KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team will enter the 2017 MIAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed, announced Saturday evening by the conference office.

Bracket

The Tigers will face off with 11th-seeded Missouri Southern in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. First tip is set for 7 p.m. Ticket information for the home game can be found HERE.

Fort Hays State finished the regular season 21-7 overall and 12-7 in league play, winning 20 or more games for the sixth-straight season.

The winner of Tuesday’s contest will advance to the quarterfinal round in Kansas City, Mo. to play the No. 3 seed Emporia State. That game will take place on Friday (March 3) inside Municipal Auditorium at noon.

The Tigers dropped their only game against the Lions this season, falling 75-64 earlier this season in Joplin, Mo.

Below is the full schedule for the 2017 MIAA Tournament.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 (Campus Sites)
Game 1: #9 Lindenwood at #8 Nebraska-Kearney                               7 p.m.
Game 2: #12 Northwest Missouri  at #5 Central Oklahoma                  7 p.m.
Game 3: #10 Southwest Baptist at #7 Washburn                                  7 p.m.
Game 4: #11 Missouri Southern at #6 Fort Hays State                         7 p.m.

Friday, March 3, 2017 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 5: #3 Emporia State vs. Winner Game 4                                   12 p.m.
Game 6: #2 Central Missouri vs. Winner Game 3                                2:30 p.m.
Game 7: #1 Pittsburg State vs. Winner Game 1                                   6 p.m.
Game 8: #4 Missouri Western vs. Winner Game 2                              8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 4, 2017 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6                                      6 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8                                    8:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 5, 2017 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 11: Semifinal Winners                                                                 3:30 p.m.

GOLDEN, Colo. – Fort Hays State saw four wrestlers advance to the second day of the NCAA Division II West Super Regional on Friday. Brandon Ball, ranked No. 11 at 141 pounds and Jon Inman, ranked No. 3 at 197 pounds, locked up berths to the NCAA Championships by advancing to the finals on Saturday.

Greg Tooley (157) and Christian Lance (285), will try to make it through the consolation rounds to keep their season alive as they are now in a win-or-go home situation.

Ball started the day with a 17-0 technical fall over Ouachita Baptist’s Harrison Bamman then reached the semifinal bout with a 5-0 decision over Dylan Udero of Adams State. From there he sealed a spot in the championship bout Saturday, as well as a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships, thanks to a 7-1 over No. 7 ranked Daniel Salazar from Colorado Mesa. Ball will face Central Oklahoma’s Josh Ailey in the championship, a wrestler he has defeated twice this year.

Inman started the day with a 4-0 decision over Nebraska-Kearney’s Trey Schlender and then found himself in the semis with an 8-3 decision over Cody Johnson from Colorado State-Pueblo. In the semis, Inman squared off with No. 2 ranked Greg Wilson of Central Oklahoma, whom he was 1-2 against this year entering the match. This time around Inman took advantage of a quick reversal and four-point near fall combination in the second period to coast to a 6-0 decision sending him to the NCAA Division II Championships for the fourth-consecutive year.

Like Ball, No. 3 ranked Tooley also started his day with a technical fall, 20-3, over Adams State’s Gaven Davy and then moved on to the semifinal bout thanks to an 11-4 decision over Colorado Mines’ Ethan Ruby. In the semis he had a chance to take the lead with a late takedown but an untimely slip gave the takedown to Bryan Dutton of Central Oklahoma with 20 seconds to go. He dropped the match 3-1.

Lance, the No. 8 wrestler at 285 pounds, took advantage of a bye in the first round. From there he defeated Jerhett Lee of Ouachita Baptist with a 4-2 decision securing his spot in day two by advancing to the semifinals. There Lance met up with Nebraska-Kearney’s Kevin Barrett, a wrestler Lance has fallen victim to twice this season. Lance took the match to the brink of overtime, but a takedown by No. 3 ranked Barrett with six seconds remaining broke a 1-1 tie.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Fort Hays State baseball team dropped game two against third-ranked Central Missouri on a blustery Friday afternoon inside Crane Stadium, 5-2. The Tigers fell back to .500 on the year (6-6, 0-2 MIAA) while the Mules (9-2, 2-0) extended their winning streak to six games.

The Tigers had their chances in the game, leaving eight on base after having baserunners in all but two innings. The FHSU pitching staff did well to limit the damage to just five runs, working with runners on base all afternoon. The Mules left 11 stranded after reaching base in every inning.

Ben Ramberg (0-2) took the loss after surrendering four runs on seven hits in five innings of work, striking out two UCM batters.Ryan Ruder came on to pitch a pair of effective innings out of the bullpen, giving up one run on one hit. Cole Schumacher worked around a leadoff double to record a scoreless eighth inning.

The Mules got to Ramberg early before the junior settled in, scoring one run in the first and three in the second inning. UCM added an insurance run in the seventh inning after a leadoff triple.

Fort Hays State finally got on the board in the top of the eighth after UCM went to the pen. Ty Redington reached on an error for the second time before swiping second with one out. Jake Lanferman came through with a two-out double to left center, plating Redington and narrowing the deficit to 5-1.

The Tiger comeback continued in the top of the ninth when Clayton Basgall reached on an infield single to lead things off. Pinch hitter Jason Nicholson drove him in two batters later with a bloop single that fell between three defenders in right center, allowing Basgall to score from first. With the tying run in the on deck circle, UCM closed the game out with a strikeout.

Dayton Pomeroy finished 2-for-4 with a double. Redington also legged out an infield single on a high chopper to short. Basgall reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored.

