosted by Park University. The Tigers won the tournament by 29 strokes, thanks to three top-five finishers in Hannah Karasiuk, Hannah Perkins and Hadley Tharp. The tournament was held at The Deuce at the National Golf Club.

Karasiuk had the top round for FHSU on day one with an 85 and backed that up with an 84 to finish alone in second place individually. She was six shots off the winning total of 163 by Iowa Central’s Julie Laisney.

Perkins rallied on day two, shooting eight strokes better than her first day total. She carded rounds of 89 and 81 to finish alone in third. Tharp was alone in fourth with rounds of 87 and 84, just a stroke back of Perkins. With rounds of 95 and 87, Quillen Eichhorn rounded out the scorers for FHSU finishing 14th individually. Alexis Schaben also played for FHSU and carded rounds of 110 and 98 to finish 33rd.

At a total of 692, Fort Hays State defeated host school Park University by 29 strokes. Park shot 721, while third-place finisher Rockhurst University shot 731.

Tiger men 16th at SBU Invitational

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Fort Hays State men’s golf finished 16th at the Southwest Baptist Invitational, held on Monday and Tuesday at Silo Ridge Country Club. Southwestern Oklahoma State won the tournament as a team, but Central Oklahoma was the top MIAA team in second place overall.

Lane Pauls led the Tigers with rounds of 76 and 80 on the par-72 layout. He tied for 40th. Seve Sites finished 63rd with rounds of 83 and 78. Koby Beougher tied for 67th with rounds of 82 and 81. Kade Megaffin finished 84th with two rounds of 88. Cash Hobson was 85th with two rounds of 89.

Fort Hays State shot 656 as a team. Southwestern Oklahoma State won with a 588, while Central Oklahoma was second at 600. It was the third designated MIAA event of the season, so Central Oklahoma won the MIAA portion of the tournament. Washburn was one off the pace of Central Oklahoma at 601.

ST. CHARLES, Mo.  – Lindenwood junior Connor Law (5-1) pitched a three-hit shutout as the Lions won the final game of their three game series with Fort Hays State 3-0 Sunday at the Lou Brock Complex. The Lions (15-18, 9-15 MIAA) took two of three from the Tigers (17-18, 11-13 MIAA) and have won three straight weekend series after starting conference play 3-9.

Lindenwood used a triple and a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. They used another triple and two doubles to add two more runs in the sixth.

The Tigers, who dropped to 10th place in the MIAA standings, had only two base runners reach scoring position all day. Casey Sedbrook doubled with one out in the fifth and advanced to third on a sac fly but couldn’t score. Nick Hammeke singled to lead off the seventh and moved to second on a wild pitch but Law retired the next two batters to end the threat. Alex Weiss had the other hit for the Tigers.

Freshman Logan Herd (2-3) suffered the loss after giving up all three runs on four hits over five innings.

The Tigers return home Wednesday to play Nebraska-Kearney at 6 pm which can be heard on KJLS (103.3-FM).

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State softball team swept its second straight MIAA doubleheader Saturday, beating Washburn 6-5 and 3-0. The Tigers (17-26, 11-13 MIAA) went 4-0 on the weekend to jump up to seventh place in the MIAA standings.

Adrian Mohr Postgame Interview

 

FHSU used a pair of bases loaded walks in the bottom of the seventh to help them overcome a 5-0 deficit in the opener. Washburn reliever Marina Quimby walked four in the final frame including a couple with two outs to Rilee Krier which tied the game and Claudia Vazquez to win it.

The Tigers did all of their scoring in the second game in the third inning. Rilee Krier opened the inning with a triple then scored on an errant throw at first on a Claudia Vazquez bunt attempt. Vazquez scored on a single by Samantha Villarreal Mackenzie Villarreal knocked in pinch runner Chermayne Yago with an RBI single for the final run of the inning.

Game 1 Highlights

 

Paxton Duran picked up the win on both games, pitching 4 1/3 innings of relief in the opener, giving up just three hits with five strikeouts and a walk to pick up the win. She went the distance in the second game for her 12th win of the season. Duran limited the Ichabods to just four hits with five strikeouts and a walk, on the way to her fourth shutout of the year and second of the weekend. Duran went 4-0 in the circle for the weekend with two 3-0 shutout wins. She went 3-0 in her three and posted a 0.83 ERA for the week.

