The Tigers will play two games on Thursday evening. Pending the outcome of the opening round games at 5 pm, FHSU will face either No. 4 seed Missouri Western or No. 5 seed Northwest Missouri State in its next game at 7 p.m. Pre-game ceremonies will take place at 4:30 p.m., including the announcement of the All-MIAA Softball First and Second Teams.
The Tigers enter the tournament at 26-25 overall, while Central Missouri enters at 39-13 overall. It is a re-match from last year’s first round in which the Tigers were the No. 4 seed and the Jennies were the No. 5 seed. FHSU came back from a 5-2 deficit in that game to win 6-5 with four runs over the last two innings.
By defeating Nebraska-Kearney twice on Saturday, the Tigers secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament for the ninth straight year. FHSU has made the tournament in every year since it joined the MIAA in 2006-07. The Tigers have enjoyed a history of success at the tournament, making the second day of competition in each of the last seven years. Since the tournament moved to the Blue Valley Recreation Complex in 2009, the Tigers have made it to the championship game twice, falling in 2011 before winning the tournament in 2013.
The Tigers have an overall record of 15-11 at the Blue Valley Recreation Complex since 2009 (six years of competition) and a 17-15 record all-time in the MIAA Tournament (eight years of competition), which is solid considering teams that do not win the tournament take two losses each year.
On offense, Tori Beltz leads the team with a .323 batting average, 26 extra-base hits (16 doubles, 10 home runs), and 42 RBI. Amanda Vaupel has drove home 30 runs with 16 extra-base hits. Kylie Strand has 23 RBI and 18 extra-base hits. For pitching, Kelsey Kimminau is 13-10 overall with a 3.00 ERA and Paxton Duran is 11-13 with a 3.21 ERA. Duran leads the team in strikeouts with 142. Relievers Sarah Cochran and Savannah Price each sport sub-3.00 ERAs.