By FHSU Sports Information
Photo courtesy FHSU SID
Despite trailing by three with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Fort Hays State baseball team pulled out its second-consecutive victory Wednesday afternoon, defeating Washburn 8-7 on a walk-off walk to Clayton Basgall. The Tigers sent 10 men to the plate in the final inning, scoring five runs to come away victorious.
The Tigers are now 13-21 on the year and 5-16 in MIAA play, while the Ichabods dip to 10-22 this season and 4-17 in conference action. The Kansas rivals will wrap up the season series in two weeks back in Topeka (April 17).
Fort Hays State used 10 hits and took advantage of four Ichabod errors to score its eight runs, half of which were unearned. WU countered with seven runs on 11 hits and a pair of Tiger defensive miscues.
The Tigers went into their final at bat trailing 7-3, having not scored since the fourth inning. That all changed when a pitch hit Basgall to spark the big frame. Alex Weiss sent a potential double play ball to the mound in the next at bat, but the Ichabod pitcher mishandled the grounder and the only play was at first. Dayton Pomeroy then pulled a single to right to put runners on the corners before Cody Starkel lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center, putting the Tigers within three but giving them two outs in the inning.
Ryan Grasser singled to right center in the following at bat, forcing the Ichabods to bring in their closer, Zach Linquist. The righty walked Jordan Wilkerson to load the bases before Marcus Altman came through with a huge base hit, dropping a two-RBI single into left center. With the Tigers now down only one, Bryce Baumwart got the call as a pinch hitter. The junior reached base after the second baseman booted a potential game-ending ground ball, allowing Wilkerson to score and tie things up at seven.
A walk to Addison Kaasch brought Basgall back to the plate with the score tied, the bases loaded and two men out. Basgall fell behind 0-2 before battling back to create an epic 13-pitch at bat. After fighting off six-straight pitches, the senior watched ball four sail out of the strike zone to give the Tigers their first walk-off win of the season.
A strong relief outing from Ryan Ruder (4-4) put the Tigers in position to come from behind and win. The sophomore tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just four hits while striking out a pair. He faced four or fewer batters in every inning he pitched.
Ben Ramberg got the start for the Tigers, giving up a pair of extra-base hits to the first two batters before settling down to retire nine of the next 11 batters he faced. The Ichabods chased the Topeka native in the fourth after three hits and a walk, giving Ramberg a final line of 3.2 innings pitched, seven runs on seven hits and three strikeouts.
After watching the Ichabods open the game with a double, Kaasch did the same in the bottom of the first, drilling a 1-1 pitch over the center fielder’s head. The junior moved to third on a sacrifice bunt before sprinting home when Weiss sent a sharp grounder to second. The Ichabod defender chose to come home with his throw, but Kaasch slid in safely just before the tag was applied.
Fort Hays State trailed 7-1 in the bottom of the fourth before Wilkerson started another two-out rally with a triple to deep center field. The Woodbury, Minn. native came in to score when Altman reached on an error. Jason Nicholson reached on a second-straight error by the shortstop in the following plate appearance before Kaasch singled to load the bases. Basgall picked up his first RBI of the day when he was hit by a pitch, putting the Tigers within 7-3 after four innings.
Basgall finished the afternoon with two RBI and a run after going 1-for-2 with a walk and two HBP. Kaasch, Altman and Grasser all collected two hits in the win, with Altman adding two RBI and Wilkerson scoring twice.
The Tigers will look to win three-straight games for the first time since the first three games of the season Thursday (April 5) when FHSU hosts William Jewell at noon from Larks Park.