HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State dropped to 7-14 on the year after falling to Newman by the score of 9-7 on Tuesday at Larks Park. With the victory, the Jets improved to 7-12 on the year. The Tigers will get another crack at the Jets later on in the season as the two teams are playing a home-and-home series this season.

FHSU gave up a run in both the first and second before they cut the Newman lead in half in the bottom of the second inning. Dayton Pomeroy led off the inning for the Tigers with a single then moved to third thanks to a Trevor Hughes double two batters later. Jared Bogosian then plated Pomeroy with a ground out.

The Jets extended their lead to 3-1 in the fourth thanks to a homerun from Aaron Mack, but the lead would not last long as the FHSU bats caught fire in the bottom half. Clayton Basgall led off the inning with the first of two triples in the game, scoring on a single off the bat of Jace Bowman. With runners on first and second, Newman booted a ground ball to load the bases, then with two outs Nick Hammeke picked up an RBI thanks to a five-pitch walk. Jake Lanferman made it a four-run inning when he plated two with a single to left.

The Tigers held on to a two-run lead until Newman added runs in the sixth and the seventh, knotting the score at five. FHSU regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI triple from Basgall and a RBI single off the bat of Hughes. Basgall became the first Tiger with two triples in a game since 2008 (Cory Gaudet, PSU, 5/3/08).

The Tiger pitchers struggled down the stretch, allowing four runs in the final inning to hand the lead back to Newman, 9-7. Fort Hays State had the heart of its order coming up in the bottom of the ninth, but Jets pitcher Matt Riney made easy work of the FHSU three-four-five hitters, shutting them down in order to claim the victory.

Eight of the nine Tigers in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, with Basgall, Hughes and Bowman all picking up a pair of base knocks. Lanferman was the lone player with multiple RBI, with Basgall coming around to score twice.

Both teams used a slew of pitcher in the game, with a total of 14 individuals taking to the bump. Connor Boyer made the start for FHSU, throwing two innings allowing two runs to go along with a pair of strikeouts and walks. Cole Schumacher and Easton Palmer both tossed scoreless innings, with Schumacher picking up two strikeouts. Clayton Basgall (0-2) took the loss after giving up two runs in the ninth.

The Tigers will jump back into conference play later this week when they host No. 15 Emporia State for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. Friday before a 1 p.m. start Saturday and a noon commencement Sunday. You can hear the Saturday and Sunday games on KJLS (103.3-FM).

FHSU Sports Information

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s golf team wrapped up play in a weather-shortened Washburn Invitational this week at Topeka Country Club. The tournament was scheduled for 54 holes, but just 18 were played due to sub-freezing temperatures on Monday and accumulating snow on Tuesday. The Tigers finished with a one-round total of 330, good for 12th place out of the 14 teams in attendance.

The team battled brutal conditions all day, with the temperature hovering around freezing and the wind gusting nearly 40 mph. Jake Weller led the team with a 79 (41-38), finishing in a tie for 26th. Of the 92 golfers participating in the event, the sophomore was one of 33 to break 80. Dalton Ayres fired an 82 to finish in a tie for 43rd.

Newcomer Skyler Tebo, a transfer from UMKC, improved six shots from his first nine to his second nine, posting an 84 (T60, 39-45). Colton Bobek was one shot back of his teammate at 85 (T68, 42-43) with Marshal Hutchins rounding out the scoring with a 93 (T89, 45-48).

Central Missouri took the team title with a 298, with the Mules’ Cole Dillon taking the title with a one-under 70 competing as an individual. The Tigers were four shots back of 10th place Southwest Baptist.

The Tigers will return to the course this weekend (March 18-19) at the Bob Writz Invitational, hosted by Colorado School of Mines at Bear Creek Golf Club in Lakewood, Colo.

FHSU Sports Information

MINOT, N.D. – Fort Hays State senior guard Rob Davis was named to the D2CCA All-Central Region Team on Monday (Mar. 13), earning second team honors. Davis is one of 10 players in the Central Region named to the team. The team is voted on by sports information directors in the Central Region of the NCAA.

