FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State baseball dropped a single nine-inning non-conference game at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Wednesday by a score of 7-6. The Tigers held a 5-3 lead through six innings, but saw the lead change hands on a two-out three run homer. FHSU scored one in the eighth, coming up just short and moving to 3-14 overall on the year.

Fort Hays State tied the game in the second 1-1, capitalizing on an error in the inning, and then took the lead 3-1 in the third with a RBI double from Kevin Czarnecki and RBI single from Gus Strunk.

The lead grew to 5-1 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly by Alex King, and then a RBI single by Casey Sedbrook. However, the Bulldogs instantly got both runs back in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-3.

A fielding error in the seventh led to the big four-run inning for the Bulldogs. The error came after a leadoff walk, then a bunt single loaded the bases with no outs. After Strunk entered in relief on the mound, he struck out a batter before giving up a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4 and then the three-run home run to give SWOSU the 7-5 lead.

Austin Unrein had a RBI groundout in the eighth to pull the Tigers within one, but a runner was stranded at third. In the ninth, FHSU got runners at first and second with one out, but Kent Callison got a foul out and a fly out to end the game, earning his first save of the year for SWOSU. Taylor Weifenbach picked up the win in relief for SWOSU, as he inherited the lead in the seventh before getting lifted before the start of the eighth.

FHSU starter Alex Sox lasted 3.0 innings, allowing just a run on two hits. He struck out one. Steven Federau allowed two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work and Giles Fox allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit and two walks in 1.2 innings of work. Fox struck out two. Strunk took the loss, moving to 0-2 on the year. He allowed two runs on two hits, but struck out four.

The Tigers return to action on Friday at Northwest Missouri State for the the start of a four-game conference series.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State split its doubleheader at Colorado Mines on Wednesday in Golden, Colo.  The Tigers took the first game, 4-1, before dropping a 2-1 contest in extra innings.

The Tigers (11-12) continue their road trip this weekend with conference doubleheaders at Lincoln Friday and Lindenwood Saturday.

Fort Hays State 4, Colorado Mines 1
Fort Hays State used a four-run rally in the sixth and a near-perfect game from Paxton Duran to pick up a win in the first game of its doubleheader with Colorado Mines, 4-1.

Duran (6-5) gave up just one hit in the win, taking a no-hitter into the final inning.  Duran finished with six strikeouts and one walk in the complete game performance – her sixth of the season.

Tori Beltz was 2-for-3 in the game with a two-run home run, while Amanda Vaupel led the team with three hits on the afternoon.  Erin Elmore (2-for-4), Duran (1-for-3) and Samantha Villarreal (1-for-3) had doubles for the Tigers.

In the top of the sixth, Elmore led off the inning with a double down the left field line for the Tigers prior to Gabrielle Sandoval entering as a pinch runner.  From there, Beltz took a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence to give FHSU a 2-0 lead on her sixth home run of the year.

The Tigers continued to push with three straight hits from Villarreal (double), Vaupel (single) and Duran (RBI double), taking a 3-0 lead with no outs.  With one out in the inning, Mackenzie Villarreal pinch hit and came through in the clutch, singling through the left side to score Vaupel and give the Tigers a 4-0 lead.

FHSU loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh behind singles from Elmore and Vaupel, but after Duran was hit by a pitch the Tigers couldn’t extend the lead and went into the final frame up four.

Duran saw her no-hitter broken up with a leadoff single in the seventh, but after a sacrifice fly from the Orediggers cut the Tigers’ lead to three (4-1) with two outs, the Tigers sealed the win with a fly out to left.

Colorado Mines 2, Fort Hays State 1 (11 innings)
Game two of the doubleheader went into the 11th inning before Colorado Mines scored to defeat the Tigers, 2-1, and split the series.

Kelsey Kimminau started the game and through 8.1 innings, scattering four hits with one earned run allowed on six strikeouts.  Sarah Cochran (1-1) was tagged with the loss after throwing 2.0 innings and giving up a run in the 11th.  Cochran had one strikeout and did not allow a walk.

At the plate, Courtney Dobson was 3-for-4 on the day while Rilee Krier finished with two hits.

