CONWAY, Ark. – Fort Hays State was shutout twice on Sunday in Arkansas, falling 4-0 to Rogers State and 8-0 to Washburn. The Tigers finished the weekend 2-2 overall and moved to 5-4 overall on the season.

Rogers State 4, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State and Rogers State played to a scoreless tie through three innings until a throwing error in the fourth inning proved to be a costly mistake. On a sacrifice bunt attempt back toward Tiger pitcher Michaelanne Nelson, her throw went wide of first and put runners on second and third with no outs. Another sacrifice bunt plated the Hillcats’ first run of the game and it was enough behind a strong pitching effort from Andrea Morales.

Morales turned in a dominant effort in the pitching circle for RSU, allowing just one hit and one walk in a 12-strikeout complete game. Grace Philop was the only Tiger who reached base against Morales, drawing a walk in the first inning and breaking up a no-hit bid with a single in the fourth.

Nelson flirted with danger throughout the game and it was too much to hold off in the fifth. After escaping a bases loaded jam in the first and allowing just one run in the fourth before loading the bases, the Hillcats broke through with two runs on a bases loaded situation in the fifth. Nelson threw 5.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with four strikeouts. Her seven walks allowed created a lot of traffic on the bases, yet she was fortunate to escape danger in several high-leverage situations. Sierra Rodriguez took the circle in the sixth and allowed a solo home run, which created the final margin of 4-0. Nelson took the loss and she is now 2-2 on the season.

Washburn 8, Fort Hays State 0
Washburn put the nightcap away quickly with a run in the first, two in the second, and then five in the third. Once again, the Tigers did not provide much resistance offensively, scratching out three hits against Washburn starter Raegen Hamm. Grace Philop, Sara Breckbill, and Jeni Mohr all recorded singles.

Hailey Chapman struggled in the pitching circle, allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks with one strikeout in just 2.0 innings of work. She did not record an out in the third, allowing three consecutive hits to open the inning. Megan Jamison relieved for 2.0 innings and allowed two runs on three hits with one strikeout. Chapman moved to 2-2 on the season with the loss.

Hamm earned the win in 4.0 innings of work. She turned the ball over to Bailey Zuniga for the final inning.

The Tigers have Central Christian (Kan.) up next on the schedule on Tuesday (Feb. 19), but those games could be in jeopardy due to weather and conditions in Hays. Keep an eye on fhsuathletics.com for further changes to the schedule.

HAYS, Kan. – Brady Werth scored 22 points, Devin Davis added 18 and Fort Hays State used a late run to pull away from Lincoln 72-63 in front of 3,575 Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum. With the win, the Tigers (15-9, 9-6 MIAA) avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season while handing the Blue Tigers (16-8, 9-6 MIAA) their third straight loss and move into a tie for fourth place in the conference standings.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Grant Holmes Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers went on a 20-6 first half run to go up 11 with 5:20 to play. Lincoln responded with an 11-3 run to close out the half and trailed by three at halftime. It was part of a bigger 25-7 run that saw the Blue Tigers go up seven with 13:44 to play.

FHSU answered with an 11-0 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Grant Holmes and Devin Davis which gave them the lead for good.
Up one, Davis grabbed an offensive rebound off his only missed shot of the game and was fouled on the stick back. The conventional three-point play pushed the Tigers lead to four and ignited a 16-4 run over the next four plus minutes which saw the Tigers build a 13-point lead.

Davis finished 7-of-8 from the floor including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

Werth went 10-for-16 from the floor and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, just missing a third straight double-double.

Jared Vitztum hit a couple of threes and added 10 points.

Grand Olsson scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Blue Tigers.

HAYS, Kan. – Tatyana Legette and Whitney Randall both had double-doubles to lead the fourth-ranked Fort Hays State women to a hard fought 73-59 win over Lincoln in front of 3,187 Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers (23-1, 14-1 MIAA) have won eight straight and maintain their two-game lead over Washburn atop the MIAA.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

After a slow start, the Tigers used runs of 8-2 and 9-2 to build a nine-point lead after the first quarter. They pushed that to 15 late in the second quarter and were up as many as 17 midway through the third.

Lincoln (10-14, 2-13 MIAA) went on a 14-6 run to pull within eight with a little over three minutes to play in the fourth but the Tigers scored the final six points to put the game away.

Legette scored 15 had 11 rebounds and six assists while Randall scored 10 and pulled down 10 boards for her first career double-double. Belle Barbiere added 15 points and Lanie Page 10. Page hit two of FHSU’s five threes as they finish 5-for-24 from beyond the arc.