Davis had a tremendous year for the Tigers, averaging 21.4 points per game. He became the first FHSU player to average at least 20 points per game since the 1995-96 season, when Alonzo Goldston averaged 20.4 helping lead the Tigers to an undefeated national championship. He is the first player under head coach Mark Johnson to average at least 20 per game. Davis finished the year scoring 30 or more points in a game eight times and 20 or more 17 times. He scored 1,140 points over two years with Fort Hays State, finishing 15th on the all-time scoring list.

Davis scored a career-high 42 points at Emporia State on February 1, 2017, matching the sixth-highest scoring game in Tiger history. Dennis Edwards owns the top five single-game scoring performances in Tiger history and was the last to break the 40-point barrier before Davis, doing it three times in 1995.

Davis finished the year shooting 49.9 percent from the field, making 207-of-415 attempts from the field. He shot 45.3 percent beyond the 3-point line (82-of-181) and 85.1 percent at the free-throw line (126-of-148). He added 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

For his career, Davis ranks fourth all-time in Tiger history for 3-point field goal percentage and free-throw percentage. He was very consistent in his rate of shooting from the field, hitting exactly at a .499 clip overall and .453 clip beyond the 3-point line both seasons at FHSU. His performance at the free-throw line this year improved as his career percentage settled at 82.2 percent.

Davis is the first all-region selection for the Tigers since the 2013-14 season when Craig Nicholson earned the distinction as a sophomore.

2016-17 D2 Conference Commissioner’s Men’s Basketball All-Central Region
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Justin Pitts, Northwest Missouri State

FIRST TEAM
Gage Davis, St. Cloud State University
Aaron Lien, Minnesota State University Moorhead
Justin Pitts, Northwest Missouri State University
Braxton Reeves, East Central University
Jordan Spencer, Augustana University

SECOND TEAM
Rob Davis, Fort Hays State University
Derylton Hill, University of Arkansas at Monticello
Tyler Rudolph, Minot State University
Brady Skeens, Washburn University
Anthony Virdure, Lincoln University

FHSU Sports Information

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Fort Hays State saw two wrestlers claim All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Championships on Saturday. Jon Inman (197) was true to his No. 2 ranking and finished national runner-up at 197 pounds, while No. 10 ranked Brandon Ball (141) finished sixth in the nation. As a team, the Tigers finished 12th.

Final Results

For the second-straight year Inman earned All-America honors, this time at 197 pounds after a fifth-place finish last season at 184 pounds. Inman became the seventh Tiger to reach a national championship match since the program joined the NCAA with a big 4-2 overtime sudden-victory decision over Newberry’s Cody Brundage, ranked third in the nation.

The championship bout was a No. 1 versus No. 2 battle, as Inman took on the nation’s top wrestler at 197 pounds, Jacob Waste from California Baptist. Inman fell behind early giving up a takedown and a four-point near fall in the latter part of the first period. He fought hard, but unfortunately the deficit was too much to come back from and Waste took the match with a 10-2 major decision.

Despite dropping the final match, Inman completed one of the best careers in FHSU history. He finished with an overall record of 141-28 in five years with the Tigers and now holds the best career win percentage at Fort Hays State by winning 83.4 percent of his matches. To add to his two All-America honors, Inman was a four-time national qualifier and has been one of Fort Hays State’s top academic performers and he was a finalist for the MIAA Ken B. Jones Award last year.

After going 2-1 on Friday and sealing All-America status, Ball picked up his 38th win of the season, a 6-5 decision in his first match on Saturday. He dropped the following two matches to No. 2 ranked Nick Crume of Indianapolis by 7-3 decision and Central Oklahoma’s No. 11 ranked Josh Ailey via pin fall in the fifth-place match. With the sixth-place finish, Ball is the first FHSU freshman to earn All-America honors since 2011 when Mitchell Means finished fourth at 149 pounds.

As a team, the Tigers finished 12th overall with 29.5 points, just 3.5 shy of cracking the top ten. Notre Dame (Ohio) took home the team title with 103.5 points, followed by St. Cloud State with 67 points and California Baptist at 56.5 points. The 12th-place finish matched the best for FHSU under head coach Chas Thompson, as his 2010 national qualifiers generated the same placement. It was the 10^th time FHSU finished in the top 15 at nationals in the program’s NCAA Division II history.

Ball and Inman now make 13 All-Americans under coach Thompson and 39 NCAA Division II All-Americans in Fort Hays State history.

FHSU Sports Information