The nine-inning baseball contest between Fort Hays State and Bethany College schedule for this afternoon (Tuesday) has been canceled due to high winds in the Hays area. A make-up date has not been announced at this time.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Near summer-like conditions greeted the Fort Hays State football team as they held their first spring practice Monday afternoon at Lewis Field. Head coach Chris Brown, who is completing his second full season, says developing depth is one of his goals this spring “we have to find depth, especially on special teams. We can’t have our starters on every special team” Brown said.

The Tigers have improved their win total in each of Brown’s first two seasons, going 5-6 in 2012 and 6-5 this past season. Brown says he feels his team is slowly starting to turn the corner “the kids have worked really hard. They’re holding each other accountable. They’re doing the things that they need to do to be more successful” Brown said.

The Tigers have two more practices scheduled for this week before taking a week off for spring break. They will then have 12 more practices after spring break.

FHSU football coach Chris Brown talks about his team’s first spring practice…
Chris Brown Press Conference

FHSU Sports Information

15th-ranked Fort Hays State University closed out the first weekend of MIAA play with a doubleheader sweep of Southwest Baptist on Monday in Hays, Kan.  The Tigers took Game 1, 9-5 before a 6-0 win in Game 2.

The Tigers (14-5, 4-0 MIAA) pushed their win streak to four with 15 total runs on 21 combined hits.

FHSU hosts No. 21 Emporia State and Washburn this weekend (March 14-15) for conference doubleheaders at Tiger Stadium.  Friday’s game time is set for 4 p.m. and Saturday’s action scheduled for 1 p.m.

Game 1: FHSU 9, SBU 5
Fort Hays State took a 4-0 lead in the first and never looked back, taking the first game with 12 hits and eight RBI.

Kelsey Kimminau (6-1) threw 6.0 innings for the win, striking out four and allowing five runs (none earned) on 10 hits. Katelyn Kern picked up her fourth save of the season by holding the Bearcats hitless in the seventh.

Offensively, Courtney Dobson went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, while Samantha Villarral was 2-for-4 with two RBI and Amanda Vaupel had a double with two RBI.

Bianca Adame started the Tigers offensively with a one-out single in the first and moved to second on Dobson’s single. After Danie Brinkmann reached on an error by SBU’s Amanda Smith, Villarreal’s ground ball pushed Adame home. Vaupel followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Dobson and Brinkmann. Jenna Lang’s single put runners on first and third with two down, and Vaupel came home on a wild pitch during Amy Dunn’s at-bat.

SBU closed the gap to two (4-2) in the second, but a three-run fourth inning for the Tigers put the game out of reach.

With one out in the fourth, Kellsi Olsen singled up the middle and took second on a misplay in center field. Rilee Krier walked and was thrown out at second on Adame’s fielder’s choice, putting runners on the corners with two down. Adame stole second base during Dobson’s at-bat, who added a single to score both Adame and Olsen. Brinkmann followed with an RBI-single up the middle to score Dobson.

In the fifth, the Bearcats got three runs back on two hits and three FHSU errors, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers tacked on two more in the sixth.

Krier started off the inning with a bunt single and wheeled around to third on a throwing error, then scored on Adame’s single up the middle. With one out, Adame stole second and came around to score on Villarreal’s RBI-single to right.

Game 2: FHSU 6, SBU 0
Paxton Duran (6-3) threw a complete game shutout in the second game of the day – scattering three hits and striking out nine batters.

Rilee Krier and Bianca Adame each went 2-for-4 at the plate as Adame earned two runs and an RBI. Courtney Dobson had two walks in a 1-for-2 performance while Amanda Vaupel had two RBI on a double.

FHSU picked up four first-inning runs for the second time on the day to jump ahead for good, starting with back-to-back singles from Krier and Adame.  Krier would be thrown out stealing second, but Adame moved to second as Dobson worked a walk.  With one down, the Tigers took advantage of an overthrow on a double steal as Adame scored and Dobson reached third.  Later in the inning, Samantha Villarreal was hit by a pitch and Vaupel’s double to right field cleared the bases.  In the next at-bat, Duran singled up the middle as Vaupel was ruled safe on a collision at the plate.

