By FHSU Sports Information
Photo courtesy FHSU SID
TOPEKA – The Fort Hays State baseball team rallied from a four-run deficit to take the lead in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s conference clash at Washburn (April 17), but the Ichabods rallied to steal the win at home, 9-5. The Tigers are now 13-27 on the year and 5-21 in conference action, while the Ichabods move to an identical 13-27 overall mark and 7-22 in MIAA play.
The Tigers outhit Washburn, 15-9, with all but one starter collecting at least one hit, but left a total of 10 runners on base. Addison Kaasch collected four hits on the day, raising his batting average to .399 on the year, good for a spot in the top five in the conference.
The Black and Gold were unable to score off three hits in the first inning, leaving two men on base after a double play. Tiger starter Ryan Ruder (4-6) set down the Ichabods in order in the opening frame with a pair of strikeouts before allowing four runs, three unearned, in the home half of the second.
Fort Hays State began its rally with two runs in the third inning. Dawson Sramek opened the frame with a single to left center before moving up to third on a double down the left field line off the bat of Kaasch. Reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week Alex Weiss came through with an RBI base knock to center before Ryan Grasser drove in his fellow middle infielder with a single through the left side.
The Tigers closed within 5-3 when Clayton Basgall ripped an RBI single to left, scoring Marcus Altman.
In the meantime, Ruder was back to taming the Ichabod offense, facing the minimum yet again in the third, fourth and fifth innings. A pair of runners reached base during that stretch, but a double play started by the pitcher retired the first before Sramek, the catcher, gunned down another in an attempt to swipe second.
Fort Hays State manufactured a pair of runs in the sixth to take the lead after Cody Starkel and Altman singled in back-to-back plate appearances to open the frame. After advancing on a sacrifice bunt, the pair came around to score when Basgall punched a two-RBI single back up the middle.
The Ichabods stole the lead right back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring all three runs off Ruder while chasing him from the game. Sam Capps came on to escape the inning with the score 7-5, but a two-run home run in the seventh helped the home team double its advantage. Cody Rottinghaus came on to complete the seventh while Alex Ruxlow tossed in the eighth, both allowing only a walk. Sramek ended the home half of the eighth with his second caught stealing of the game.
After scoring all five runs on the Washburn starter, the Fort Hays State offense was unable to solve the WU bullpen, totaling just three hits over 3.2 innings.
Basgall collected three RBI on a pair of hits while Altman scored two runs. Weiss extended his multi-hit streak to six games, going 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Ruder finished with the only three strikeouts for the Tigers, pitching five-plus innings while allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits and just one walk.
The Tigers will return to conference play this weekend when they head to St. Charles, Mo. to take on Lindenwood in a three-game series. The opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m. from the Lou Brock Sports Complex.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State baseball player Alex Weiss has been named MIAA Baseball Hitter of the Week, announced Tuesday (April 17) by the league office.
Weiss had a big week at the plate for FHSU, despite the team going 0-4 in MIAA play. He finished with a .579 batting average and slugged 1.263 for the week. He went 11-for-19 at the plate, belting four home runs along with a double and six singles. He also had a sacrifice fly to his credit. Weiss had a total of 10 RBI for the week and crossed the dish eight times. His biggest offensive performance was a 4-for-6 effort at Nebraska-Kearney in a 26-17 loss, hitting two of his four home runs for the week and driving in five runs.