FHSU Sports Information Department
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State split a pair of conference games decided by one run on Friday afternoon (Mar. 25) at Northeastern State. Trailing 1-0 heading into the last inning, FHSU rallied for two runs in the seventh and defeated NSU 2-1 in the first game before falling in the second game 4-3 in nine innings. Paxton Duran recorded a career-high 15 strikeouts in the first game to go with her winning effort.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 2, Northeastern State 1
Facing one of the MIAA’s top pitchers in game one, the Tigers found a way to break through in the seventh in order to give Paxton Duran a win for her tremendous effort in the pitching circle.
Duran set the tone early by recording all six outs over the first two innings by strikeout, on her way to a career-high 15 strikeout performance. But the Tigers had to find a way to not let that effort go unrewarded as a solo home run allowed by Duran in the fourth was the difference in the game through six innings.
The Tiger offense stepped up in the seventh as Tori Beltz immediately tied the game with a solo home run of her own. Samantha Villarreal followed with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Duran. A grounder to the right side off the bat of Courtney Dobson pushed the runner to third, then Mackenzie Villarreal stepped up as a pinch hitter with a single to the right side to plate the second run of the inning.
Duran did not allow a baserunner in the seventh and capped the solid effort with her 15th strikeout, a new career high, to end the game. She allowed just one run on three hits and a walk, moving to 8-10 overall on the season.
Kayce Wooldridge retired 14 consecutive Tiger batters going into the seventh until Beltz broke through with the home run. Wooldridge moved to 12-5 on the season with the loss, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts.
Game 2: Northeastern State 4, Fort Hays State 3 (9 inn.)
After both teams played to a 3-3 tie through three and a half innings, Kayce Wooldridge and Paxton Duran settled into a pitching duel once again, but this time as relievers. Both teams went scoreless for four innings before Northeastern State broke the tie with a walk-off single in the ninth inning.
Wooldridge took over in the fourth for a struggling Delaney Gray, who allowed three runs to the Tigers through 3.2 innings of work. Kylie Strand hit a game-tying double in the fourth and then Rilee Krier had a single to chase Gray from the game. Wooldridge hit a batter to load the bases, but got a ground out to end the inning.
Duran took over at the start of the fourth inning for Carrie Clarke, who threw the first three innings and allowed three runs. Duran worked a 1-2-3 fourth, but had to work around base runners in the fifth through eighth innings to keep the RiverHawks off the board. In the ninth, she could not work around a leadoff double as Jessica Boone delivered a walk-off single to end the game.
Samantha Villarreal had two RBI in the game, providing the first two runs for the Tigers in the game. She had an RBI single in the first and a solo home run in the third. She finished 3-for-4 at the plate in the game.
FHSU put runners in scoring position in the fifth, sixth, and seventh, but could not find a way to push the go-ahead run across. Duran moved to 8-11 with the loss after just one run allowed in 5.1 innings of relief. She allowed seven hits and a walk, while striking out four. Wooldridge allowed just three hits and a walk with six strikeouts, holding the Tigers scoreless in her 5.1 innings of relief.
The Tigers moved to 13-18 overall and 7-7 in the MIAA, while Northeastern State moved to 18-15 overall and 6-6 in the MIAA. FHSU finishes its road swing in Oklahoma with a doubleheader at Central Oklahoma on Saturday (Mar. 26) at 12 pm.