The Tigers tacked two more runs in the sixth – the final half inning for Fort Hays State offensively. Madisoin Putman and Kellsi Olsen started the sixth with back-to-back singles before Adame’s one-out single scored Putman. Dobson’s single loaded the bases, and a fielder’s choice for Tori Beltz kept the bases juiced. A fielding error on SBU’s Londyn Backfisch allowed Villarreal to reach first and Adame to score the final run of the day for FHSU.

FHSU Sports Information

Fort Hays State baseball fell by a score of 8-5 in the final game of a four-game series with Nebraska-Kearney at Larks Park in Hays on Monday. Nebraska-Kearney swept the four-game weekend series. The Tigers dropped to 3-12 overall and 2-10 in the MIAA, while Nebraska-Kearney moved to 13-6 overall and 7-5 in the MIAA.

A hit batter and a walk ballooned into a pair of runs for the Lopers in the first and they extended the lead to 4-0 in the third by stringing together a pair of doubles and a single.

Casey Sedbrook cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run to right center field.

Steven Federau held the UNK offense in check for three innings before allowing a two-run home run in the seventh. Austin Unrein entered at that point and allowed a solo home run, making it 7-2 in favor of UNK. The Lopers added a run in the eighth to extend their lead to 8-2.

FHSU cut the lead down to 8-5 with three runs in the eighth. Gabe Cook had a RBI single and a pair of errors produced another run. Cooper Langley added another RBI single.

Carlos Palomo shut down the Tigers over the final 1.1 innings to earn his first save of the season for the Lopers. He preserved the win for starter Michael Hahn who went 7.2 innings and struck out eight. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits.

Nathan Zimmerman lasted just one inning in his start and took the loss. He allowed two runs. Steven Federau, the starter in game one of the series, went 5.1 innings of relief, allowing four runs, but struck out four. Austin Unrein pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing two runs and striking out one.

Fort Hays State hosts Bethany College in a single non-conference game on Tuesday (Mar. 11), 3 pm at Larks Park in Hays.

FHSU Sports Information

Fort Hays State dropped two more games to Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, the second and third games of a four-game series in Hays. The Tigers are now 3-11 overall and 2-9 in the MIAA, while the Lopers moved to 12-6 overall and 6-5 in the MIAA.

Game 1: Nebraska-Kearney 10, Fort Hays State 2
Clayton Garland put the Tigers on top after one inning with an opposite field solo home run, but that lead was short lived as Nebraska-Kearney scored a pair in the top of the second and pulled away from that point.

The UNK lead grew to 5-1 before FHSU scored its only other run in the fourth on a RBI single by Casey Sedbrook.

FHSU starter Tyler Patty went 5.1 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and a walk. He struck out one. Nathan Briar relieved in the sixth and recorded an out and Ty Thomas pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing four runs.

Dalton Cowen went the distance for UNK, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk in seven innings of work. He struck out four, moving to 3-1 on the season.

Game 2: Nebraska-Kearney 17, Fort Hays State 4
The Lopers put game two out of reach early with two runs in the first and eight in the second to lead 10-0 after two innings. Six of the eight runs in the second were unearned due to an error in the inning. They tacked on four in the third and three in the fifth to lead 17-0 before FHSU scored all four of its runs in the sixth.

In the four-run sixth for FHSU, Kevin Czarnecki had a RBI single, followed by a Nick Foster two-RBI double, and a James Denton RBI single.

FHSU starter Joe Mapes lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks. He struck out one. Reliever Alex Cox allowed seven runs (three earned) in 1.1 innings of work. Nick Hammeke threw two innings and allowed four runs before Nathan Briar and Gabe Cook held the Lopers scoreless over the final 2.1 innings.

