Fort Hays State softball looks to get back on track when they play in St. Cloud, Minn., at the Kelly Laas Memorial Tournament. The Tigers will play five games in three days (Feb. 18-20) as they look to improve on their 1-3 start to the season.
On Thursday, the Tigers will take on Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia- St. Paul at 7 am and 7 pm. Friday the Tigers face just one opponent, #20 Augustana (S.D.) at noon, then round out the weekend on Saturday with Minnesota State-Mankato and St. Cloud State early in the morning Saturday at 7 and 9:30 am.
Fort Hays State is off to a slow start offensively. As a team the Tigers are hitting just .204 and scored only nine runs through four games. Tori Beltz enters the weekend having hit safely in all four games and is second on the team in batting average at .308. Paxton Duran leads the team with a .750 average, but has only batted in one game.
Below is a brief preview of the opponents for the upcoming weekend.
Southwest Minnesota State 0-0
Finished 27-29 in 2015….Picked to finish 10th in the NSIC in 2016….First meeting in school history
Concordia St-Paul 1-4
Picked to finish 12th in the NSIC….Team batting average of .289 through five games…. Justine Schattner leads the offense with .533 average, 8 hits, 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 8 RBI’s…Opponents are hitting .410 off Golden Bear pitching this season
#20 Augustana 6-5
Picked to finish second in the NSIC…. Six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (2010-15)…. Junior shortstop Sarah Kenedy has been named to the NFCA Player of the Year watch list as well as a HERO Sports Preseason All-American…. Team batting average of .328…. Average 6.0 runs per game…. Team ERA of 2.53
Minnesota State-Mankato 1-2
Selected to finish third in NSIC… Returns pitcher Coley Ries who set the single season school record with 297 strikeouts in 2015…. Team batting average of .293…. Team ERA of 6.75…. Averages 2.0 stolen bases per game as a team
St. Cloud State 6-2
Selected to finish ninth in the NSIC…. Returning 16 players from 2015…. Team batting average of .375…. Averages 7.75 runs per game…. Have hit two triples in four of eight games this season…. Averaging 10.5 hits per game…. Team ERA of 4.33…. Pitchers have a 44:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio