By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Fort Hays State baseball team could not keep pace with New Mexico Highlands Friday afternoon (Feb. 8), dropping both ends of a road doubleheader. Tim Fitzgerald reached base six times on the day, tallying four base hits, one walk and one hit-by-pitch.
The Tigers (0-3) and Cowboys (2-4) will wrap up the weekend with another doubleheader Saturday (Feb. 9) beginning at 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. MT).
Game One: New Mexico Highlands 19, Fort Hays State 0
The Tigers struggled to get things going against Cowboy starter Kyle Bedsole (1-1), reaching base on five singles and one walk. Marcus McDaniel and Tim Fitzgerald both collected two hits in the loss.
New Mexico Highlands took the lead right away after a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. The Cowboys accumulated their 19 runs on 13 hits and three Tiger errors.
Cody Rottinghaus (0-1) took the loss after surrendering six runs over four innings of work, while striking out four Cowboys in the process.
Game Two: New Mexico Highlands 16, Fort Hays State 7
Fort Hays State batted around in the third inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and pushing across seven runs. However, the one big inning was not enough to keep pace with the Cowboys, who totaled 16 runs on 14 hits and five FHSU errors.
Ryan Grasser got things started in the third with a solo home run to right, the first long ball of the season for the Tigers. Jared Haynes followed two batters later with his first career extra-base hit, clubbing a double to right center. The sophomore came in to score on an error before Tyler Olson drove a double into the gap in left center, plating Ryan Stoecklein. Three-straight walks pushed across another run before Grasser came through again with a bases-clearing double, giving the senior four RBI in the inning.
The seven-run third inning brought the Tigers back into the contest after NMHU plated eight runs over the first two frames. The Cowboys scored seven runs of their own in the first before adding one in the second.
Olson recorded the first three-hit game for a Tiger this season, finishing 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Fitzgerald reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
Jake Taylor (0-1) took the loss after allowing 10 runs (six earned) over 2.2 innings of work. The righty picked up the only strikeout for the Tiger staff