FHSU broke through to score in the fifth on a two-out walk.  After a fielder’s choice from Mackenzie Villarreal in a pinch hit situation, Madison Putman re-entered at first before moving to second on Dobson’s single into center field.  A fielder’s choice put Putman on third and Kylie Strand on first before Elmore was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Tigers took the lead as Beltz drew a full-count walk for an RBI, bringing Putman home with two outs.

CSM answered in its half of the fifth, however, loading the bases before Rebecca Fallon came home to score on a fielding error.  Kimminau limited the damage though with a strikeout and groundout to get out of the jam.

The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the ninth after Dobson’s two-out double moved Veronica Knittig to third but FHSU couldn’t plate the go-ahead run.  In the home half of the night, Fallon tripled with one out to force Kimminau from the circle, making way for Cochran, who got a line drive out and a ground out to keep the Orediggers at bay.

With the international tie-breaker in effect for the 10th, Colorado Mines saw Brielle Asato start on second before moving to third on Paige Noehring’s single up the middle, but three straight outs from the Tigers kept the score intact and forced another inning of play.

In the top of the 11th, Vaupel moved Sandoval to third on a sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning but the Tigers could not score and looked to remain tied in the bottom half.  The Orediggers, however, took advantage of a passed ball to move Hallie Smith to third before Pua Fujinaga’s sacrifice fly to center scored Smith for the game-winner.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State hosted its first tournament of the spring season in Arizona, the FHSU Spring Thaw, at Dobson Ranch Golf Course in Mesa. The Tigers finished ninth out of 12 teams that competed in the tournament.

FHSU finished with a team score of 736. Minnesota State won the tournament with 313 each day for a total of 626. The Mavericks won by 14 strokes over Lindenwood and topped Western New Mexico by 23 strokes.

Samantha Hobson led FHSU with rounds of 89 and 84 to finish in a tie for 34th. Quillen Eichhorn led FHSU on the first day with an 88, but followed with a 92 to finish in a tie for 47th. Abby Schmidtberger had a rough first round of 103, but improved 17 strokes on the second day with an 86 to finish in 56th. MeganDeWerff tied for 58th, shooting two rounds of 97. Sage Alquist competed and shot rounds of 98 and 97, along with Hadley Tharp, who shot rounds of 104 and 103.

Kanyapak Sethasomponbe from Minnesota State won the tournament as an individual, shooting two rounds of 75 (6-over par total).

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State split its midweek doubleheader with Metro State on Tuesday, taking the first game in extra innings, 3-0, before falling in the finale, 6-0. The Tigers (10-11, 4-4 MIAA) remain in the Denver area on Wednesday (March 18) for a doubleheader with Colorado Mines in Golden, Colo. The first game is set to begin at Noon MT.

Fort Hays State 3, Metro State 0 (8 innings)
Paxton Duran threw a complete game shutout and hit the game winning three-run home run in extras to help Fort Hays State pick up a win in extra innings over Metro State.

Duran (5-5) threw all eight innings for the win, scattering six hits and walking five runners while striking out nine. She also was 1-for-4 at the plate with her first home run of the season.

Erin Elmore and Samantha Villarreal were each 2-for-4 on the day, with Villarreal and Amanda Vaupel (1-for-3) hitting doubles.

The Tigers looked to strike in the top of the second behind Vaupel’s leadoff double, but after moving her to third with two outs, FHSU couldn’t push the senior home and the game remained scoreless.

Metro State matched the Tigers’ threats in its half of the second, moving Kaylynn Harmon to third with two outs before Duran got her third strikeout of the inning to retire the side.

FHSU put runners in scoring position with two outs in the fourth but again were held off the scoreboard, keeping the score intact.

Courtney Dobson  looked to get things going for FHSU in the fifth with a leadoff single, but could only find her way to second after three quick outs followed.

The Tigers again threated in the sixth with a leadoff single from Villarreal , but nothing happened over the final two offensive opportunities for the Tigers.

