FHSU Sports Information Department
HAYS, Kan. â Fort Hays State earned a split in a wild doubleheader at Tiger Stadium on Saturday (Mar. 19). After dropping the first game 10-8 in 11 innings, the Tigers outlasted Lindenwood in game two setting a school record for runs in a 26-18 win. FHSU is now 10-7 overall and 4-6 in the MIAA, while Lindenwood moved to 7-21 overall and 4-8 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Lindenwood 10, Fort Hays State 8 (11 innings)
Fort Hays State was just one strike away from taking game one with a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh, but Caitlyn Touchette of Lindenwood extended the game with a two-out RBI single. Another single led to two more runs and the Lions had a 6-4 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
With a runner on second, FHSU was down to its last out when pitcher Paxton Duran tied the game 6-6 with a two-run homer to left center field. It was Duran’s second homer of the game after hitting a solo shot in the fourth. The two home runs in a game tied the school record held by several other Tigers.
Each team scored a run in the ninth to push the game to the international tiebreaker in the 10th. Duran extended the game one more time for FHSU with an RBI triple, giving her four RBI for the game.
Both teams were able to plate the runner from second in the 10th, but Lindenwood put up two runs in the 11th. The Tigers had the heart of their lineup at the plate in the 11th, but went 1-2-3 with a pair of flyouts and a groundout to end the game.
Duran went all 11 innings in the pitcher’s circle for FHSU allowing six earned runs. She allowed 15 hits and three walks, while striking out seven. Morgan Colvis also went the distance for Lindenwood in the circle, allowing four earned runs. She gave up 11 hits and four walks, while striking out nine.
Kylie Strand drove home three runs in the contest as her two-run homer in the fourth gave FHSU the 4-3 lead it held going into the seventh.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 26, Lindenwood 18
Both teams set the tone for a wild offensive contest in game two as the Lions plated three runs and the Tigers plated six in the first inning. Lindenwood took the lead back with a nine spot in the second inning, but it was short lived as the Tigers scored seven in the second to take a 13-12 lead. Lindenwood scored three more in the third, but the Tigers put up six once again and held a 19-15 lead going to the fourth. The 19 runs had already tied a school record for runs in a game after just three innings.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth, but the run scoring commenced again in the fifth as Lindenwood got three to pull within one at 19-18, but the Tigers countered with five to make it 24-18. With FHSU able to hold the Lions scoreless once again in the sixth, FHSU ended the game by run-rule in the sixth with two more runs, making the final of 26-18. The 26 runs shattered the school record by seven, but came up just one short of the MIAA record of 27.
Working the scoreless fourth for FHSU was Rilee Krier, making the first pitching appearance of her career as a Tiger. By entering in relief at the start of the fourth, she earned the win, even though she still gave up three runs in the fifth before handing the ball to Paxton Duran. Duran was able to get the final two outs of the fifth and closed out the game, earning her first save of the season. Carrie Clarke pitched the first three innings for the Tigers.
Lindenwood went through four pitchers in the game and its third of the game, Brooke Miller took the loss. Miller surrendered 13 of the runs in 3.1 innings of relief. The first two pitchers of the game lasted just a combined inning, giving up 11 runs together.
Despite the loss, Lindenwood set a new MIAA single game record for hits with 26 as a team in the game. FHSU was not far behind with 21. The Tigers set a new school record for RBI in a game, recording 22 as a team to break the old record of 18. Courtney Dobson tied the school record for runs in a game with five and Kylie Strand set a new single game record for walks with four.
Erin Elmore led the Tigers in RBI with five, while Claudia Vazquez and Tori Beltz each had four. Beltz had the only homer in the game for FHSU, a two-run shot. Clarke, despite a tough game in the pitching circle, went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI in her first-ever collegiate at bats.
Four Lindenwood players recorded a four-hit game and Maria Tippit led the Lions in RBI for the game with six.
The Tigers return to Tiger Stadium on Sunday (Mar. 20) for a doubleheader with Lincoln University starting at 1 pm.