Late rallies lift Hillcats past Tiger baseball

By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION

CLAREMORE, Okla. – Fort Hays State Baseball dropped both contests in a doubleheader with Rogers State at Diamond Sports Complex on Sunday (March 13). Late rallies lifted the Hillcats in both contests.

Rogers State 4, Fort Hays State 1

Rogers State took an early 1-0 lead in the home half of the first inning picking up a run on an RBI single. Hunter Parker kept the Hillcats under control for the next five innings allowing only two hits and no walks, while striking out two.

FHSU tied the game in the top of the sixth when Traelon Yarbrough doubled home Kade Wallace. The score remained tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Hillcats regained the lead. Parker struck out the first batter of the inning, but then allowed his first walk of the day. The runner advanced to second on a fielding error and third on a double steal before a single brought him in to score. Rogers State added a pair of runs on another single.

Cade Flaherty relieved for the Tigers in the eighth and struck out two of four batters faced while also allowing a walk. However, the Tiger offense could not counter the seventh-inning rally by the Hillcats as they came up short by three runs.

Parker allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits with a trio of strikeouts in seven full innings. Offensively, Kehe, Wallace, Yarbrough, and Brady Kreutzer each recorded a hit for the Tigers.

Rogers State 11, Fort Hays State 10

The Tigers struck first in the second game when Jenner Kehe recorded a leadoff double down the left field line. He later came in to score on a groundout from Ed Scott. The Hillcats tied the game in the bottom of the second as a leadoff triple eventually turned into a run.

FHSU regained the lead when Kreutzer was hit by a pitch with two outs in the top of the third. Scott and Grant Schmidt loaded the bases with a walk and hit by pitch. With the bases loaded, Kade Wallace brought in two runs on a tricky infield pop fly that fell.

In the bottom of the fourth, Rogers State picked up three runs on three hits taking the lead 4-3, but the Tigers tied it up when Kreutzer led off with a solo home run in the fifth. It was his first of the season. With two outs, the Tigers loaded the bases on three straight walks before Cade Flaherty, pinch hitting for Ridge Stephens, was hit by a pitch giving the Tigers a one run advantage, 5-4. The Hillcats responded with a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game once again, 5-5, through five innings.

In the sixth, Kreutzer recorded his second hit of the contest reaching on a single. After advancing to second, he scored on a single by Schmidt, putting FHSU ahead 6-5, but the Hillcats tied it once again in the bottom half of the inning on a wild pitch.

Jacob Callaway led off the seventh for the Tigers with a single before being joined by Kehe and Kreutzer, who both collected walks. Callaway would score on a sacrifice fly from Scott, putting the Tigers back in front. With the bases loaded, Kade Wallace chopped a grounder to the third baseman, who was unable to make an accurate throw to first scoring Kehe and Kreutzer. The right fielder would recover the ball and made a throwing error to the plate, which allowing Schmidt to score.. At the seventh inning stretch, the Tigers led 10-6.

Zach Berg held the Hillcats in check not allowing a hit through the eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, the Hillcats scored a pair of runs on a fielding error and another pair on a double tying the game at 10-10. Dylan Hamilton was brought on in relief with one out and a runner on second. Hamilton walked his first batter and the runners shifted to second and third on a wild pitch before Hamilton struck out his second batter. Cole Zimmerman entered the game with bases loaded and was able to record a strikeout to send the game to extra innings.

The Tigers were unable to find anything in the top of the 10th and the Hillcats ended the game in the bottom half of the inning on a walkoff RBI double.

Starter Jake Campbell allowed five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings of work as well as collecting three strikeouts. Berg gave up five runs on three hits in 3.2 innings with a pair of punchouts. Hamilton picked up a strikeout in 0.1 innings thrown and Zimmerman received the losing decision with one run on one hit in 0.2 frames thrown.Kreutzer led the Tigers with two hits. FHSU collected eight hits compared to 11 by RSU.

The Tigers will be back in action on Tuesday (March 15) when they face Newman in a single game in Wichita with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.

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