Zhanesha Dickerson led the Blue Tigers with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

HAYS, Kan. – Devin Davis scored a career-high 18 points and Brady Werth recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds but it wasn’t enough as Fort Hays State couldn’t recover from a slow start in a 73-67 home loss to Lindenwood Thursday.

The Lions (12-14, 5-9 MIAA) raced out to an early 12-point first half lead and would never trail again. The Tigers (14-9, 8-6 MIAA) answered with a 13-2 run and pulled within one on a Brady Werth three-point play with 2:33 left in the half. Lindenwood closed out the half on a 7-2 run and led 37-31 at the break.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Devin Davis Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

FHSU closed the gap to two early in the second half but could never get any closer. A Devin Davis three-point play had the Tigers within three at 51-48 with 9:33 left but a 10-4 Lindenwood run pushed the lead to nine at the 5:28 mark. The closest the Tigers would get the rest of the way was five as they lost at home for only the second time this season.

Chandler Diekvoss led Lindenwood with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Diego Womack added 16 points and nine boards while the MIAA’s leading scorer, Brad Newman was held to 12, nine below his season average.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team dropped both games of the double header to Wayne State (Neb.) on Thursday (Feb. 14). The Tigers dipped to 0-8 on the season, while the Wildcats moved to 5-1 overall.

Game One: Wayne State 9, Fort Hays State 3
The Tigers struggled to get the bats going early, collecting just one hit over the first four innings. The Wildcats played from in front all afternoon after Kyle Thompson sent a two-out grand slam over the wall in left in the top of the first.

Trailing 8-0, the Tigers got on the board in the fifth thanks to a two-out rally. Jordan Wilkerson worked a walk before Dawson Sramek beat out an infield single. The pair moved up a bag on a passed ball, allowing Wilkerson to later score on an error.

The Tigers added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth when Taylan Mullins-Ohm lifted a pinch-hit home run to left center in his first at bat of the season, closing within 8-3.

Cole Zimmerman (0-2) made the start for FHSU, allowing six runs on four hits over 3.0 innings of work. Chase Werth came out of the bullpen to toss 2.2 effective frames, allowing one run on three hits.

Game Two: Wayne State 13, Fort Hays State 7
The Tigers had trouble putting together hits in the early-going, as they produced just two hits across the first three innings. The Wildcats got off to another hot start as Andrew Hansen launched a one-out 2-run home run over the wall in left center in the first inning.

Trailing 8-0, the Tigers plated their first run of the game when Landon Erway tripled to right center and crossed home plate when Cody Starkel singled through the right side.

Wayne State pushed across two more runs in the top of the fifth. Marcus McDaniel and Tim Fitzgerald then drew back-to-back walks to lead off home half. Both Tigers came around to score a few batters later after a couple Wildcat fielding errors.

The Tigers put together a nice comeback bid in the eighth inning with four runs on five hits. Erway led off with a single up the middle of the diamond before Jared Haynes added his own single, beginning the late run for the Tigers. Marcus McDaniel produced an RBI double the next batter, plating Erway from third. Taylan Mullins-Ohm cut the deficit to 10-6 with a two-out 2-RBI single through the right side of the infield, scoring Haynes and McDaniel. Ryan Grasser avoided another strikeout in the contest by plating Mullins-Ohm with an RBI single to left.

Wayne State tacked on three more runs in the top of the ninth and their closer, Charles Hasty, shut down the Tiger offense, sweeping the series.

Cody Rottinghaus (0-2) made the start for FHSU, allowing eight runs spanning 3.2 innings of work. Ryan Brown worked out of the bullpen to toss 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on one hit. Jake Taylor finished off the game for the Tigers with four strikeouts across four innings.

Fort Hays State will begin a three game road swing when they face off against Missouri Western next weekend (Feb. 22-24) in St. Joseph, Mo. First pitch on Friday is set to commence at 2 p.m. from Griffon Baseball Field.

WICHITA, Kan. – The No. 10 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team defeated No. 18 ranked Newman on Wednesday (Feb. 13), by a score of 26-13. The Tigers completed the dual portion of their schedule with a 3-9 overall record and finished 2-3 in conference action, while the Jets dipped to 3-7 on the year and 1-4 in the MIAA.

The Tigers got off to a strong start when freshman Broderick Green came out swinging with a commanding pin in the first period (0:42) over Jake Patch. Green earned his team-leading seventh fall of the season in the process. The tables turned over in the 133-pound bout when Braden Visnieski suffered a fall at the hands of Tyler Lawley in the first period (2:55). FHSU and Newman were tied 6-6 after the first two matches.