Scoreless through seven, FSHU and MSU headed to extras where Elmore led off the top half of the eighth with a single – moving to second on a throwing error. After Adara Erickson pinch ran for Elmore, Erickson was thrown out at third trying to advance on Tori Beltz’s single into center field, but the Tigers weren’t done. Next up, Villarreal doubled down the left field line to push Beltz to third, putting both runners in scoring position

With two outs in the inning, Duran helped her own cause by driving a 1-0 pitch over the left center wall for a three-run blast, scoring Beltz and Villarreal and helping the Tigers take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

MSU saw two runners reach base in the eighth behind a single and fielder’s choice (though neither runner moved past first), but a line out and a strikeout from Duran – her ninth of the day – ended the game.

Metro State 6, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State was no-hit in the finale on Saturday, failing to put a baserunner on until the seventh inning in a 6-0 loss.

Kelsey Kimminau (4-6) started the game and through four innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts. Sarah Cochran tossed the final two innings with one hit allowed.

MSU took a 1-0 lead in the second as Chelsea Brew doubled with two outs before coming around to score on an FHSU error.

The Roadrunners extended their lead in the third, using RBI singles from Carissa Terry and Sarena Espinoza and Brew to take a 5-0 lead.

In the fifth, Metro State furthered the lead to 6-0 after an RBI triple from Terry, but that was it for the Roadrunners as FHSU regrouped and shut down the home team over the final two innings.

Offensively, FHSU’s only baserunner was Kylie Strand in the seventh after she drew a leadoff walk, eventually moving to second on Erin Elmore’s groundout.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State baseball fell by a score of 8-5 on Sunday (Mar. 15) in the finale of a four-game series against Missouri Southern at Larks Park in Hays. The Tigers had a 4-3 lead through five innings, but could not hold on as they fell to 3-13 overall and 3-9 in the MIAA. Missouri Southern improved to 15-1 overall and 8-0 in the MIAA.

Missouri Southern took the lead early with three runs in the first, but FHSU countered with two in the first and two in the second to take a 4-3 lead. Kevin Czarnecki had a two-RBI single in the first and Alex King put FHSU in front in the second with a two-run homer.

After a tough first inning, FHSU starting pitcher Chase Newman settled in to hold the Lions scoreless over the next four innings. He got two outs in the sixth before giving up a solo homer to Axel Johnson, which tied the game 4-4. Newman did not get a decision throwing 5.2 innings with just five hits and a walk allowed, but he struck out six.

Gus Struck relieved Newman and got the final out of the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh. He finally ran into trouble in the eighth after retiring the first batter. He gave up five straight hits, which led to four runs in the inning for MSSU. He struck out three in his appearance, but was handed his first loss of the season as the four-run margin was too much for FHSU to overcome in the final two innings.

Andre Vieyra hit a home run in the eighth to cut the MSSU lead to 8-5, but that was all the Tigers would get. MSSU starter Cody Hutchinson went the distance, pitching all nine innings for a complete game win. He allowed eight hits and two walks, but struck out 10, throwing 137 pitches.

The Tigers head on the road next week with a game at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Wednesday (Mar. 18) before heading to Northwest Missouri State for a four-game conference series Friday through Sunday (Mar. 20-22).

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

After being held to 21 points in a physical first half, the sixth-ranked Fort Hays State Lady Tigers explode for 41 in the second half to beat No. 19 Wayne State (Neb.) in the second-round of the NCAA II Central Regional Saturday night at Gross Coliseum. FHSU improves to 30-3 and advances to the regional finals Monday where they will take on Emporia State who knocked of Pittsburg State 65-54 in overtime.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights

Fort Hays State used a 14-0 run spanning the first and second halves to build a 14-point lead. After Wayne State  pulled within six with 13:26 to play, Chelsea Mason hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to nine. Jill Faxon and Beth Bohuslavsky also hit key 3-pointers in the second half to hold off Wildcat runs.

The FHSU defense played well all night, holding WSC to 33-percent shooting including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. The Lady Tigers shot 56-percent in the second half including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Kate Lehman led Fort Hays State with a game-high 23 points. Chelsea Mason added 13 and Beth Bohuslavsky 12. Paige Lunsford scored five and grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists.

FHSU sophomore point guard Nicola Kacperska injured her left trying to steal an inbounds pass in the first half. Kacperska tried to come back in the first half but was unable to play.