The Fort Hays State men’s golf team is in first-place through 18 holes of the Washburn Invitational a the Topeka Country Club.

The Tigers shot a 299 and lead Missouri Southern and Lindenwood by one stroke. Nebraska-Kearney and Washburn are both two shots back.

Fort Hays State’s Tom O’Keeffe shot a two-over 73 and is tied for eighth, four shots off the lead. Kevin Quinley is tied for fourth at three-over while Trey Herman is tied for 16th at plus-four. Markus Hilger and Adam Gorjiyan each shot rounds of 77.

The Fort Hays State baseball team swept the Saturday doubleheader with Pittsburg State by scores of 25-5 and 5-4, and in the process swept the four-game weekend series. The Tigers were down 4-0 in Game 2 before rallying for one run in the sixth and four in the seventh to overtake the Gorillas. FHSU improved to 15-15 overall and 13-12 in the MIAA with the wins.

Steve Johnson Postgame Interview
coach interview post game 4-07

Game 1: Fort Hays State 25, Pittsburg State 5
A strong wind blowing out at Larks Park in Game 1 aided the Tigers in scoring their most runs in a game this season. After falling down 1-0 on a PSU homer to start the game, the Tigers rallied for six in the bottom of the first and never looked back in the blowout win.

FHSU would go on to open up a 14-5 lead after five innings, then errupted for 11 runs in the sixth, an inning that saw the Tigers hit two of their six home runs in the game.

Ryan Busboom and Shane Wade both had huge performances at the plate, each recording seven RBI. Busboom had a sacrifice fly RBI in the first, an RBI double in the second, a three-run home run in the fifth, and a two-RBI double in the sixth. Wade also had a sacrifice fly RBI in the first, followed by an RBI double in the second, a solo home run in the fourth, and a grand slam homer in the sixth. Wade was one of two Tigers to hit two home runs in the game. Luke Kordsmeier plated all three of his RBI on a pair of home runs, a two-run shot in the first and a solo shot in the sixth right after Wade’s grand slam.

Nash Smith also had three RBI in the game for FHSU with a solo home run in the second and a two-RBI double in the sixth. Anthony Salinas, JC Ochoa and Sam Thornton all recorded one RBI each.

After pitching around trouble in the first inning, FHSU starter Jesse Hart settled in to throw 4 2/3 innings in a winning effort. He moved to 2-0 on the season. Three of the five runs he allowed were earned. He allowed seven hits, walked two, and struck out two. Taylor Davis closed the door on Pitt State over the final 2.1 innings with no hits allowed, two walks, and one strikeout.

Dustin Ulrich suffered the loss for Pittsburg State, allowing the first nine runs of the game to FHSU in 1.1 innings of work.

Game 1 Highlights
fhsu baseball 4-7 game1 highlights

Game 2: Fort Hays State 5, Pittsburg State 4
After all the runs scored in the first game, the wind died down in the second game and a pitcher’s dual ensued between Andy Lewton of FHSU and George Brandecker of Pittsburg State.

The pitchers put goose eggs on the board through the first three innings before Pittsburg State scratched out its first run in the fourth on a RBI groundout to first base unassisted by Ryan Bilovesky with one out. After JC Ochoa touched first, he threw home, but the runner got in under the tag just in time to give the Gorillas the advantage.

With that run in the fourth, PSU snapped a 10-inning scoreless streak by Lewton, who threw shutout baseball over his final seven innings at Emporia State the previous week in a complete game effort.

The Gorillas added on in the sixth with three runs on a pair of singles and a couple of doubles that each fell along the right field line just out of the reach of FHSU right fielder Nash Smith. The doubles set up the run-producing singles by Ryan Reddick and Luke Bordewick. The Bordewick single plated two with two outs.

The Tigers looked poised to make a furious rally in the sixth, but a leadoff home run by Ryan Busboom was all they could plate for runs in the inning. Nash Smith flied out to right field with the bases loaded to end the inning on the first pitch thrown by reliever Cody Wren. Brandecker finished with 5.2 innings thrown for PSU, allowing just one run on eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

An error by Pittsburg State to start the seventh would be key in starting Fort Hays State’s four-run rally in the inning. A Mace Krol grounder looked as though it would lead to a double play, but Pittsburg State could only get one out on the play. Busboom followed that with a double to put runners at second and third with one out. JC Ochoa responded with a two-RBI single to close the gap to 4-3. He moved up to second on a throwing error by the PSU left fielder.

That set up the game-tying RBI-single by Brandon Hoefler. Hoefler then moved up to second on a groundout to the pitcher by Luke Kordsmeier, which would have been the end of the inning if the error did not happen to start the inning. Jay Sanders delivered in the clutch for FHSU with another RBI single to put the Tigers on top.

Lewton responded by retiring the PSU side in order in the eighth to finish his gritty effort. Lewton went 8.0 innings and threw 126 pitches. He scattered eight hits and allowed one walk, while striking out three.

Brett Macari entered in the ninth to pick up his second save of the season and preserve the win for Lewton, who moved to 4-2 on the season. After getting a weak groundout to start the inning, the Gorillas had a pair of seeing-eye singles that put runners at first and second with just the one out. Macari got a double play grounder to end the game off the bat of Austin Lastimado.

Game 2 Highlights
fhsu baseball 4-7 game2 highlights

Fort Hays State reached .500 overall and went over .500 in conference play for the first time this season with the series sweep. The Tigers have 19 games remaining on their schedule this year, 14 of which are in conference play. The Tigers play a conference doubleheader at Washburn on Tuesday in Topeka. FHSU and Washburn split a doubleheader earlier in the season in Hays. You can hear Tuesday’s games on KAYS (1400-AM).

