FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State sent its seniors out winners by completing the three-game sweep of Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (May 7) by a score of 9-8. The Tigers end the season at 23-26 overall and 17-21 in the MIAA. Northwest Missouri still qualified for the MIAA Tournament and moved to 24-26 overall and 19-20 in the MIAA.
Senior Casey Sedbrook made the only start of his pitching career and held the Bearcats scoreless over the first two innings. An injured Trevor Rinne entered at the start of the third and threw to one batter to make his only appearance of the season.
The Bearcats got on the board first when they plated three runs in the third. Senior Trevor Rinne came in to the game and walked to only batter he would face all season to start the frame. Logan Herd then came in to pitch and the Bearcats struck for three hits coupled with a Tiger error to take the lead.
The Tiger offense came alive in the fourth inning with two home runs to plate four runs. Austin Unrein and Alex Weiss started the inning with back-to-back singles. Joe Mapes then roped a ball down the left field line that cleared the fence for his 11th homerun of the year. Two batters later, Alex King blasted a solo shot to right, pushing the Tigers in front 4-3.
The Tiger offense kept rolling in the fifth, where they put up five more runs. With the bases loaded, Alex Weiss singled to left plating Casey Sedbrook. Mapes got his fourth RBI of the game with a single to left extending the Tiger lead to 6-3. With the bases still loaded and two outs, King hit a hard single to the left side that deflected off the third baseman, plating two runs. Ty Redington then made it 9-3 with another RBI single.
The Bearcats cut the Tiger lead to 9-8 after scoring in the final four frames. NWMSU got RBI single in the sixth, and an RBI double and RBI ground out in the seventh, a RBI single in the eighth, and a solo homerun in the ninth.
Herd held the Bearcats scoreless for two innings until giving up single runs in the sixth and seventh making it 9-5. He threw to one batter in the eighth before handing the ball to Jackson Rolfs. NWMSU scored two in the eighth, one charged to Herd and one to Rolfs, cutting the Tiger advantage to 9-7.
Rolfs got one out in the ninth before an arm issue caused him to leave the game. Unrein closed out the game and picked up his second save in as many games, getting the final two outs despite giving up a run to make the final of 9-8.
Herd picked up the win in relief, throwing 5.0 innings with five runs allowed (four earned) on 10 hits with a strikeout. Brad Roberts took the loss for NWMSU, allowing nine runs (five earned) over 6.1 innings on 12 hits and a walk, with four strikeouts.
Caleb Cherryholmes, Austin Unrein, Trevor Rinne, Alex King, Connor Ross, D.J. Carr, Casey Sedbrook, Joe Mapes, Kyle Vogt, and Giles Fox were the 10 seniors honored prior to the start of the game.