Logan Willard went 6.0 innings to get the win for UNK. He allowed four runs on eight hits with a walk, while striking out four. Ross Mortensen relieved for the final inning. Willard moved to 2-0 with the win.

Fort Hays State looks to salvage the final game of the four-game set with the Lopers on Monday at 1 pm.

FHSU Sports Information

No. 15 Fort Hays State opened MIAA conference play with a doubleheader sweep over Central Missouri on Sunday.  FHSU won the first game, 11-3 in six innings and took Game 2, 8-6.

FHSU (12-5, 2-0 MIAA) had 19 hits as a team and picked up 16 RBI in the victories.

The Tigers host Southwest Baptist for a doubleheader Monday (March 10) at Tiger Stadium.  First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Game 1: FHSU 11, UCM 3 (6 innings)
Fort Hays State used two big innings offensively to run-rule Central Missouri in Game 1 of first conference doubleheader of the season.  FHSU scored seven runs in the second and four in the sixth, ending the game early.

Courtney Dobson (1-for-2), Samantha Vallerreal (2-for-4) and Any Dunn (2-for-2) each had two RBI for the Tigers.  Dunn’s triple in the sixth was the Tigers’ final hit of the day as she drove in two runs to give FHSU an eight-run advantage.

Kelsey Kimminau improved to 5-1 on the season after throwing six complete innings with four strikeouts and three runs allowed.

Down 3-0 after the top of the second, Danie Brinkmann led off the second with a double to left center and moved to third on an illegal pitch during Dobson’s at-bat.  Villarreal’s infield single put runners on first and third with one out – prior to Kelli Koehler pinch running for Brinkmann.  During Amanda Vaupel’s s at-bat, Koehler came home and Villarreal moved to second on a passed ball.  After Vaupel drew a walk, Dunn was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kellsi Olsen worked a free pass to push Villarreal home and put the Tigers down just one, 3-2.

Jenna Lang tied the game in a pinch-hit situation, taking a 1-2 pitch into center field to score Vaupel, keeping the bases loaded.  With two down in the inning, Strand and Brinkmann put together back-to-back walks that brought Olsen and Lang home.  Dobson’s RBI single to center closed out the scoring for FHSU in the inning, bringing home Rilee Krier (who earlier reached on a fielder’s choice) and Strand.  FHSU led, 7-3 at that point.

Krier singled to lead off the sixth and stole second with no outs – moving to third base on Brinkmann’s ground out.  Later in the inning, Dobson walked to put runners on the corners with two down, and Madison Putman (who pinch ran for Dobson) stole second.  Villarreal followed with a single to left field that scored Krier and Putman.  After Vaupel’s walk put runners on first and second, Dunn hit a bases clearing triple – driving home Villarreal and Vaupel to seal the win.

Game 2: FHSU 8, UCM 6
FHSU had 11 hits, including five for extra bases in the second game of the day – an 8-6 victory for the Tigers.

Paxton Duran (6-3) threw 4.1 innings for the win, scattering five hits and allowing five runs, though just one was earned. Katelyn Kern earned her third save of the season after throwing the final 2.2 innings and giving up just one run on three hits.

At the plate, Amanda Vaupel  went 3-for-4 with a home run while Danie Brinkmann had two doubles and three RBI. Courtney Dobson reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk.

FHSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, capitalizing on two hits with two outs. Kylie Strand singled through the left side and came around to score on Brinkmann’s first double of the game.

After UCM took a 2-1 lead in the second, FHSU answered with a five-run rally to regain control.  Vaupel led off the inning with a single, advancing to third on Duran’s double that hit the left field wall.  With one out, Rilee Krier reached on an error by UCM’s Jakki Prater that allowed Vaupel to score and push runners to second and third.  With two outs in the inning, Duran came home and Krier reached third as Strand reached on an error by Jill Lucas.  Brinkmann followed with her second double of the game (and third of the day) by taking a 2-1 pitch into left center, scoring Strand and Krier.  Brinkmann came around to score on Dobson’s single to right.

