EDMOND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State women scored eight straight to close out their game at Central Oklahoma Saturday, but they failed to score on their final possession and lost 72-70. The loss snapped their seven-game win streak and dropped them to 19-5 overall and 10-5 in the MIAA. It’s the second straight game in which the Bronchos have snapped a team’s seven-game win streak as they imorove to 19-5 overall and 10-5 in teh conference.

Tony Hobsom Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers led by four midway through the third quarter but UCO outscored the Tigers 14-4 over the next five-plus minutes to go uo six. They pushed the lead to 10 with 2:43 to play when Blake Blessington hit a corner three at the end of the shot clock.

The Tigers would not allow another point the rest of the way and had a chance to win it but Carly Heim had her shot blocked at the horn.

The Tigers came short despite shooting 47-percent from beyond the arc (8-17).

Tatyana Legette led three Tigers in double-figures with 18 points and eight rebounds. Lanie Page added 17 and Carly Heim added 12.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Fort Hays State was just one out away from a shutout win in its first game Friday (Feb. 9), but a two-out rally led to an extra-inning loss against Cameron University before falling by run-rule to Tarleton State in game two. FHSU fell in eight innings to Cameron, 3-2, then in five innings to Tarleton State, 16-3. The Tigers moved to 1-4 overall on the season.

Cameron 3, Fort Hays State 2 (8 inn.)
Hailey Chapman was throwing a gem against Cameron through 20 outs in the first contest Friday. However, in a stunning turn of events, she and the Tigers could not find the 21st before Cameron rallied for a pair of runs in the blink of an eye. In just two batters, the Aggies used a pair of timely hits to turn a 2-hit, 12-strikeout shutout for Chapman into a tie game. With the international tiebreaker incorporated right away in the eighth, the Tigers could not score before the Aggies pushed across a run in the bottom half of the inning to steal away the game.

Chapman was nearly unhittable through the first 6.1 innings, racking up 12 strikeouts with just one hit allowed. A first inning single was all that interrupted what could have been a no-hit bid at that point as Chapman sat down 13 consecutive batters from the third inning all the way to one out in the seventh. The only other blemish besides the hit was a batter hit by pitch to start the third. Annie Combs disrupted Chapman’s dominance in the seventh with a one-out double.

The double did not rattle Chapman as she induced an infield pop out of a pinch hitter. All she needed was the final out, but a stroke of luck for pinch hitter Raley Long triggered an instant two-run rally. Long managed to hit a dribbler right in front of the plate and was able to beat the ball to first base. All the while, Combs wheeled around third on the play and scored. Lauren Mason re-entered the game to run at first base for Combs, stole second, then came in to tie the game on a single to left center field by another pinch hitter, Madyson Marvulli. Chapman finally got another infield pop up to end the inning, but not before the Aggies found a way to force extra innings.

The game went to the international tiebreaker right away. Terran Caldwell started on second base to open up the top of the eighth, but could not get to third right away as Grace Philop was ruled out on batter’s interference. Two groundouts later, Caldwell was stranded at third leaving the Aggies with a chance to win the game in the bottom half of the inning. Following a walk to the first batter to set up a force at second and third, the Aggies executed classic international tiebreaker procedure by getting a sacrifice bunt down to move the runners up to third and second with one out. Then Kaylyn Smith hit a ball to second that Veronica Knittig mishandled and the winning run came across to score for Cameron.

Chapman took a tough luck loss in 7.1 innings pitched, while Rylee Wilmon benefitted from her team’s late rally to get a complete-game win. Wilmon moved to 2-1 on the year by allowing two runs on six hits, while striking out six. The Aggies moved to 5-2 overall on the year with the win.

Tarleton State 16, Fort Hays State 3
Fort Hays State held an early 2-0 lead in its second contest of the day, but undefeated Tarleton State put up bunches of runs in the second, third, and fourth innings to down FHSU 16-3 by run rule. Tarleton State (7-0) produced at least seven runs for the sixth time in seven games this season

Bailey Kennedy put the Tigers on top with a two-out, two-RBI single in the bottom of the first, but starting pitcher Carrie Clarke ran into control issues that triggered an eight-run second inning for the TexAnns.

Clarke issued a pair of walks before Marisa Flores doubled down the right field line to plate two runs and tie the game. Clarke got the second out of the inning on a fielder’s choice, leaving just a runner at first. A full-count walk issued to Maddie Quintanar began more struggles for Clarke. She issued two more walks in a row, one on five pitches and the next on four to force in the go-ahead run. A hit parade for the TexAnns broke out immediately after. An infield single plated the fourth run of the inning and a double plated two more before Clarke turned the ball over to reliever Sierra Rodriguez, who struggled as well. Rodriguez gave up a two-run single to the first batter she faced and allowed a walk before getting a fly out to end the rally. All eight runs in the inning were the responsibility of Clarke.