No. 1 ranked Brandon Ball shutout his opponent (Kevin Kissane) with a 7-0 decision, earning his 20th win of the year. This is the third-consecutive season Ball has reached the 20-win plateau. Jonathan Ball had a big test as he was facing No. 8 ranked Kameron Frame at 149 pounds. Ball suffered an 11-1 major decision defeat, giving the Jets the lead once again, this time 10-9.

In a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers, the 157-pound bout featured No. 4 ranked Efe Osaghae and No. 2 ranked Tyler Mies. Osaghae struck a takedown in the opening seconds of the first round and never looked back as he upset Mies with a 4-3 decision. Marty Verhaeghe dropped down to the 165-pound class and earned himself an 11-9 decision over Noah Perkins, giving him his 19th victory on the year.

Aryus Jones nearly defeated Nate Panagakis at 174 pounds but was edged out in the first overtime as Panagakis made a quick move at the beginning of the period, winning in a sudden victory, 7-5. Micquille Robinson, Ryan Tiers and A.J. Cooper capped off the dual with three-straight victories for the Tigers. Robinson used a 6-1 decision over Ivan Balavage to give the Tigers an 18-13 lead with two bouts to go and earning his team-leading 33rd win of the year..

Tiers used a couple of four-point near falls to separate himself from Sage Eckman, ultimately winning the bout with a 16-2 major decision. Cooper did more of the same and picked up a 13-2 major decision as well, doubling up the Jets score, 26-13.

The Tigers will now have 10 days to prepare for Regionals, which take place (Feb. 23) in St. Charles, Mo. the time for the event has yet to be determined.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State softball swept Kansas Wesleyan in its home-opening doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers won by scores of 2-0 and 13-1 to move to 3-2 overall on the season. It was the first two games of the year for the Coyotes.

Game 1: Fort Hays State 2, Kansas Wesleyan 0
The first game of the doubleheader remained scoreless all the way until the bottom of the sixth, when a dropped fly ball off the bat of Elise Capra allowed two runs to score. That was the break the Tigers needed as Sierra Rodriguez and Hailey Chapman combined for a shutout. Chapman picked up her first win of the season in three innings of relief work.

Fly balls to right field were an adventure for the Coyotes throughout the game. After a pair of dropped fly balls by the right fielder early in the game, the center fielder opted to cut in front of the right fielder on Capra’s fly ball to right in the sixth and she dropped what would have been the third out of the inning. Sara Breckbill and Allison Jurgensen had singles earlier in the inning that set up the opportunity for Capra.

Sierra Rodriguez threw the first four innings of the game, allowing three hits without a walk. Chapman mowed through the Coyotes in three innings of relief, posting seven strikeouts. She had a run of four straight strikeouts from the last out of the fifth to the final out of the sixth. Chapman did allow a walk, her first baserunner allowed in 7.0 total innings of relief work this season.

Katie Adler was a bright spot for the Tigers offensively in the first game, going 3-for-3 at the dish and collecting half of the Tigers’ six hits in the game.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 13, Kansas Wesleyan 1
Fort Hays State pulled away early for a run-rule victory in the nightcap. The Tigers plated five runs in the first, three in the third, and five in the fourth before the run rule stopped the game after four and a half innings.

Bailey Boxberger was 2-for-2 at the plate and added a sacrifice fly to finish with a team-best three RBI in the game. Grace Philop had a 3-for-3 effort at the plate with one RBI. Sara Breckbill belted a solo home to left field in the first inning and scored a team-high three runs in the game. Elise Capra tattooed a ball over the left center field wall for a three-run home run in the third. Capra was 1-for-1 at the dish, though she reached base in her other two plate appearances on a hit-by-pitch and walk. Katie Adler and Megan Feiner also picked up one RBI each.

Megan Jamison threw three scoreless innings in her first start of the season in the pitching circle before finally surrendering Kansas Wesleyan’s only run of the day in the fourth. She scattered five hits before turning the ball over to Michaelanne Nelson with one out in the fourth. Nelson threw the final 1.2 innings for FHSU, getting four of her five outs by strikeout. Jamison qualified for the win since the game ended in the fifth.

The Tigers now prep for four games this weekend (Feb. 16-17) in Conway, Arkansas. Originally, FHSU was supposed to play in Bentonville, Arkansas this weekend, but that tournament was canceled.