With two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth, UCM climbed to striking distance, down 6-5, with two innings to play, but back-to-back home runs in the sixth for the Tigers shut the door for good.

In the sixth, Samantha Villarreal gave FHSU an insurance run with two outs, taking the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for the solo shot.  Vaupel followed with a blast of her own, lining a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall.

UCM got one run back in the seventh, but it was too little, too late as Kern closed out the game.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

The Fort Hays State Lady Tigers overcame a 14-point second half deficit to take a four-point lead over conference regular season champ Central Missouri, but the Jennies get a basket from MIAA Player of the Year Keuna Flax with just under seven-seconds to play and hold off the Lady Tigers 71-69 and advance to the conference tournament finals. The loss ends the Lady Tigers season at 21-8.

The Lady Tigers hit just two of their first 18 shots to start the game but trailed by just two at the half. They missed 14 straight shots in the second half, leading to the Jennies 14-point lead with 8:20 to play. Fort Hays State would storm back with a 22-4 run to take a four-point lead on a Nikola Kacperska layup with 3:23 to play.

The Jennies regrouped after a timeout and scored the next four points to tie the game. Flax’ game-winner with just under seven seconds left bounded all the way around the rim before falling in. The Lady Tigers had one final chance to tie, but Beth Bohuslavsky’s runner came up short.

Fort Hays State shot 31-percent from the floor including 5-for-18 from beyond the arc and only hit 16-of-25 of their free throw attempts.

The Jennies, who were led by Flax’ 24 points, shot 40-percent, including 6-of-18 three-pointers.

Kate Lehman led the Lady Tigers with 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. Chelsea Mason added 16 points and Kate Edwards added 15 points.

Post Game Press Conference

Game Highlights

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Fort Hays State fell behind 13-0 and were down as many as 22 in the first half and fall to Central Oklahoma 83-68 in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Tigers are now 22-7 on the season and wait to see their NCAA tournament fate. The Bronchos, who avenge to narrow losses two the Tigers in the regular season, improve to 19-9 and will play Northeastern State in the semifinals Saturday night.

The Tigers trailed by 14 at the half and pulled as close as six on two different occasions, the latest on two Craig Nicholson free throws with 8:51 to play,but the Broncos scored the next 14 points, all from the free throw line to push the lead to 20.

The Bronchos won the game at free throw line, hitting 28-of-34 while the Tigers hit 6-of-7.

Josh Gibbs hit 16-of-17 free throws and scored a career-high 34 points for UCO. Jake Stoppel scored 15 to lead the Tigers. Dwayne Brunson added 12 and James Fleming 11.

Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

The Fort Hays State Lady Tigers hit eight 3-pointers as they advance to the semifinals of the MIAA tournament with a 78-57 win over Missouri Southern Thursday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. FHSU improves to 21-7 and will play conference regular season champ Central Missouri at noon Saturday. The Jennies knocked off Northeastern State 79-65 in the first game of the day. Missouri Southern ends their season at 19-8.

The Lady Tigers took control with a 28-11 first half run, building an 18-point first half lead. The Lions answered with a 10-0 run and were within eight at the half.

Fort Hays State used an early 7-0 run in the second half to push the lead to 15 then an 11-0 put the Lady Tigers up 22 with 8:30 to play.

The Lady Tigers shot 44-percent from the field and were 8-for-19 from beyond the arc. The Lions, who had the second best field goal percentage and third best 3-point percentage in the conference, hit on just 33-percent and were 5-for-15 from beyond the arc and just 1-of-7 from long range in the second half.

Beth Bohuslavsky led four Lady Tigers in double-figures with 15 points, 13 of them in the second half. Tera Ingalsbe came off the bench to score 14, Kate Lehman added 13 and Chelsea Mason 11.

