FHSU Sports Information Department
Fort Hays State hits the road this weekend for two crucial MIAA doubleheaders in Missouri. The Tigers take on Missouri Western Saturday (Apr. 2) before wrapping up the road trip with two games at Northwest Missouri State Sunday (Apr. 3). The Tigers enter the weekend currently in seventh place in the MIAA at 7-9, and an overall record of 13-20.
The Tigers lost three of their last four games, taking a pair of tough one-run losses in extra innings in that stretch. FHSU split a doubleheader at Northeastern State before dropping a pair of games at Central Oklahoma.
Leading the way for the Tigers is senior Paxton Duran who is performing well as both a hitter and pitcher. Duran currently leads the team with a .338 batting average to accompany her 2.70 ERA, and sits second in the MIAA with 140 strikeouts. Rilee Krier has also performed well with the stick this season, leading the team with 10 multi-hit games, helping her to a .321 batting average.
Missouri Western is currently second in the MIAA at 11-3, while holding an overall record of 26-10. The 22nd-ranked Griffons enter the weekend winning seven of their last 10. The speed of Morgan Rathmann at the top of the order leads the Griffons this season. She is currently first in the MIAA in triples (5), second in runs (41), and sixth in steals (19), all while leading the team with a .391 batting average. In the circle for the Griffons, Shyanne Saladino has been solid all season long. She currently sits third in the MIAA in ERA (2.18), fourth in opponent batting average (.236), and fifth in wins (12).
Northwest Missouri State currently sits fifth in the MIAA standings at 9-5 and faces Nebraska-Kearney for two games Saturday before the Sunday matchup with the Tigers. Heading into the matchup with UNK, the Bearcats are 25-9 overall. The Bearcats are coming off their fourth walk-off victory of the season, a 10-9 win over Missouri Western in eight innings. Rebecca Maher anchors the offense for the Bearcats and leads the team in batting average (.429) and hits (45), and has struck out just four times in 105 at-bats this season. Kendal Schieber is the key arm for NWMSU, sitting fourth in the MIAA with a 2.33 ERA to go along with her 14-4 record.
Both doubleheaders begin at 12 pm each day.