HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team was defeated by Nebraska-Kearney in the all-time series and season series finale on Wednesday (April 25), 11-8. The Tigers dip to 13-31 overall and 5-25 in the MIAA, while the Lopers moved to 25-19 on the year and 18-11 in conference play.

Steve Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Lopers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the first frame thanks to a grand slam by Scott Platt chased Tiger starter Zach Rothert from the mound. Alex Ruxlow was called upon in relief of Rothert with two outs in the inning by throwing three pitches and inducing a fly ball to right field.

Ruxlow made quick work of the Loper lineup in the next three innings as he retired his first six batters faced, including 11 out of 15 before allowing his first run on a long ball in the fifth inning.

Fort Hays State took advantage of Loper starter Brown coming out of the game when Alex Weiss put life into the Tiger faithful with a two-run double to right center, plating Ryan Grasser. Addison Kaasch and Weiss then scored on back-to-back RBI groundouts from Cody Starkel and Dayton Pomeroy, respectively. The Tigers trailed the Lopers 5-3 after four innings of play.

UNK earned a run back on a solo shot to left field in the fifth and another three runs in the sixth. FHSU wasn’t done yet as Marcus Altman roped a 2 RBI single to the gap in right center, scoring Pomeroy and Weiss. After Jordan Wilkerson earned a free pass to first, freshman catcher Dawson Sramek picked a great time to belt his first long ball of the season. Sramek crushed a 2-2 pitch over the left center field wall for a 3-run blast, pulling the Tigers within a run after six innings of play.

The Tigers were shut down the final three innings as UNK was able to tack on a couple insurance runs in the eighth and ninth frames.

Zach Rothert was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on three hits in 0.2 of an inning. Weiss continued his hot streak with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. Sramek also picked up a couple of hits in the contest on 2-for-4 at the dish.

The Tigers are back in action this weekend as they host Missouri Western for their final home conference series of the season (April 27-29). Friday’s ball game is part of the Pack the Park night at Larks Park. First pitch for game one is slated for 7 p.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s golf senior Skyler Tebo earned All-MIAA honors after a top-5 finish at the MIAA Championship this week.

Tebo averaged 74.5 strokes per round in his senior season with three top-15s, two top-10s and one top-5 performance. The Ellis, Kan. native carded eight birdies and an eagle at the conference championship after firing identical even-par rounds of 72 on the first two days before shooting a 74 to round out the event 2-over par (218).

Tebo was the first Tiger to earn the honor since Trey Herman in 2015. He earned 11 conference points through the four designated conference events.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s golf team claimed a sixth-place finish at the MIAA Women’s Championship, hosted at Swope Memorial Golf Course, a 5,835-yard, par-72 course. The Tigers shot rounds of 341, 322 and 333 to finish 132-over par (996) for the tournament.

Junior Hannah Perkins led Fort Hays State as she earned a top-10 finish in a tie for sixth individually. Perkins fired rounds of 80, 78 and 81 to finish 23-over par (239) for the week. She finished the week with seven birdies on the scorecard.

Madison Roether captured a tie for 22nd overall after shot rounds of 94, 75 and 83 to post an overall score of 252. Roether posted the best improvement from one round to the next (19 shots) in the entire field. Roether carded four birdies throughout the week. Katie Brungardt finished solo 28th with identical rounds of 85 in the first and second rounds before improving by a shot for an 84 in the third round. Brungardt carded an overall score of 254 while making two birdies in the championship.

Kelsey McCarthy posted rounds of 85, 84 and 93 to finish solo 36th. McCarthy picked up two birdies for the week. Taylor DeBoer fired rounds of 91, 87 and 85.

Northeastern State claimed the team title with an aggregate score of 93-over par (957). Lindenwood finished runner-up with rounds of 320, 328 and 310 (958), while Central Oklahoma captured third with a 964. Shi Qing Ong of Missouri Western grabbed the individual crown with a 10-over par score (226) for the tournament.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State split its final doubleheader of the season on Monday at Tiger Stadium against Nebraska-Kearney on Senior Day. The Tigers took the first contest by a score of 4-3 before falling by run rule in the second game, 10-0. The Tigers finish their season at 13-37 overall, while the Lopers finish at 16-29 overall.