Rodriguez went on to allow eight runs of her own on eight hits over the next two innings as Clarke re-entered the pitching circle with one out in the fourth. Clarke got a line-out double play to end a five-run fourth for Tarleton State.

A pinch-hit single in the fifth inning by Jeni Mohr would help the Tigers get their final run of the game. Moving up to second on a Terran Caldwell walk, Mohr came in to score from second on a two-out RBI single by Grace Philop. Tarleton State picked up the final out immediately following to invoke the run rule after five innings. Clarke took her first loss of the season in the pitching circle.

Haley Freyman of Tarleton State picked up the win, allowing two runs on four hits over four innings of work. TSU reliever Julia Wernet pitched the fifth inning, allowing one run on two hits and a walk to the Tigers.

Fort Hays State looks to get back in the win column on Saturday when it faces Eastern New Mexico at 10 am and St. Edward’s at 4:45 pm.

WICHITA, Kan. – Defensive miscues and timely hitting allowed the Newman Jets to rally in the late innings and defeat the Fort Hays State baseball team on a chilly Friday afternoon at McCarthy Field (Feb. 9), 10-3. The Tigers dip to 4-2 on the year, while the Jets move to 1-1 after evening things out in their first series of the year. The teams are scheduled to return to Larks Park on Monday (Feb. 12) for the rubber game of the series. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

Fort Hays State limited Newman to just two runs over the first five innings of the game, but the home team erupted for eight runs over its final three at bats to pull away.

The Tigers committed five errors in the loss, nearly as many as the team made in its first five games combined (eight).

Newman jumped in front with a pair of runs in the second inning before the Tigers finally broke through in the top of the fourth. Addison Kaasch pulled a 2-2 pitch down the left field line, legging out the first triple of the year for a Tiger. The junior sprinted home in the next at bat when Jordan Wilkerson tapped an RBI groundout to short, cutting the Jet lead in half.

Alex Ruxlow came out of the bullpen to get the Tigers out of trouble in the bottom of the third, getting a strikeout to leave the bases loaded. The senior silenced the Jet bats for the next two innings, giving the FHSU offense a chance to rally back.

Wilkerson opened a two-out rally in the top of the sixth with an infield single before swiping second. A walk to Colton Helm loaded the bases after Bryce Whitchurch was hit by a pitch, forcing Newman to go to the bullpen. Cody Starkel stepped into the box as a pinch hitter and came through with a big base knock, putting the Tigers in front 3-2 with a two-RBI single to left center.

Newman went back in front for good in the sixth with four unearned runs on three errors before tacking on four more insurance runs in the eighth. FHSU was unable to capitalize on a pair of hits over the final three frames, twice leaving runners in scoring position.

Jason Nicholson and Kaasch each collected a pair of hits, accounting for four of FHSU’s eight base knocks on the day.

Ruxlow (0-1) was charged with the loss despite giving up just two unearned runs on five hits over three innings of work while striking out a pair. All five pitchers to toe the rubber were charged with two runs.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

TAHLEQUAH. Okla. – Hadley Gillum and Marcus Cooper both recorded double-doubles to lead Fort Hays State to a 98-89 double-overtime win at Northeastern State. It’s the Tigers (14-9, 7-7 MIAA) first overtime win in four tries this season and their first road win since December 9th.

Gillum scored 35 points and pulled down 11 rebounds with six assists in 48 minutes. Cooper added 20 points and 17 rebounds with five assists in 42 minutes. The two combined for 7-of-10 shooting beyond the arc and 20-of-24 from the free throw line.

Brady Werth added 14 points and nine rebounds. Aaron Nicholson hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers led by five at halftime and quickly pushed the lead to 12 with 15:55 to play but the RiverHawks (7-16, 3-11 MIAA) answered with a 28-10 run over the next eight and-a-half minutes to go up six.

The Tigers responded with a 15-4 run capped by back-to-back Hadley Gillum 3-pointers and led by five with one minute to play.

Jamir Andrews hit two threes in the closing minute for Northeastern to force overtime.

Lucas Antunez missed a shot in the lane which could have won it for the RiverHawks in the first overtime.