Game 2 Highlights

 

The Tigers look to stay hot on Tuesday when they head to Edmond, Okla. for a non-conference doubleheader against Oklahoma Christian.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Fort Hays State bounced back from a series-opening loss with a 12-6 win over Lindenwood on Saturday at the Lou Brock Sports Complex. A six-run second inning propelled the Tigers to the victory, evening the three-game series at one win a piece. FHSU moved to 17-17 overall and 11-12 in the MIAA, while Lindenwood dropped to 14-18 overall, 8-15 in the MIAA.

After Lindenwood scored two runs in the first, the Tigers took a lead for the first time in the series by scoring six in the second. A Connor Ross triple triggered the six-run rally and he came in to score on a Joe Mapes single. A two-RBI double by Nick Hammeke pushed the Tigers into the lead, 3-2. Trevor Hughes and Hammeke each scored on passed balls and Alex Weiss added an RBI single.

Lindenwood inched its way back into the game with a run in the second and two in the fourth to make it 6-5. But the Tigers pushed their lead to three with a run each in the sixth and seventh. Austin Unrein had an RBI single and Hammeke drove in another run on a fielder’s choice.

Lindenwood added one more run in the eighth, cutting the Tiger lead to 8-6, but FHSU put the game away with four runs in the ninth. The first run scored on a wild pitch, then Hammeke drew a bases loaded walk, his fourth RBI of the game. Ty Redington had an RBI single and Caleb Cherryholmes added an RBI on a fielder’s choice.

Kyle Voft threw four innings in his start, allowing five runs (two earned) on eight hits and three walks. He struck out four. Jackson Rolfs threw 3 13 strong innings of relief to earn the win. He allowed just two hits and walked one with four strikeouts, while holding the Lions scoreless. Giles Fox added 1 2/3 innings to earn his fourth save of the year, allowing a run on three hits.

Geoff Hartlieb took the loss for Lindenwood, going 5.0 innings in his start. He allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and five walks with a strikeout.

The final game of the three-game series will begin at 12 pm on Sunday.

FHSU Athletics

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Fort Hays State baseball dropped the opening game of a three-game series at Lindenwood by a score of 12-2 on Friday (Apr. 8). Lindenwood pushed across the 12^th run in the seventh to reach the run rule. FHSU moved to 16-17 overall and 10-12 in the MIAA. Lindenwood improved to 14-7 overall and 8-14 in the MIAA.

The Tigers had a difficult time solving Lindenwood starting pitcher Brendan Feldmann, who threw a complete game. He allowed just six hits and a walk, while striking out 11 Tigers. Both runs he gave up were unearned, coming in the sixth on a two-RBI double by Joe Mapes. FHSU was trailing 6-0 at the time and then Lindenwood put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth.

D.J. Carr went five innings in his start for the Tigers, giving up nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and two walks. He struck out three. Casey Sedbrook threw an inning and allowed two runs. Connor Boyer got one out in the seventh before allowing the final run of the game. Austin Unrein was the only Tiger to record multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

The second game of the series is set to get underway at 1 pm on Saturday (Apr. 9).

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State used a three-run home run to win game one of a doubleheader with Emporia State 3-0 Friday afternoon at Tiger Stadium. They then rallied for seven runs in the sixth inning to win the nightcap 7-4 for their fifth straight home wins. The sweep comes on the heels of a nine-game losing streak and has the Tigers (15-26, 7-9 MIAA) within two games of 500 on conference play.

Adrian Mohr Postgame Interview

Tori Beltz broke a scoreless tie with a three-run homer in the fifth inning of game one. Kylie Strand and Rilee Krier both singled ahead of Beltz who hit her 10th homer of the season and second in consecutive games. Paxton Duran held the Hornets hitless for the first 4 1/3 innings. She gave up five hits and struck out eight.

Game 1 Highlights

Emporia State (19-24, 7-9 MIAA) used three hits and a Tiger error and scored two in the in the second to take their first lead of the day in the second contest. The Tigers, who had two runners gunned down at the plate in the fourth, capitalized on two Hornet errors and rallied for seven in sixth to take the lead back for good.

FHSU had 11 consecutive batters reach base in the inning. Paxton Duran tied the game with a two-run triple to right field. Kylie Strand gave them the lead with an RBI single to right field. After two walks, Veronica Knittig was hit by a pitch to push across a run. Samantha Villarreal added a two-run single and a wild pitch scored Tori Beltz.

