FHSU Sports Information

Fort Hays State women’s soccer head coach Craig Shaw announced the signings of three international team athletes for the 2014 season on Thursday, bringing the signing class total to 12 after nine earlier signees in February.

Silvana Romero, Veronica Kurtz and Valeria Jaramillo have all filed letters of intent with the school and will join the Tigers for 2014.  Romero and Kurtz hail from Asuncion, Paraguay as members of the U-20 World Cup national team while Jaramillo is transferring as a sophomore after playing last season at Texas A&M International.  Jaramillo played for the U-20 Colombian National Team from 2010-12.

Romero, listed at 5’8″, will play forward and midfield for the Tigers after playing club ball with Cerro Porteno.  Kurtz, a 5’6″ forward, played with Romero on the World Cup team and Cerro Porteno.

“I am very excited about Victoria and Silvana,” Shaw said.  “They have both the South American technical ability & creativity and with the North American athleticism and work rate.  They are playing in the world cup this summer so should come in with confidence.  I will be looking for them to add creativity to our team in the final third and add their share of goals.”

Jaramillio, a 5’9″ midfielder from Cali, Colombia, earned First Team All-Conference honors as a freshman last season at TAMIU, scoring four goals with 17 appearances.

“Valeria will be a key player for us in the midfield,” Shaw said.  “She has international experience from the U-20 Columbian National Team as well as being on a NCAA DII First Team All-Conference player at TAMIU.  She has the great technical ability to keep possession but is also very physical and has great desire to win the ball back.”

To read about the other nine signees for the 2014 season, click here.

FHSU Sports Information

Fort Hays State softball was tabbed eighth in the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, released Wednesday (April 16).  This is the first of three versions of the rankings, released weekly leading up to the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show, set for March 5 at 10 a.m. ET.  The eight teams selected will advance to the NCAA Regional, set for May 9-11.

Complete Region Rankings

The Central Region is made up of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great American Conference, with three automatic bids being given to winners of the conference tournaments.  The other five slots in the NCAA Regional are awarded on an at-large basis, with the top two seeds serving as tournament hosts.  The winner of each regional site will advance to the NCAA Super Regional, May 16-17.  The NCAA Championships will take place May 22-26 in Salem, Va.

Minnesota State-Mankato sits first in the regional rankings with a 32-6 Division II record and a 27-4 regional record.  FHSU defeated MSU-Mankato earlier this season at the 8-State Classic on Feb. 16, 11-3 in five innings.  The Mavericks are currently tied for first in the NSIC Standings with Wayne State (ninth in the Central Region rankings).

MIAA opponent Emporia State is second in the rankings with a 36-9 record against Division II opponents and a 35-9 in-region record.  ESU swept the Tigers at home in a mid-March doubleheader, and is currently first in the MIAA standings, just ahead of Central Oklahoma.

Rounding out the top five is Augustana (31-8 DII, 25-8 In-Region), UCO (35-11 DII and In-Region) and Winona State (26-6 DII, 16-6 In-Region).  FHSU split with UCO earlier this season in Edmond, Okla., snapping the Bronchos’ 35-game home winning streak with a 4-1 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader.  The Tigers were scheduled to play Winona State at the Teri Mathis Tournament earlier this season, which was canceled due to wintry weather.

GAC leader Southeastern Oklahoma State is sixth in the rankings, posting a 29-13 record in the region and against DII opponents, just ahead of Missouri Western (31-15 overall and in-region), which is seventh.  FHSU dropped a doubleheader with MWSU earlier this month on the road, but the Tigers are battling with the Griffons’ for the third slot in the MIAA standings.

FHSU is eighth in the rankings after going 24-16 against Division II opponents this season, all of which has been in-region competition.  FHSU closes out the regular season with home and away doubleheaders against Nebraska-Kearney, April 26-27, respectively.  Senior Day for the Tigers is Saturday (April 26) with games at 2 and 4 p.m.

Closing out the rankings at No. 9 and No. 10 are Wayne State (Neb.) and East Central.  Wayne State (29-10 DII, 23-8 In-Region) is tied with MSU-Mankato for first in the NSIC standings, and East Central (25-20 DII, 25-20 In-Region) sits fifth in the GAC.

Below are the complete Central Region Rankings for April 16…

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Horace Johnson’s two-out grand slam capped a seven-run eighth inning, lifting the Fort Hays State Tigers to a 14-12 comeback win over Bethany Wednesday at Larks Park. Johnson’s only hit of the game followed a bases loaded walk to Clayton Garland. Gabe Cook and Kodie Fewin also drove in runs in the eighth as the Tigers win their second straight to move to 14-24.

Gus Struck retired all nine that he faced over the last three innings for the win. Strunk, who is the Tigers normal second baseman, struck out four and walked none to pick up his first win of the season.

Jordan Miller had four of the Tigers 15 hits. He along with Garand drove in two runs. Cooper Langley had three hits including a double.

Bethany hit two home runs in a five-run second to take a 5-3 lead. The first three runs scored when Nathan Zimmerman’s throw to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt went into left field. The Tiger starting pitcher lasted just two innings allowing the five runs on four hits. The Swedes added five more in the fourth to grab a 10-3 lead.

The Tigers would get three in the bottom of the fourth on singles from Nick Hammeke and Jordan Miller. Clayton Garland’s homer an inning later cut the gap to 10-7.

Bethany took advantage of a couple of Tiger errors in the sixth to score two and build their lead to 12-7. It would stay that way until the Tigers struck for the seven runs in the eighth.

The Tigers close out their home schedule with doubleheaders Friday and Saturday against Lindenwood. Friday’s games begin at 2pn and Saturday’s start at 1pm. You can hear the second game each day on KAYS (1400-AM).

Steve Johnson Postgame Interview