The Tigers scored the first five points of the second OT and never let NSU any closer.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

TAHLEQUAH. Okla. – For a fourth straight game the second quarter was kind to the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team. They used an 18-3 run to build a 15-point lead and beat Northeastern State 71-53 at the NSU Event Center. It’s the Tigers (19-4, 10-4 MIAA) second seven-game win streak of the season, matching their 7-0 start.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Emma Stroyan led three in double-figures with 14 points. Taylor Rolfs and Carly Heim both added 10 points. Heim had five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 32 minutes.

Tatyana Legette was held to eight points but pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Joi Bertrand was the only RiverHawk to reach double-figures with 14 points.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State wrestling team sent the three seniors out on a high-note as the Tigers defeated Newman on Wednesday (Feb. 7), 39-4. The Tigers improved to 6-5 overall and 2-3 in MIAA duals, while the Jets dipped to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in conference matches.

The Tigers led from the start after a first period fall from sophomore Conrad Cole over Tyler Lawley in the 125-pound match giving FHSU a quick 6-0 dual lead after one match. Cole increased his pin total to nine on the season, tied for the team lead.

Dy’Juan Carney continued the winning ways with a 7-2 decision over Vincent Eremita in the 133-pound weight class. Carney broke a 1-1 tie in the third period with a takedown and a four-point near fall to pull away from Eremita.

In the 141-pound bout, No. 8 Brandon Ball continued his strong sophomore campaign by pinning Brandon Conrad of Newman in the first period after a takedown and three 4-point near falls in the match. Ball picked up his third fall of the year and team-leading 28th win of the season.

Efe Osaghae joined in on the scoring frenzy with a 16-0 technical fall of his own in the 149-pound match over Mario Rodriguez. Osaghae gave the Tigers the 20-0 dual advantage through four bouts on the evening. The redshirt-freshman continues to stay steady by ranking second on the team in wins (24) and technical falls (five).

Newman’s Tyler Mies picked up a 16-3 major decision over Ryne Cokeley in the 157-pound weight class, putting the Jets on the board in the fifth bout of the night. FHSU led Newman 20-4 halfway through the dual.

After intermission to honor the three seniors on the squad, Marty Verhaeghe squeaked by in a 6-5 decision over Kyle Ryan in the 165-pound bout. With the decision, Verhaeghe was able to get back to .500 (20-20) on the season.

The first senior of the dual was in the 174-pound weight class as Dylan Wiesner controlled Nate Panagakis for the majority of the bout after accumulating over four minutes of ride time and an eventual 12-4 major decision in favor of the Tigers. FHSU led Newman 27-4 with three bouts remaining in the dual.

In the 184-pound match, Micah Felton narrowly escaped Forlanda Parker for a slim 3-1 decision. Senior Rakim Dean came out swinging early in the 197-pound bout after earning a 16-0 technical fall victory over Jacob Stoneberger in the first period. The final senior, Dakota Gulley, wrapped up the dual with a 12-2 major decision over Thor Balavage in the 285-pound weight class. Gulley earned his second major decision of his career in the victory, moving his overall record to 33-33 as a Fort Hays State Tiger.

The Tigers have wrapped up regular season play and gear up for postseason wrestling as they travel to Wichita, Kan. for the MIAA Tournament on Sunday (Feb. 11). The event is set to begin at 10 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After both posting marks good enough for provisionals over the weekend, Decano Cronin and Jake Morrow swept the MIAA’s Track & Field Athletes of the Week honors. Cronin claimed track athlete after hitting a provisional in the 800-meter, while Morrow earned field honors with his provisional in the pole vault.

Cronin is now seventh in the nation after boasting his time of 1:50.55 in the 800-meters while at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite in Lincoln, Neb., this past Saturday. Cronin topped a field of 28 runners in the event to move up in the performance rankings. This honor is Cronin’s second mention as track athlete of the week for the conference in his career.

Morrow earns his mention of the week after winning the pole vault at the UNK Indoor Invitational over the weekend. Not only did Morrow earn another provisional on the season, but he set a new personal best of 16 feet, 7 ¼ inches in his specialty. With this effort, Morrow now sits at No. 6 in the nation for the pole vault.

NEW ORLEANS – The Fort Hays State men’s track and field team continues to climb in the USTFCCCA National Rankings as they now sit at No. 19 after a weekend of competition in both Lincoln and Kearney. The Tigers were previously No. 23 in the poll and make their way up four places in the latest installment released Tuesday (Feb. 6).

FHSU reaches the No. 19 spot after calculating a total of 37.12 points from the computer-based ranking system within the poll. The Tigers were one of three MIAA programs to earn a mention in the rankings alongside No. 8 Pittsburg State, No. 11 Missouri Southern and No. 24 Emporia State.

