FHSU Sports Information Department
HAYS, Kan. – A walk-off single off the bat of Dayton Pomeroy in the 12th inning lifted the Fort Hays State baseball team past Colorado Christian Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18) at Larks Park, clinching the series victory.
The Tigers are now 6-3 this season after collecting their sixth-consecutive win, with the Cougars dipping to 3-7 overall.
Pomeroy’s single to left center drove in Jake Lanferman for the game-winning run after Lanferman connected with a one-out double into the gap. The Tigers needed just one run to win thanks to some clutch pitching. After the Cougars loaded the bases in the top of the 12th with an error, a double and a walk, Zac Rothert struck out the next batter looking. Freshman lefty Ryan Ruder (2-0) came in to face the left-handed Dillon McTague, inducing an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, good enough to collect his second win of the season.
Starter Ben Ramberg was locked in a pitcher’s duel with CCU’s Joey Loranger for much of the afternoon, with both pitchers putting up zeros until the bottom of the fifth inning. Ramberg’s best outing of the season resulted in a no decision after giving up just two runs on six hits in 7.1 innings of work. The junior struck out nine Cougars on the day, the most for a Tiger pitcher so far this season.
The Tigers broke through in the fifth after Jared Bogosian led off with a single to left. The catcher moved to second on a groundout before coming around to score on a single from Ty Redington.
Colorado Christian finally got to Ramberg with a solo home run to lead off the top of the seventh. The Tigers responded with another run in the home half, loading the bases after an error and a pair of bad decisions on sacrifice bunts by the Cougar defense. The visitors tried to get the lead runner each time, but both throws came in late. Redington delivered his second RBI of the day when he lifted a sacrifice fly to left.
The Cougars again tied the score with an unearned run in the eighth, forcing the Tigers to go to the bullpen. Rothert allowed one inherited runner to score, but an outfield assist from Lanferman picked up the final out in the inning at home plate.
The Black and Gold grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the eighth when Lanferman was hit by a pitch to lead things off. After swiping second, the sophomore came around to score on a double to left center from Trevor Hughes.
CCU sent the game to extras by tying things up at three in the ninth with a pair of singles, but Rothert stranded the go-ahead run at third by forcing a harmless flyout to right. The Tigers had two on with one out in the bottom of the inning, but the Cougars escaped with a pop up and a strikeout.
Redington and Pomeroy both finished 2-for-5 to lead the Tigers, with five other players adding a hit. The pitching staff combined to strike out 12 Cougar batters, the most in a game for FHSU since 2015 (13, Colorado Mines, 3/10/15).
The teams will face off in the series finale Sunday (Feb. 19) at noon.