BY FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The Fort Hays State baseball team took both games of a doubleheader over the MSU Denver Roadrunners Saturday (Feb 1). The victories included five Tiger home runs, with Grant Schmidt hitting a walk-off solo shot to win game one for the Tigers. The Tigers (3-0) will look to complete the series sweep on Sunday (Feb. 2) when the teams meet up for game four at noon.
Game One: Fort Hays State 5, MSU Denver 4
After three scoreless innings, Garrett Stephens broke things open with his second home run in as many games in the bottom of the fourth inning, driving in Grant Schmidt with the two-run bomb. Chase Anderson would answer back in the sixth with a solo home run to cut the Hays lead in half. Stephens countered in the next half inning with another two-run shot over the left-center wall to push the lead to 4-1.
The Roadrunners got things going in the seventh, delivering three runs of damage to tie things up. Cade Peters led off with a solo home run to right before the next two runners also reached. Ryan Ruder came on in relief for the Tigers with two runners on and no outs. The senior nearly escaped the inning, but Logan Soole delivered a two-out, game-tying single. Ruder was able to get out of a bases loaded jam later in the inning, giving the Tigers a chance to end it in the home half. After the first two batters were retired, Schmidt walked up to the plate looking to keep the inning going. On the first pitch he saw, Schmidt sent a high-flying ball over the left field wall to secure the walk-off win for the Tigers.
Padraic Walsh started game one for FHSU, going five innings and only allowing one run on four hits. Walsh also recorded four strikeouts. Jake Steinbring was the first out of the pen tossing one inning and allowing three runs on two hits. Ryan Ruder (1-0) was credited with the win after throwing one scoreless inning and allowing one hit.
Game Two: Fort Hays State 4, MSU Denver 2
The Roadrunners took their first lead of the weekend in the top of the first after Logan Soole knocked in a one-run double. In the second inning, FHSU was able to tie things up when a single by Traelon Yarbrough drove in Griffin Brunson.
MSU Denver’s Andrew Chavez responded with a solo shot to left to put the Roadrunners back on top, but not for long. The next half inning, Grant Schmidt crushed his second home run of the day to left field, leveling things at 2-2
Fort Hays State took the lead for good thanks to a 2-run blast from Corbin Truslow in the fifth. The Roadrunners would again threaten in the seventh, but Jacob Douglas held on and got out of a bases-loaded jam to secure the victory.
Jake Campbell started on the bump for Hays, throwing a solid four innings and allowing two runs on three hits. Jacob Douglas (1-0) would come in relief and finish the job for the Tigers. Douglas tossed three scoreless innings on just three hits.