After a weekend with the team splitting their talent between the UNK Indoor Invitational and the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite in Lincoln, the Tigers increased their poll presence after earning several provisional marks to go with school records and personal bests. Jake Morrow and Sam Dreiling both earned provisional marks in the pole vault with Morrow winning the event and Dreiling taking third at UNK. In Lincoln, Decano Cronin captured a win in the 800-meter at 1:50.55 to claim a provisional. With this time, Cronin sits at No. 7 in the national performance list. The Tigers rounded out the strong competition by setting a school record in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:18.20 with a team made up of Jacob Schumacher, Cronin, Brett Meyer and Malcom Gardner.

Below are the latest rankings for Division II Men.

Rank Institution Points
1 Colorado Mines 207.85
2 Grand Valley State 144.56
3 Tiffin 140.48
4 Ashland 124.75
5 Texas A&M-Commerce 116.99
6 Adams State 100.55
7 CSU-Pueblo 96.60
8 Pittsburg State 94.81
9 Findlay 82.55
10 Minnesota State 74.67
11 Missouri Southern 71.33
12 Texas A&M-Kingsville 70.28
13 Academy of Art 68.97
14 Saint Augustine’s 57.15
15 Western Oregon 47.82
16 West Texas A&M 45.28
17 Colorado Christian 43.88
18 Colorado Mesa 42.82
19 Fort Hays State 37.12
20 Wingate 36.65
21 American International 35.74
22 Queens (N.C.) 34.59
23 U-Mary 34.00
24 Emporia State 33.64
25 Eastern New Mexico 33.29

Click below to listen to Tiger Talk with the “Voice of the Tigers” Gerard Wellbrock and Fort Hays State women’s basketball coach Tony Hobson and men’s coach Mark Johnson.

Tiger Talk airs on Monday evening at 6 p.m. on Tiger Radio Mix-103.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Fort Hays State wrestling team wrapped up their conference road trip on Sunday (Feb. 4) as the Tigers fell to No. 20 Lindenwood 23-16. The Tigers dipped to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in MIAA duals this season. The Lions improved to 6-5 on the season and 2-3 in conference duals.

The Tigers fell behind early after Conrad Cole suffered a 13-3 major decision loss to the fourth-ranked wrestler in Division II, Carlos Jacquez, in the 125-pound bout. Dy’Juan Carney battled No. 8 Hunter Haralson in the 133-pound weight class before Haralson earned an 8-0 major decision over Carney. The Lions led 8-0 in the dual after the first two matches.

Eighth-ranked Brandon Ball looked to turn around the scoring, taking on Danny Swan in the 141-pound bout. Ball fell behind early in the match after Swan earned a takedown 15 seconds into the first period. Ball clawed his way back with a couple escapes, a takedown and was awarded a ride-time point to defeat Swan with a 5-3 decision. The sophomore earned his team-leading 27 victory of the season.

Nate Trepanier turned Efe Osaghae on his back late in the third period of the 149-pound weight class to increase their lead in the dual to 14-3 over the Tigers. Ryne Cokeley started the 157-pound match against Tim Bogar, before defeating Bogar via medical forfeit in the second period.

After closing within five points, Lion freshman Austin Stofer rode out Marty Verhaeghe until the end of the third period in the 165-pound match to separate themselves even further, halting a Tiger run. However, senior Dylan Wiesner was able to gain some more momentum for the Tigers with a strong 8-0 major decision over Sam Pennington in the 174-pound bout, closing the gap to four (17-13).

FHSU was not able to take any sort of advantage of a possible lead change in the dual after Patrick Kristin defeated Jordan Davis with a 6-0 decision in the 184-pound weight class, pushing the score to 20-13.

Senior Rakim Dean earned a 3-1 decision in the 197-pound match over Jared McKindley after a takedown late in the third period. The Lions held the Tigers in check in the 285-pound bout and the dual as 12th-ranked Jake Borgmeyer muscled a 9-3 decision over Dakota Gulley in the final match of the afternoon giving Lindenwood the match by a score of 23-16.

The Tigers are back in action Wednesday evening (Feb. 7) as the Tigers host Newman inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. Senior Night for the Tigers is set to commence at 7 p.m.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fort Hays State fell to UC-Colorado Springs 11-5 on Sunday (Feb. 4) in the finale of the three-game series. The game was shortened when umpires determined weather conditions were unsafe to continue play following the top of the fifth inning. An 11-run third inning for UCCS was the difference after FHSU took an early 3-0 lead.

The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Candace Bollig laced a two-RBI double to the right center gap to plate Tess Gray and Veronica Knittig. Later in the inning, Bollig scored on a Terran Caldwell RBI single.