Adrian Pilkington Postgame Interview

Game 1: Fort Hays State 4, Nebraska-Kearney 3
After both teams scored a run in the first inning, FHSU added two in the second and one in the third to build a 4-1 lead. The Tigers had to hang on in the end after UNK scored one in the fifth and one in the seventh, but Hailey Chapman entered with the bases loaded in the seventh to get a one-out save. She struck out Calli Wiseman to end the game.

Game 1 Highlights

In the first inning, Candace Bollig reached on an error leading off the inning. She stole second and then scored on an RBI single by Terran Caldwell. In the second inning, Tess Gray gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with a double to the right center gap, scoring Veronica Knittig. Gray eventually came in to score on another RBI single by Caldwell, making it 3-1. In the fourth, Carrie Clarke helped her own cause by notching an RBI single up the middle, scoring Bailey Kennedy.

Clarke threw 5.0 innings for the Tigers in the final start of her career in the pitching circle. She allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out three. It was enough to earn the win. Megan Jamison mowed through the Lopers in the sixth inning with three straight strikeouts, but ran into trouble with two outs in the seventh when the Tigers committed a pair of errors that aided in loading the bases and scoring a run. Chapman came in to get the final out for her fifth save of the season.

Mallory Stoner took the loss for Nebraska-Kearney, throwing 3.0 innings before handing the ball over to Meg Housholder. Stoner allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk. Housholder held the Tigers to just two hits and struck out four over 3.0 innings of relief.

Game 2: Nebraska-Kearney 10, Fort Hays State 0
The Lopers ran away with the season finale, aided by a first-inning three-run homer by Sara Sempek that put them up 4-0 early in the game. Hailey Chapman struggled against the Lopers, allowing nine runs on 13 hits over 5.0 innings, just a day after she shut them out in Kearney on just three hits with 10 strikeouts. She had just three strikeouts in this contest.

Game 2 Highlights

The Lopers tacked on two runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth to put the run rule in effect. The Tigers had only five hits, which included three against starter Abbey Martin who lasted 4.0 innings in the circle. Martin earned just her second win of the season. Erin Hallman pitched a scoreless fifth and Sarah Handrahan did the same in the sixth.

Sara Breckbill and Bailey Kennedy had two hits each in the game, accounting for 80 percent of the team’s hit production in the game. Tess Gray had a pinch hit single.

Fort Hays State came up short of qualifying for the MIAA Tournament, finishing in a tie for 12th at 8-18. Despite struggling to just three wins away from Hays this year, the Tigers still finished with a winning record at home, where they went 10-9.

Seniors Candace Bollig, Carrie Clarke, and Veronica Knittig were honored between the contests. The Tigers had a young squad in 2018 as 13 of the 17 players were either freshmen or sophomores.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After finishing in a near-school record time in the 1,500-meters over the weekend, Fort Hays State’s Brett Meyer has been named the latest MIAA Track Athlete of the week, announced Monday (April 23).

Meyer’s impressive time of 3:43.64 in the event was just 0.6 seconds short of the school record set in 1968 by 14-time All-American, John Mason. This time gave Meyer the fourth automatic time in Division II this year. This mark was hit at the Brian Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., over the weekend.

In just the fourth time Meyer had run the 1,500-meters for Fort Hays State, he finished as the No. 2 Division II runner in the field. This mark out-paced Meyer’s previous time in the event by 12.9 seconds. Meyer now ranks No. 3 in the nation in this event.

This was not the only impressive mark Meyer had on the weekend, as he improved his provisional mark in the 800-meters with his third place finish at the Long Beach State Invitational with a time of 1:50.15. This time places him at No. 12 on the national performance list for that event.