Tiger Notes
-Katie Adler went 4-for-6 at the plate for the day and took over the team lead in batting average, now at .533 through five games.
-Hailey Chapman has thrown 7.0 innings of no-hit ball in relief this year, allowing just one walk with 10 strikeouts in three relief appearances.
-Sierra Rodriguez and Megan Jamison saw their first action of the season in the pitching circle on Wednesday afternoon.
-FHSU is batting .346 as a team through 5 games, which is second best in the MIAA to this point.
-Fort Hays State’s team pitching ERA is 2.48, which ranks 4th in the MIAA to this point.
-Katie Adler, Grace Philop, and Sara Breckbill all collected at least 3 hits on the day.
-All 11 strikeouts recorded by the Tigers in the doubleheader were by relievers Hailey Chapman and Michaelanne Nelson.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team struck first on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 13), but two late runs from Wayne State pushed the Wildcats over the top, 5-4. The Tigers are now 0-6 on the year while Wayne State improves to 3-1 overall.

The Tigers wasted no time getting things going, scoring the first run of the contest just two batters into the bottom half of the first inning. Tim Fitzgerald sent a double to right center before coming around to score on a Ryan Grasser RBI single, putting the Tigers in front 1-0.

After the Wildcats tied the score in the top of the third, Fort Hays State answered with another run of their own in the home half. Grasser opened the inning with another single before promptly swiping second, allowing the senior to score on a base knock from Ryan Stoecklein.

Wayne State tied things up in the fourth inning before both sides added a tally in the sixth, with the Tigers tying things after Marcus Altman reached on an error to lead things off. The Hays native later came around to score on an RBI sacrifice bunt from pinch hitter Marcus McDaniel, allowing Fort Hays State to tie the score at 3-3.

The Wildcats added a pair of runs over the next two innings to take the lead for good. Jared Maneth and Ryan Grasser both doubled in the bottom of the ninth to put the tying run on second base, but WSC closed things out with a strikeout.

Grasser reached base five times on the day, finishing 4-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and one run. Stoecklein, Maneth and Landon Erway all added two hits each.

Ethan Booe made his first collegiate start, striking out four batters over 6.0 innings of work. The freshman allowed three runs on six hits and just one walk. Ryan Ruder (0-1) took the loss after giving up a pair of runs in one-plus innings on the bump. Jake Steinbring finished the game for the Tigers, allowing just one hit over two scoreless frames.

The teams will wrap up a three-game series with a doubleheader on Thursday (Feb. 14). First pitch from Larks Park is scheduled for noon.

The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team took care of business on the road last week, defeating Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern by a combined 40 points. As a result, the Tigers continued to climb in both national polls released Tuesday (Feb. 12), sliding up to fourth in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll while improving to third in the D2SIDA National Media Poll.

Fort Hays State earned 515 points in the balloting process of the Coaches Poll, just eight points back of No. 3 Indiana (Pa.). With just two undefeated teams remaining in Division II, the media have the Tigers listed as the top team with one loss so far this season.

Joining the Tigers in the Coaches Poll this week is Thursday’s opponent, Lindenwood. The Lions return to the Top 25 after a brief stay at No. 24 last month. Also representing the MIAA is No. 24 Central Missouri in the Coaches Poll and No. 25 Emporia State in the Media Poll.

Fort Hays State is 2-0 against ranked teams this season and 8-11 against ranked opponents while ranked under head coach Tony Hobson.

The Tigers went 2-0 as the fourth-ranked team earlier this season and are 6-1 all-time while ranked fourth according to the coaches.

The Tigers and Lindenwood will battle in their Top 25 matchup Thursday (Feb. 14) beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Below are the complete national polls for February 12, 2019.