Tiger starter Sierra Rodriguez got out of a jam in the second inning, stranding runners at second and third when she fielded a comebacker for the first out and then struck out two in a row to keep the 3-0 lead intact. However, she ran into trouble in the third in the same situation with runners at second and third and one out. The Mountain Lions put together a two-RBI single, walk, single, and then a bases clearing double to take a 5-3 lead. That marked the end of Rodriguez’s day in the circle.

Megan Jamison entered and the Tigers committed an error on a ball batted by the first hitter she faced, allowing another run to score. Three more runs came into score in a sequence of a single and two doubles, making it 9-3 in favor of UCCS. Jamison did not record an out before handing the ball to Hailey Chapman. Chapman eventually stopped the rally, but not before a two-RBI double plated another pair of runs.

Temperatures were plummeting rapidly and the Tigers were able to get a pair of runs back in the top of the fifth on an error and a Bailey Kennedy RBI single, but the umpires deemed conditions too unsafe to continue before the bottom of the fifth began. With the game past the amount of innings needed to make it official, UCCS grabbed an 11-5 win.

Rodriguez took the loss for FHSU, allowing six runs on seven hits. Cami Duffy picked up the win for UCCS, allowing five runs (two earned) over her five innings of work.

The Tigers, now 1-2 overall, head south next week to San Antonio, Texas for the Rattler Invitational, where they will play five games over three days (Feb. 9-11).

ODESSA, Texas – The bats came alive for the Fort Hays State baseball team on Sunday, propelling the Tigers to a 13-7 victory over Texas-Permian Basin. The win completes the series sweep for the Tigers, who move to 3-0 on the year. UTPB dips to 0-3 after the opening weekend of the season.

All nine Tiger starters recorded at least one hit in the victory, and eight different players scored at least one run. FHSU collected 15 hits on the day while making zero errors in the field. The Falcons combined for nine hits and made seven errors on defense.

It is the first time the Tigers have started a season 3-0 since 2010 when FHSU won its first eight games.

Jordan Wilkerson opened the scoring in the second inning with a first-pitch home run to left field, the first long ball of the season for FHSU. Ryan Grasser came around to score on an error later in the inning, giving the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

Fort Hays State added three more runs in the third inning after Dayton Pomeroy got things started with a single to left. Later, with the bases loaded, Bryce Whitchurch and Grasser were hit by a pitch in back-to-back plate appearances, driving in a run each time. Marcus Altman added another RBI in the following at-bat when he reached on a fielding error, scoring Wilkerson.

After the Falcons finally got on the board with one run in the fourth inning, Whitchurch helped the Tigers get the run right back in the fifth when he sent a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left center.

The Tigers pushed three more across the plate in the sixth when Alex Weiss led off with a solid single to center. Pomeroy followed with an RBI-double inside the line in left field. Walks to Addison Kaasch and Whitchurch loaded the bases before another Falcon error allowed two runs to score.

Texas-Permian Basin got two runs back in the bottom half of the sixth, but LHP Alex Ruxlow came in to limit the damage, giving up a double before striking out three in a row to get out of the inning with a 9-3 lead.

Clayton Basgall opened the seventh inning with a single to right and quickly moved to third after a groundout and a stolen base. The infielder scampered home on a wild pitch two batters later. Wilkerson lifted a sacrifice fly to left later in the inning, scoring Pomeroy to build the lead back to eight, 11-3.

The Falcons made it a game again in the home half of the seventh, cutting the deficit in half with four runs on three hits. But Fort Hays State answered right back, scoring a pair in the eighth inning to build the lead to 13-7. Basgall came through with a two-out single to right field, scoring Altman from second. After Basgall swiped second, Weiss followed with a drive to center, doubling in Basgall.

Easton Palmer came out of the pen to make quick work of the Falcons in the final two innings, retiring all six batters he faced to secure the victory.

Starting pitcher Ben Ramberg (1-0) had a solid outing, striking out eight batters over five-plus innings of work while giving up just five hits and two walks. Jake Vieira also made his first appearance as a Tiger, allowing one unearned run on one hit and one walk in one inning pitched.

Weiss collected three hits on the day, scoring one run and driving in another. Pomeroy led the team with three runs scored, going 2-for-5 with a double. Basgall finished 2-for-6 with two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases, while Wilkerson and Kaasch also scored two runs each.

The Tigers are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday (Feb. 6) when they will to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. in Alva, Okla. Weather could alter the midweek schedule, so be sure to stay tuned in to fhsuathletics.com and @fhsuathletics on Twitter for any schedule changes.