By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
PUEBLO, Colo. – The Fort Hays State baseball team picked up a second-straight doubleheader split against Adams State on Friday (Feb. 2), falling in the opener 6-5 before rallying for an 11-7 victory in 10 innings in the night cap. The Tigers and Grizzlies both finish the opening weekend of the season with matching 2-2 records.
Game 1 – Adams State 6, Fort Hays State 5
Adams State struck first in the opening contest, taking advantage of a one-out triple in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. The lead didn’t last long, however, with FHSU using a pair of Grizzly errors to plate an unearned run in the top of the third.
Fort Hays State seemed to take control in the following inning when Shaun Gomez and Zane Knox led off with back-to-back singles. The pair moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt before Jamison Armstrong put the Tigers in front with an RBI single through the right side. Cesar Saavedra kept the line moving with an RBI fielder’s choice before Trey DeGarmo made it a 4-1 lead with a single to left.
Tiger starter Dylan Rinker kept the ASU bats at bay throughout his 4.2 innings of work, leaving the game in line for the win after allowing just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five.
The Tigers pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fifth when Zane Knox crushed a one-out double to center, followed by an RBI single from Luis Ayala down the left-field line.
Adams State responded by batting around in the sixth, scoring five runs on three walks, three singles, a sacrifice fly and two runs scoring on a passed ball. After giving up the lead, the Tigers were unable to get it back in the seventh, grounding out three times to end the game.
DeGarmo and Knox both collected a pair of hits in the game, with Knox scoring two runs.
Game 2 – Fort Hays State 11, Adams State 7 (10 Innings)
Fort Hays State jumped in front in the second inning of game two on a home run down the right-field line from Elliott Herrmann before the Grizzlies gained control with four unearned runs in the bottom of the inning.
It took Fort Hays State four innings to get back on the scoreboard, with the Tigers finally getting to ASU starter Phil Carter with two runs in the sixth. DeGarmo worked a leadoff walk before Jose Cintron laid down a perfect bunt that stayed just inside the third-base line, putting two on with no one out. After moving up on a sacrifice bunt, DeGarmo scored on a single from Brady Kreutzerbefore Cintron scampered home on a safety squeeze bunt off the bat of Gomez.
Adams State answered right back with two runs of their own in the sixth before pushing the lead to 7-3 thanks to a pair of doubles in the seventh.
After failing to record a base hit in the seventh or eighth innings, the Tigers had their backs against the wall entering the ninth. Down by four, right fielder Kyle Morrell worked a leadoff walk to get the inning going. Ayala and Armstrong were both hit by pitches in the next two plate appearances, loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate with the top of the order due up.
The Grizzlies went to their closer Mike Bathauer, who promptly gave up a two-RBI single to pinch hitter Isaiah Ural that cut the deficit to 7-5. Later with the bases loaded and two outs, Kreutzer delivered the game-tying hit, pulling a single through the left side to plate a pair.
Adams State led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and seemed destined to win it on a hard-hit liner down into the right-field corner, but Morrell made a diving catch to save the game. The following batter grounded out to pitcher Ty Riley, sending things to extra innings.
After saving the game with his catch in the ninth, Morrell led off the 10th with a crushed double to center field. The right fielder then beat out a throw to third when Ayala laid down a bunt in the next at bat, putting runners at the corners with no one out. DeGarmo delivered the game-winning hit three batters later, pulling a double down the left-field line that drove in two and scored another on a throwing error. DeGarmo then scored to push the lead to 11-7 on a sacrifice fly from Cintron.
Adams State ran out of juice in the home half of the inning, going down in order after Riley struck out the first two batters and Andrew Hansen came on to induce a fly ball to end the game.
Kreutzer drove in three runs on a 2-for-3 day at the plate, while Morrell batted 3-for-4 and scored two runs in his first action of the weekend. DeGarmo added two hits, scoring two runs and driving in two more.
Nathan Pitts allowed just one hit in 1.2 innings of relief before Riley (1-0) came on to pick up the win, retiring all five batters he faced including two strikeouts.
Up Next
The Tigers will next travel to Ada, Okla. for a pair of doubleheaders against East Central next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 9-10), with first pitch set for noon each day.