Game 2 Highlights

Emporia State scored two in the seventh before Paxton Duran closed the door for her second win of the day. Duran (10-16) gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

The Tigers get back to action on Saturday with another crucial MIAA doubleheader against Washburn at Tiger Stadium. Both teams enter the day four games under .500 in the conference standings. First pitch is set for 1 pm. You can hear it on KAYS (1400-AM) beginning at 12:45 pm with the Auto World Pregame Show.

The final WBCA Division II Rankings for the 2015-16 season have been released and Fort Hays State finishes at No. 24 in the nation. Fort Hays State was a part of every WBCA Poll this season, which included a 13-consecutive poll stay in the top 10 of the rankings this year. The Tigers earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, finishing in a tie for second in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State started the season at No. 10 in the nation in the WBCA Preseason Poll. The Tigers began their climb immediately in the poll by moving up to No. 7 in the first regular season poll and then No. 5 the following week. With a win over No. 1 ranked Emporia State on December 5, the Tigers vaulted all the way to No. 1 in the nation for the first time in program history at the NCAA level.

The Tigers enjoyed a stay at No. 1 for a month until their first loss of the season pushed them down to No. 3 in the nation on January 5. The Tigers held steady at the No. 3 ranking for three consecutive weeks before sliding back a bit more to No. 7 for two straight weeks. The Tigers bounced back and forth for a few weeks, moving up to No. 5, falling back to No. 10, and then moving back up to No. 9. The Tigers fell out of the top 10 for the first time on March 1, holding the No. 12 ranking. Following the MIAA Tournament, the Tigers slid a bit more to No. 16 and then after a loss in the NCAA Tournament, dropped to No. 24 in the final poll of the season.

The Central Region of the NCAA Tournament was stacked once again this year. Six of the eight teams that played in the regional entered the tournament ranked inside the top 20 nationally. A No. 16 ranked Fort Hays State team had to play No. 7 ranked Winona State in the opening round of the tournament. Another first round game pitted the No. 10 and No. 12 ranked teams against each other. All six teams are in the final poll with regional champion Pittsburg State at No. 6, Winona State at No. 12, Emporia State at No. 16, Arkansas Tech at No. 17, Missouri Western at No. 19, and Fort Hays State at No. 24.

The Tigers finished the season at 25-6 overall, the second best record in the program’s NCAA Division II history after a 30-4 mark in 2014-15. FHSU reached 20 wins in a season for the fifth consecutive year (a new program record) and made consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

Below is the final WBCA Poll for the 2015-16 season.

Rank	Institution – First Place Votes	Previous Rank	Record	Total Points
1	Lubbock Christian University (Texas) – 24	1	35-0	600
2	University of Alaska – Anchorage	4	38-3	576
3	Bentley University (Mass.)	25	29-6	502
4	Virginia Union University (Va.)	8	28-3	461
5	California Baptist University	5	29-3	393
6	Pittsburg State University (Kan.)	19	29-6	388
7	Ashland University (Ohio)	3	31-2	379
8	Grand Valley State University (Mich.)	NR	26-10	332
9	Florida Southern College	NR	27-6	320
10	Benedict College (S.C.)	11	29-3	313
11	Limestone College (S.C.)	2	30-1	310
T12	West Texas A&M University	15	28-5	309
T12	Winona State University (Minn.)	7	30-4	309
14	Drury University (Mo.)	14	26-5	302
15	Lewis University (Ill.)	6	28-3	278
16	Emporia State University (Kan.)	18	28-6	243
17	Arkansas Tech University	12	27-4	242
18	West Liberty University (W.Va.)	17	29-5	202
19	Missouri Western State	10	27-4	196
20	University of California – San Diego	21	26-5	193
21	Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)	13	27-3	183
22	Union University (Tenn.)	9	28-4	176
23	Francis Marion University (S.C.)	NR	24-9	174
24	Fort Hays State University (Kan.)	16	25-6	118
25	Augusta University (Ga.)	NR	24-9	62

Others receiving votes: New York Institute of Technology 45; Bellarmine University (Ky.) 31; Nova Southeastern University (Fla.) 29; Columbus State University (Ga.) 28; California University of Pennsylvania (Pa.) 22; Ursuline College (Ohio) 21; Quincy University (Ill.) 17; Anderson University (S.C.) 15; American International College (Mass.) 8.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Freshman Hannah Perkins of Fort Hays State won her first collegiate tournament by winning a playoff to claim the individual title at the Sterling College Spring Fling on Tuesday. She shot rounds of 79 and 80 to tie Colleen Garvey of Rockhurst at 159, then defeated Garvey on the second hole of a playoff. Perkins helped the Tigers to a second-place finish.

