BY TRISTAN SASSE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARISSA CASTANOS
On Friday, April 27, the Fort Hays State University Tiger baseball team hosted the Missouri Western Griffons to start its final three-game home series of the season from Larks Park. In the annual “Pack the Park” event sponsored by the Heartland Building Center, the Griffons were able to set the tone early. Leading from the top of the first, Missouri Western extended its win streak against the Tigers to eight games with a dominant 12-1 victory.
Game Recap
The Griffons took an early 2-0 lead with a double by Dusty Stroup in the top of the first inning. Missouri Western kept the line rolling with a two-out RBI double by Maurice Bruce.
FHSU pitcher Sam Capps was pulled from the game early in the second after allowing a base hit to Fahd Shakeel which extended the Griffon advantage to 4-0. Capps allowed five hits and threw 41 pitches. Soon after, Brooks Day hit a 3-run homer to deep left field to give MWSU a 7-0 advantage. The Tigers threatened in the second but left two runners on-base.
A sacrifice fly by Nick Schranck increased the Griffon lead to 8-0 and Casey Danley followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the inning, FHSU stranded two batters on-base and trailed 9-0 after three.
Moments later, Stroup gave Missouri Western a double-digit lead with a home run to left field. Jordan Wilkerson put the Tigers on the board with a solo shot to right field. After four, the Griffons led 10-1.
The long balls continued for Missouri Western when Day hit his second home run on the night, a two-run RBI, to left field in the fifth. After a high-scoring display, both teams were held scoreless for the next two innings and the Griffons went on to win 12-1 after seven innings via run rule.
By the Numbers
Missouri Western finished with 12 hits while FHSU had seven. The Tigers left nine on-base while the Griffons stranded seven runners. Both teams finished with two errors.
Alex Weiss went 3-for-4 to lead the Tigers. Wilkerson had two hits and the lone FHSU RBI with his solo home run. Jason Nicholson and Clayton Basgall recorded the final two RBIs for Fort Hays.
Pitching-wise, Capps allowed five hits and five earned runs before being pulled. He fell to 2-4 on the season. Roger Kruse allowed four runs in 2/3 innings of relief and Cole Schumacher gave up the remaining three runs. Easton Palmer allowed no runs over 2 2/3 innings and had four strikeouts.
For the Griffons, five batters recorded multiple hits. Day led Missouri Western by going 2-for-3, including two home runs and five RBIs. Stroup added two hits and three RBI’s. Shakeel, Danley, Bruce, and Schranck each had one RBI to round out the scoring.
Nate Hunter pitched his third complete game of the year for the Griffons. Over seven innings and 103 pitches, Hunter allowed seven hits and struck out 10 batters while only walking two. He improved to 8-2 on the season.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers (13-32 overall, 5-26 in MIAA) and Griffons (24-21, 16-15) will finish their 3-game series over the weekend. Next week, FHSU will finish the regular season in Joplin, Missouri against Missouri Southern (23-22, 11-20). Meanwhile, Missouri Western will return home to take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (26-19, 19-11).