This honor was Meyer’s first outdoor mention of the season. He previously was named Indoor Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 23. Fort Hays State has had three other mentions for the outdoor season so far, as Malcom Gardner has claimed MIAA Track Athlete twice, and Sam Dreiling earning the Field Athlete honor once.

KEARNEY, Neb. – Fort Hays State split its final MIAA doubleheader of the season by shutting out Nebraska-Kearney in Sunday’s (Apr. 22) nightcap. The Tigers took the second game 2-0 after falling 7-5 in the first contest of the day. The Tigers and Lopers wrap up the season Monday in Hays in a pair of non-conference games at Tiger Stadium, starting at 1 pm.

Game 1: Nebraska-Kearney 7, Fort Hays State 5
Nebraska-Kearney jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first game of the day before late rallies by the Tigers in the sixth and seventh innings came up short. The Tigers broke through with four runs in the sixth to close the gap to just one run, but UNK got two runs back in the bottom of the inning to lead 7-4. FHSU loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs, but could only push across one run on a two-out RBI single.

Trailing 5-0 in the sixth, the Tigers loaded up the bases with three consecutive singles from Bailey Boxberger, Grace Philop, and Sara Breckbill. Bailey Kennedy and Lily Sale kept the streak going, each driving in a run with the fourth and fifth consecutive singles to open the inning. Veronica Knittig followed with an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Terran Caldwell kept the rally alive with another RBI single, cutting the UNK lead to just one run.

In the seventh inning, Boxberger, Philop and Breckbill repeated their feat of the sixth inning with three consecutive singles to open the inning. However, a strikeout and pop up quickly turned the golden opportunity into a tough challenge with two outs. Knittig extended the game with an RBI single up the middle, but Candace Bollig’s flare to right field could not get down before the Loper second baseman gloved it for the final out of the game.

The Lopers did the majority of their damage against FHSU starting pitcher Sierra Rodriguez, who allowed five runs over just 2.0 innings of work. A solo homer in the third chased her from the game. Megan Jamison entered in relief, going 4.0 innings with two runs allowed on five hits with two strikeouts.

Meg Housholder of UNK did enough for the win, allowing the first four runs to the Tigers over 5.0 innings of work. She surrendered 10 hits to the Tigers. Abbey Martin relieved for an inning and allowed one run on four hits. Sarah Handrahan earned a save by getting the final three outs of the game.

Several Tigers had a great game at the plate as Philop, Breckbill, and Knittig went 3-for-4 at the plate. The Tigers had a total of 15 hits, yet left 11 runners on base compared to just four by UNK.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 2, Nebraska-Kearney 0
The Tigers put an end to their 23-game losing streak away from Hays in the second game of the doubleheader, riding a complete game shutout by Hailey Chapman in a 2-0 win. Chapman struck out 10 Lopers, while allowing just three hits and two walks to earn her fifth win of the season.

Chapman retired eight consecutive batters from the second out in the first inning to the final out of the third. After a leadoff single by UNK in the fourth, she buckled down to retire 10 straight up to the first out of the seventh. She then allowed a couple of singles and a two-out walk to load the bases, but picked up the final out on a grounder to second base. It was Chapman’s first shutout of the season.

The Tigers benefitted from a throwing error by the Lopers in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The margin remained the same up until the top of the fifth inning when Terran Caldwell recorded the only RBI of the game with an infield single to shortstop, plating pinch runner Sydney Harsh who ran for Tess Gray. A double with one out by Gray led to the two-out single by Caldwell. The Tigers had six hits in the contest, led by two from Caldwell.

Sunday marked the first win for the Tigers outside of Hays since February 10 and prevented them from going winless in MIAA play on the road this year.

Fort Hays State will host Nebraska-Kearney for Senior Day in a pair of non-conference games on Monday (Apr. 23) at 1 pm from Tiger Stadium in Hays. The Tigers enter the final day of the season 12-36 overall, while the Lopers enter at 15-28 overall.