Complete recaps of Monday’s games are below.
Newman 7, Fort Hays State 6
Fort Hays State hit five doubles in a back-and-forth contest, but a walk-off single in the seventh dealt the Tigers their fifth straight loss in 7-6 fashion.
Paxton Duran (11-10) was dealt the loss after throwing 6.1 innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits while striking out three. Savannah Price threw 0.1 innings and gave up the walk-off hit in the seventh.
Samantha Villarreal finished the game 2-for-4 with a an RBI double, while four other Tigers had doubles on the day – Kylie Strand, Erin Elmore, Mackenzie Villarreal and Duran. Elmore and Duran each had two RBI to lead the team.
FHSU broke through in the second behind Duran’s RBI double, taking a 2-0 lead and never looking back. In the second, Samantha Villarreal led off with a single, moving to second on a groundout and to third when Rilee Krier reached on an error. After Krier stole second to put two runners in scoring position, Duran doubled through the right side, scoring both Tigers.
Strand led off the third with a double prior to Erin Elmore reaching after being hit by a pitch, and with one out, Samantha Villarreal doubled down the right field to score Strand and push the lead to 3-0. Newman struck back in the bottom of the third, however, with four runs of its own (including a three-run home run) to take the lead.
The Tigers took back the lead (5-4) in the fourth after Elmore’s two-out double scored Courtney Dobson, who reached on a fielder’s choice, and Strand, who walked.
A fielding error in the bottom of the fourth helped the Jets tie the game at 5-5, but FHSU answered once more with a run in the top of the fifth. After Amanda Vaupel reached on an error, two wild pitches moved the centerfielder to third for Mackenzie Villarreal, who hit the Tigers’ fifth double of the day to drive Vaupel home.
In the bottom of the seventh, NU tied it before Price entered to try and force extras, but after the second out of the inning, a walk-off single pushed the winning run home for the Jets.
Fort Hays State 6, Newman 3
FHSU hit two home runs and snapped its five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win to close the doubleheader with Newman.
Sarah Cochran (2-1) earned the complete game win, giving up three runs while scattering 10 hits with five strikeouts.
Samantha Villarreal went 1-for-3 with three RBI while Strand was 1-for-3 with two RBI. Both Tigers hit home runs.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Strand scampered home on Samantha Villarreal‘s sacrifice fly, and later pushed the lead to 3-0 in the third off Samantha Villarreal‘s two-run home run. Tori Beltz drew a one-out walk in the third before Samantha Villarreal hit her first home run of the season over the center field wall.
NU cut the lead to one (3-2) in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run of its own, but the Tigers stretched the lead back to three in the top of the fourth.
With one out, Veronica Knittig walked and later moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Strand then drove a 1-2 pitch over the fence for her team-leading seventh home run of the year.
The Tigers’ advantage grew to four (6-3) in the top of the sixth. Krier reached on an error to start the inning and after moving to second on a passed ball, saw Knittig join her on the basepaths with a walk. Dobson’s single loaded the bases, and with one out, Elmore reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Krier.