WBCA DII Coaches Poll – Week 12						D2SIDA Media Poll – Week 12
Rk.	Team (1st)	Rcd.	Pts.	Prev.		Rk.	Team (1st)	Rcd.	Pts.	Prev.
1	Drury (24)	23-0	600	1		1	Drury (15)	23-0	396	1
2	UC San Diego	20-0	562	2		2	UC San Diego (1)	20-0	385	3
3	Indiana (Pa.)	20-1	523	4		3	Fort Hays State	21-1	359	4
4	Fort Hays State	21-1	515	5		4	IUP	20-1	340	6
5	University of the Sciences	22-1	472	8		T5	USciences	22-1	324	8
6	Union (Tenn.)	23-1	464	6		T5	Union	22-1	324	7
7	Northwest Nazarene	21-1	445	7		7	Northwest Nazarene	21-1	291	9
8	Virginia Union	21-1	426	9		8	Southwestern Oklahoma	21-1	276	11
9	Thomas Jefferson Univ.	21-1	415	3		9	Jefferson	21-1	255	2
10	Alaska Anchorage	21-1	399	10		10	Anderson (S.C.)	21-2	246	13
11	Ashland	21-2	357	11		11	Lewis	20-2	243	12
12	Grand Valley State	21-2	343	13		12	Florida Southern	20-2	221	5
13	Southwestern Oklahoma St.	21-1	309	14		13	Virginia Union	21-1	218	14
14	Bentley	21-2	281	15		14	Angelo State	18-2	214	16
15	Florida Southern	20-2	272	12		15	Alaska Anchorage	21-1	184	15
16	Lewis	20-2	249	18		16	Colorado Mesa	19-2	153	10
17	Angelo State	18-2	211	19		17	Grand Valley	21-2	144	19
18	Anderson (S.C.)	21-2	184	20		18	Bentley	21-2	142	17
19	Colorado Mesa	19-2	176	16		19	Glenville State	20-2	104	24
20	West Texas A&M	19-3	138	22		20	Ashland	21-2	99	21
21	California (Pa.)	18-3	127	17		21	Westminster	18-3	52	NR
22	Lubbock Christian	19-4	82	24		22	Lander	17-5	47	RV
23	Glenville State	20-2	77	NR		23	California	18-3	41	18
24	Central Missouri	16-5	31	21		24	Cal Poly Pomona	19-3	36	20
25	Lindenwood	16-4	29	NR		25	Emporia State	18-5	32	NR

EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State scored runs in all but one inning for an 11-4 win over Colorado Christian on Sunday (Feb. 10) morning. The Tigers pounded out 12 hits and picked up their first win of the season moving to 1-2 overall, while the Cougars dropped to 2-3 on the season.

Five consecutive singles by Terran Caldwell, Katie Adler, Grace Philop, Bailey Boxberger, and Sara Breckbill to open the bottom of the first inning instantly put the Tigers up 3-0. Boxberger drove in two on her single, and Breckbill drove in one. The lead grew to 4-0 when Breckbill stole second and a throwing error allowed Boxberger to score from third. Allison Jurgensen and Megan Feiner drew back-to-back walks to load the bases again and Lily Sale capped a five-run first inning for FHSU with a sacrifice fly RBI to right field.

A throwing error by the pitcher on a batted ball by Caldwell in the second inning led to another Tiger run. Adler walked and then Philop moved both Tiger runners up a base with a ground out. Boxberger picked up her team-best third RBI of the contest with a sacrifice fly RBI, making it 6-0.

Tiger starting pitcher Michaelanne Nelson allowed just one hit through the first two innings, but ran into a bit of trouble in the third when a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for CCU. The Cougars picked up their first run of the game on a sacrifice fly, but a ground out to follow ended the chance of any big rally. FHSU led 6-1 going to the bottom half of the third.

The Tigers had their first two batters in the third reach base. A nice sacrifice by Caldwell moved the runners up and the Adler capitalized with an RBI single to make it 7-1. FHSU put together a two-out rally in the fourth inning when Jeni Mohr made it 8-1 with an RBI double and Caldwell backed it up with a two-RBI double, pushing the lead to 10-1.

The Tigers almost closed out the Cougars in the fifth by run rule, but the Cougars put together a late-inning rally to get the score margin back inside eight. A ground out that produced the second out of the inning made it 10-2, but a Stephanie Day single brought in a run from third to make it 10-3. Charlotte Romero followed with an RBI double down the left-field line, making it 10-4. Coach Adrian Pilkington decided at that point to turn the ball over to Hailey Chapman in relief. Nelson picked up her first win at FHSU in 4.2 innings of work, allowing all four CCU runs on six hits and two walks.

Elise Capra, who entered the game as a pinch runner for Breckbill in the fourth and then remained in the game to catch, smashed a ball over the left field wall in the fifth to produce the game’s final run.

Hailey Chapman was spotless in relief for the second straight day, going 2.1 innings and facing the minimum amount of batters. She struck out three. In four innings of relief work this year, she has faced the minimum amount of batters (12) without allowing a hit or walk.

The Tigers head back to Bentonville, Arkansas next weekend for the 8-State Classic on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Feb. 15-17). Keep an eye on fhsuathletics.com for any alterations to the schedule.

Tiger Notes
-All but one batter in the Tiger starting lineup Sunday produced at least 1 hit in the game.
-Elise Capra hit her first collegiate home run in the 5th.
-Six of the nine players in the Tiger starting lineup had at least 1 RBI in the game.
-Terran Caldwell had a 3-hit game and now leads the team in batting average for the season at .500.
-Hailey Chapman has allowed nothing with 3 strikeouts in 4.0 innings of relief work this year, facing the minimum 12 batters.