By FHSU Sports Information
Photo courtesy FHSU SID
KEARNEY, Neb. – Fort Hays State split its final MIAA doubleheader of the season by shutting out Nebraska-Kearney in Sunday’s (Apr. 22) nightcap. The Tigers took the second game 2-0 after falling 7-5 in the first contest of the day. The Tigers and Lopers wrap up the season Monday in Hays in a pair of non-conference games at Tiger Stadium, starting at 1 pm.
Game 1: Nebraska-Kearney 7, Fort Hays State 5
Nebraska-Kearney jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first game of the day before late rallies by the Tigers in the sixth and seventh innings came up short. The Tigers broke through with four runs in the sixth to close the gap to just one run, but UNK got two runs back in the bottom of the inning to lead 7-4. FHSU loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs, but could only push across one run on a two-out RBI single.
Trailing 5-0 in the sixth, the Tigers loaded up the bases with three consecutive singles from Bailey Boxberger, Grace Philop, and Sara Breckbill. Bailey Kennedy and Lily Sale kept the streak going, each driving in a run with the fourth and fifth consecutive singles to open the inning. Veronica Knittig followed with an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Terran Caldwell kept the rally alive with another RBI single, cutting the UNK lead to just one run.
In the seventh inning, Boxberger, Philop and Breckbill repeated their feat of the sixth inning with three consecutive singles to open the inning. However, a strikeout and pop up quickly turned the golden opportunity into a tough challenge with two outs. Knittig extended the game with an RBI single up the middle, but Candace Bollig‘s flare to right field could not get down before the Loper second baseman gloved it for the final out of the game.
The Lopers did the majority of their damage against FHSU starting pitcher Sierra Rodriguez, who allowed five runs over just 2.0 innings of work. A solo homer in the third chased her from the game. Megan Jamison entered in relief, going 4.0 innings with two runs allowed on five hits with two strikeouts.
Meg Housholder of UNK did enough for the win, allowing the first four runs to the Tigers over 5.0 innings of work. She surrendered 10 hits to the Tigers. Abbey Martin relieved for an inning and allowed one run on four hits. Sarah Handrahan earned a save by getting the final three outs of the game.
Several Tigers had a great game at the plate as Philop, Breckbill, and Knittig went 3-for-4 at the plate. The Tigers had a total of 15 hits, yet left 11 runners on base compared to just four by UNK.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 2, Nebraska-Kearney 0
The Tigers put an end to their 23-game losing streak away from Hays in the second game of the doubleheader, riding a complete game shutout by Hailey Chapman in a 2-0 win. Chapman struck out 10 Lopers, while allowing just three hits and two walks to earn her fifth win of the season.
Chapman retired eight consecutive batters from the second out in the first inning to the final out of the third. After a leadoff single by UNK in the fourth, she buckled down to retire 10 straight up to the first out of the seventh. She then allowed a couple of singles and a two-out walk to load the bases, but picked up the final out on a grounder to second base. It was Chapman’s first shutout of the season.
The Tigers benefitted from a throwing error by the Lopers in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The margin remained the same up until the top of the fifth inning when Terran Caldwell recorded the only RBI of the game with an infield single to shortstop, plating pinch runner Sydney Harsh who ran for Tess Gray. A double with one out by Gray led to the two-out single by Caldwell. The Tigers had six hits in the contest, led by two from Caldwell.
Sunday marked the first win for the Tigers outside of Hays since February 10 and prevented them from going winless in MIAA play on the road this year.
Fort Hays State will host Nebraska-Kearney for Senior Day in a pair of non-conference games on Monday at 1 pm from Tiger Stadium in Hays. The Tigers enter the final day of the season 12-36 overall, while the Lopers enter at 15-28 overall.