Quillen Eichhorn tied for fourth individually with rounds of 81 and 85. Kiley McCarthy was eighth with rounds of 82 and 87. Kelsey McCarthy finished 14th with rounds of 84 and 90. hadley Tharp tied for 16th with rounds of 86 and 91.

Rockhurst won the tournament as a team, shooting 665. The Tigers were only three strokes back at 668. Both teams shot 342 on the final day. Ottawa (Kan.) University finished third at 684.

The Fort Hays State men finished second after scores of 299 and 311 as a team to finish with 610. Sterling won the tournament with a total of 587.

Lane Pauls was the highest finisher overall for the Tigers in sixth. He shot rounds of 73 and 78 for a total of 9-over par. Seve Sites and Cash Hobson tied for seventh individually just a stroke back. Sites shot rounds of 73 and 79, while Hobson had the lowest round for the Tigers on day two and remained consistent shooting 76 both days. Koby Beougher finished 10th with rounds of 77 and 80. Jake Weller shot rounds of 81 and 78 to finish 12th.

Lorenzo Bolivar of Sterling College was the individual champion with a two-round total of 142 (even par).

FHSU Athletics

WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State fell in walk-off fashion twice on Tuesday, swept in a doubleheader at Newman University. Newman plated the winning run to break a tie in the seventh each game, winning by scores of 2-1 and 7-6. FHSU moved to 13-26 overall on the season and saw its losing streak grow to nine games.

Game 1: Newman 2, Fort Hays State 1
Fort Hays State fell victim to a walk-off fashion for the sixth time in the last eight games when Newman broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

The Tigers were down to their last out in the top of the seventh with Rilee Krier at third base when Samantha Villarreal knocked her in with an RBI double to the right center gap. The Tigers had several other good opportunities to score runs earlier in the game, but failed to convert and that came back to cost them late in another close game.

In the bottom of the seventh, Newman led off with a single and then drew a walk with one out to put runners at first and second. Taylor Mannis, who had a three-hit contest for Newman, ended the game with an RBI single to the right side.

Paxton Duran took the loss, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out five. Katie Ingles recorded the win for Newman with one run allowed on five hits and five walks, with three strikeouts.

Game 2: Newman 7, Fort Hays State 6
Down 5-1 in the fifth inning, Fort Hays State battled back to take a 6-5 lead with a five-run inning. The rally was sparked by three straight singles and then a grand slam by Tori Beltz to tie the game. Later in the inning, Madaline LaPolla plated the go-ahead run on a safety squeeze.

The lead was brief though as Newman’s Courtney Sartin hit a solo home run off Paxton Duran, who had just entered the game in relief, to tie it 6-6. The score remained that way until lightning struck twice in the form of Sartin in the seventh inning, when she hit another solo homer to end the game. It pushed the run of walk-off victories by Tiger opponents to seven of the last nine games, with five of the seven occurring in the final inning and just two by run-rule fashion.

Fort Hays State’s Carrie Clarke started the game in the pitching circle, holding Newman to just a run through the first three innings. She ran into trouble in the fourth when she allowed four runs on four hits. Overall, she allowed five runs on five hits and four walks, with three strikeouts. Duran took the loss for the second straight game, going 2.1 innings of relief with two runs allowed on three hits with three strikeouts.

Kate Smith was the winning pitcher for Newman, allowing six runs (five earned) on 12 hits and a walk with three strikeouts in a complete game effort.

Postseason hopes will hang in the balance this weekend at Tiger Stadium when Fort Hays State hosts Emporia State and Washburn in a pair of critical MIAA doubleheaders at Tiger Stadium. At six games under .500 in conference play, FHSU will have to play well this weekend to stay alive in the MIAA Tournament picture. Friday’s doubleheader against Emporia State marks the annual “Jam-Pack” Tiger Stadium event, which begins at 4 pm.