Southern was led by Dominique Mosley’s 13 points.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

Game  Highlights

FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State Women’s Basketball moved up one spot to No. 9 in the third version of the NCAA Central Region rankings, released Wednesday (March 5).  Eight teams are selected to play in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season, but automatic bids are given to teams that win conference postseason tournaments.

The Tigers (20-7, 12-7 MIAA), ranked 10th in the previous two rankings, filled the ninth spot, previously held by Minot State (which dropped out of the rankings).  FHSU is 16-7 against NCAA Divison II teams – with all matchups coming against regional opponents.

At the top of the poll, Harding and Emporia State swapped first and second positions, as Central Missouri, Wayne State (Neb.) and PIttsburg State rounded out the top 5.  NSIC teams Minnesota State, Northern State and Concordia-St. Paul (which won the NSIC Tournament) are slotted sixth through eighth.  CSP earned an automatic bid to the regional tournament with the postseason title.  MIAA foe Missouri Southern re-entered the rankings at No. 10 after falling out last week.

FHSU and MSSU square off in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament on Thursday, March 6 in Kansas City, Mo.

Eight teams will be selected to the NCAA Tournament from the region, but three automatic bids will be at stake from the MIAA, NSIC, and GAC. Teams outside the top 10 of the region rankings could steal a bid to the tournament by winning their conference tournament.

Rank	Team	In-Region	DII Record
1	Harding	24-1	26-1
2	Emporia State	20-3	22-3
3	Central Missouri	20-3	22-3
4	Wayne State (Neb.)	24-4	25-4
5	Pittsburg State	21-4	22-6
6	Minnesota State-Mankato	20-5	22-5
7	Northern State	21-5	21-5
8	Concordia-St. Paul	21-8	22-8
9	Fort Hays State	16-7	16-7
10	Missouri Southern	16-7	16-7

FHSU Sports Information

Fort Hays State wrestling is ranked 10th in the final NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Poll of the 2013-14 season, released Wednesday.  The Tigers, previously No. 15, received 78 votes in the last poll of the year after finishing fourth at the NCAA Central Super Regional Championships last week.

Complete Rankings

Joining FHSU in the national rankings from the MIAA is Nebraska-Kearney (No. 2), Lindenwood (No. 3) and Central Oklahoma (No. 13).  UNK held steady in second, LWU jumped from eighth last week and UCO fell from fourth.

Four Tigers were listed in individual rankings, as C.J. Napier and Tanner Kriss remained ranked and Josh Rodriguez and Jon Inman entered the rankings for the first time this season.  Napier is third at 141 pounds, up one spot from last week, while Kriss (197 pounds) dropped to eighth in the poll.  At 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, Rodriguez and Inman were each voted sixth.

In addition to the four ranked wrestlers, Mitchell Means (157) was the other Tiger to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, next week (March 14-15).

Brackets for the NCAA Championships are available here.

The complete team rankings of the final DII Wrestling Coaches Poll of the year is below…

Ranking	Team	Points	Previous
1	Notre Dame (Ohio)	160	1st
2	Nebraska-Kearney	152	2nd
3	Lindenwood (Mo.)	134	8th
4	Indianapolis (Ind.)	126	14th
5	Western State (Colo.)	122	12th
6	St. Cloud State (Minn.)	115	3rd
7	Newberry (S.C.)	113	5th
8	Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)	97	11th
9	McKendree (Ill.)	89	9th
10	Fort Hays State (Kan.)	78	15th
11	California Baptist	75	10th
12	Mercyhurst (Pa.)	69	7th
13	Central Oklahoma	68	4th
14	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	59	17th
15	Ashland (Ohio)	53	19th
16	Maryville (Mo.)	44	13th
17	Upper Iowa	40	6th
18	Adams State (Colo.)	37	NR
19	Kutztown (Pa.)	25	16th
20	Lake Erie (Ohio)	12	NR

Others receiving votes:  Colorado Mesa, Findlay (Ohio), North Carolina-Pembroke, Southwest Minnesota.