The Tigers, now at 13-12 in the MIAA, are just a half game back of fourth-place Washburn (14-12) in the conference standings. FHSU made a giant leap in the conference standings with the sweep of Pitt State, now in fifth place alone, but Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist lurk just a half game back of FHSU, each at .500 in conference play.

– FHSU Sports Information –

The Fort Hays State softball team snapped a seven-game streak with a 1-0 win over Northeastern State in the first game on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers were unable to sustain the momentum in the second game, falling to the Riverhawks 13-0 in six innings. Fort Hays State is now 21-15 (7-5 MIAA) on the year.

Game 1: Fort Hays State 1, Northeastern State 0
Maddie Holub was very effective pitching for the Tigers in the first game, throwing a four-hit shutout. Holub struck out 14 Riverhawk batters, including the side in the first and second innings, and picked up the win to move to 12-8 on the year.

The Tiger offense managed just four hits as well, but they were able to push across a run in the bottom of the second. FHSU loaded the bases with two outs in the second and Kellsi Olsen came across to score on the wild pitch, which proved to be the deciding run.

Game 2: Northeastern State 13, Fort Hays State 0 (5 inn.)
NSU scored two runs in the top of the first inning to jump on top and FHSU was unable to recover in the second game of the day. The Riverhawks blew the game open in the third inning, but they were aided by three crucial Tiger errors. Northeastern State went on to put up 11 runs on the board in the inning and make the score 13-0.

The Tiger offense again struggled, picking up just two hits and failing to score a run for the third time in four games. Abby Morrison started the game and recorded each out, but allowed nine hits and four earned runs. Kaitlin Shattleroe briefly relieved Morrison in the third inning, but she allowed three hits and seven runs without recording an out. Morrison took the loss for FHSU, dropping to 2-4 on the year.

Fort Hays State has their final three road series of the season ahead, starting with a doubleheader at Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday starting at 12:00 pm.

– FHSU Sports Information –

The Tigers picked up a pair of wins over Pittsburg State on Saturday (Apr. 6) at Larks Park in Hays by scores of 2-1 and 11-6. Strong pitching efforts from Shawn Lewick and Alex Ellison helped the Tigers get the doubleheader sweep. The wins pushed FHSU to 13-15 overall and 11-12 in the MIAA, while Pittsburg State dropped to 11-16 overall and 9-11 in the MIAA.

Game 1: Fort Hays State 2, Pittsburg State 1
All of the scoring for both teams in the first game happened in the third inning. Chase Barnes delivered a two-out base hit RBI that put Pitt State up 1-0.

After failing to pick up a hit in the first two innings, Fort Hays State broke through in the bottom of the third with its only two runs off PSU starter Matt Stalcup. FHSU also did all its damage with two outs. The first run scored on a wild pitch, then Ryan Busboom would deliver an RBI single to give FHSU the lead.

That’s all Shawn Lewick needed as he blanked the Gorillas over the final four innings on the hill. He worked around a leadoff single in the seventh to preserve the FHSU win and his complete game effort. He scattered seven hits and walked two, while striking out four. Lewick moved to 3-2 on the season with the win.

Stalcup took the loss for Pitt State, also in a complete game effort. He went 6.0 innings, allowing five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 11, Pittsburg State 6
The Tigers did all of their damage in the second and third innings. FHSU plated five runs in the second and six in the third to pull away early from the Gorillas.

Brandon Hoefler triggered the scoring in the second with an RBI single. Chris Santoscoy would later follow with a two-RBI double, then Nash Smith hit a two-run homer, both with two outs to push the lead to 5-0.

After the Gorillas scored a single run in the top of the third, Mace Krol immediately got the run back with a solo home run to make it 6-1. Ryan Busboom scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch, then Shane Wade delivered and RBI single to make it 8-1. Santoscoy picked his third RBI of the game up on a sacrifice bunt to make it 9-1. The Gorillas helped FHSU claim the final two runs of the inning when they committed an error on what would have been the final out of the inning. A run scored on that play and then led to an RBI single by Sheldon Howell to cap the six-run rally.

Alex Ellison had his strongest outing of the year on the mound. He retired the first seven batters of the game before allowing a hit in the third. He retired the side in the first inning on three consecutive strikeouts. He lasted 7.0 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) with six hits. He struck out six and did not allow a walk. Ellison is now 1-4 on the season.

Nathan Zimmerman relieved Ellison to breeze through the eighth before running into some trouble in the ninth. Kyle Leroy entered in a non-save situation to get the final two outs of the game and stop a bases-loaded rally by the Gorillas in the final inning.

Jake Stevenson took the loss for Pittsburg State, lasting just 2.0 innings and allowing eight runs.

– FHSU Sports Information –

Both the Fort Hays State men’s and women’s golf teams had their tournaments shortened due to the weather.

The Tiger men finish eighth at the Central Oklahoma Invitational which was called after two rounds due to excessive rain. Fort Hays was in third after the first round Monday but slipped to eighth after the second. Salina senior Kevin Quinley was one-under on the first round and 11-over on the second and finishes fifth.

The women were in Lakewood, Colorado where overnight snow ended that event early. The Tigers finish seventh, 18 shots behind tournament champ Colorado State-Pueblo. Samantha Hobson led the way for the Tigers, tying for 12th with an 11-over 83.