Despite the strong wind, Fort Hays State did not record an error in the game while the Mules made two defensive miscues.

The teams will face off once more Saturday afternoon in the series finale at 2 p.m.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Hadley Gillum scored 21 points, JaQuan Smith added 16 and nine rebounds and Fort Hays State used an effective zone defense to beat Southwest Baptist 59-55 Thursday at the Meyer Sports Center and secure a first-round home game in next week’s MIAA Tournament.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers (17-10, 11-8 MIAA) fell behind by nine in the first five minutes then switched to a 2-3 zone which helped them go up 31-30 at the half. Tied 35-all with 16:26 to play, FHSU went on a 13-0 run over the next seven minutes and would never trail again.

SBU (14-13, 7-11 MIAA) closed the gap to two with 0:51 left but Trey O’Neil hit one of two free throws to push the lead to three. Rob Davis then got a steal and hit one of two from the line for the final margin.

Davis scored 12 points and was 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.

SBU, who missed 12 straight 3-point attempts at one point and was held to 34-percent shooting, was led by Logan Hovey who scored 17.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women held Southwest Baptist to a season-low in points and field goal percentage and closed out the regular season with a 74-48 win Thursday night at the Meyer Sports Center. The Tigers (21-7, 12-7 MIAA) scored 30 points off turnovers and held the Bearcats (15-12, 7-11 MIAA) to 34-percent shooting.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Taylor Chandler hit her first 3-pointer since early December to trigger a 26-8 first half run after SBU tied the game at 17 and the Tigers would never trail again. FHSU went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter to extend the lead to 27 and led by as many as 28 down the stretch.

Tatyana Legette led the Fort Hays State with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jill Faxon and Nikola Kacperska both added 12. Chandler scored eight and had six steals and three assists.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Fort Hays State baseball team dropped its MIAA opener Thursday afternoon against third-ranked Central Missouri, 10-0. The Tigers dipped to 6-5 overall after suffering the run-rule loss, while the Mules improved to 8-2 overall on the young season.

The Tiger bats struggled all day, recording just three singles in the game. UCM starter Zach Girrens was rolling out of the gate and did not allow a hit until Clayton Basgall got a good piece of the ball, sending it into right field to break up the no-hitter with two outs in the fifth inning. Ryan Imber and Nick Hammeke each added a base knock in the sixth. Dayton Pomeroy reached twice after drawing a pair of walks, but none of the five baserunners reached third base.

Gerrens closed out the day with a complete game three-hitter, giving up just two walks while striking out seven.

Alex Ruxlow (2-2) picked up the loss for FHSU, lasting just 2.1 innings while giving up seven runs on eight hits and striking out one batter.

Easton Palmer came on in relief for his second appearance of the season, slowing the hot UCM bats by retiring five-straight batters before giving up one run on three hits. Austin Weiser also performed well out of the pen, retiring all five Mules he faced and picking up one strikeout.

Austin Liverant made his debut on the mound when he entered the game in the seventh inning. The Mules ended the game when they scored two runs thanks to a hit batter, a double and a wild pitch.

The Tigers get another shot at the Mules on Friday (Feb. 24) when they go head-to-head in the second game of this three-game series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State softball swept a doubleheader with Wayne State (Neb.) on Wednesday  at Tiger Stadium in Hays. The Tigers won game one in walk-off fashion, 2-1, then cruised to a 7-0 win in game two. FHSU improved to 5-8 overall on the season, while WSC went to 1-7 overall.

Game 1: Fort Hays State 2, Wayne State 1
Veronica Knittig delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh of game one to lift the Tigers to a 2-1 win. With two outs and a runner on third, she drove the ball to the left center gap over the outstretched arm of the center fielder.

Hailey Chapman had another strong outing in the pitching circle, throwing a complete game with five hits and four walks allowed. She struck out six and moved to 4-4 on the season, lowering her season ERA to 2.28. Her only blemish came in the sixth after a leadoff walk. She allowed what initially looked to be a single that turned into a double due to a bad hop in the outfield. The runner scored from second on the play.

The Tigers scored their first run of the game in the fifth with singles from Ashley Beavers, Bailey Kennedy and then an RBI single from Lily Sale. A dropped fly ball in left field in the seventh off the bat of Kennedy led to Knittig’s game-winning hit.

Riley Vanderveen took the loss for Wayne State, moving to 0-3 on the season. She allowed just one earned run on eight hits, while striking out four.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 7, Wayne State 0
The Tigers picked up two runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 7-0 victory. Carrie Clarke earned her first win of the season, pitching five scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and four strikeouts. Kylie Strand pitched the final two innings and allowed just a hit and a walk.

Candace Bollig started the scoring in the first inning with two outs, driving home Bailey Kennedy with an RBI single. Tess Gray followed with a single that setup an RBI single for Bailey Boxberger to make it 2-0.

In the third inning, Bollig struck again with an RBI triple scoring Veronica Knittig. The ground in left field this time played in favor of the Tigers as the ball took a wicked hop to the left past the fielder. Bollig came in to score on a wild pitch, then after a Boxberger double, Strand picked up an RBI single.

In the fifth, Boxberger capped a 3-for-3 game with a two-run home run to left field, her second homer of the season. She finished with three RBI in the game.

Allison Niemeier surrendered the first five runs in 2.1 innings pitched, while Riley Vanderveen pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed two runs.

The Tigers will enjoy a week off before returning to action on March 3 in Edmond, Oklahoma at Oklahoma Christian University. FHSU and OCU are scheduled to play three games, with the final game of the series on March 4.

FHSU Sports Information