FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State won their second straight game over Northwest Missouri State on Friday (May 6) by the score of 4-3. Senior pitcher D.J. Carr threw seven strong innings for the win, while Giles Fox and Austin Unrein added a pair of scoreless frames to nail down the win. The Tigers are now 22-26 overall and 16-21 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats dropped to 24-25 overall and 19-19 in the conference.
Fort Hays State struck early taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first. With the bases loaded, Joe Mapes muscled a ball to left field for a sacrifice fly that plated Nick Hammeke. The Bearcats responded in the second inning with a lead-off double that eventually produced a run.
The Tigers regained the lead in the bottom half of the second when they pushed two runs across. Back-to-back singles by Alex King and Ty Redington put runners on the corners to start the inning. Redington then stole second putting two in scoring position and Connor Ross delivered with a two RBI single up the middle.
In the fifth, Fort Hays State extended its lead to 4-1. Mapes led off the inning with a single, then Caleb Cherryholmes then roped a ball to the right-center gap for an RBI double.
The Bearcats scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to cut the lead back to just one at 4-3. One of the runs was unearned due to an error. But Carr finished the inning with the lead, putting him in line for the win in his final collegiate start. He was very efficient in earning his fifth win of the season, throwing just 76 pitches. He allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits, with two strikeouts and a walk.
Fox, who earned his sixth save of the season on Thursday night, pitched a scoreless eighth. Unrein helped Fox keep the Tigers in front by cutting down the potential tying run at the plate on a grounder to first base. Then Unrein took the hill in the ninth and got a pop up foul fly to end the game after a pair of two-out singles by the Bearcats. Unrein earned his first save of the season.
The Tigers and Bearcats wrap up the series on Saturday (May 7) at 1 pm. It will be the final game of the season for Fort Hays State and serves as Senior Day for the Tigers.