By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
OKLAHOMA CITY – Fort Hays State pitchers Michaelanne Nelson and Hailey Chapman both had solid outings in the pitching circle on Monday (Mar. 11), but had no wins to show for it in a pair of 1-0 losses to Oklahoma Christian. They were outdueled by OCU hurlers Madison Hagood and Kali Crandall, who held the Tiger offense scoreless in 15 innings of work. FHSU moved to 7-6 overall, while OCU improved to 18-5 overall.
Game 1: Oklahoma Christian 1, Fort Hays State 0
In the first contest of the day, Fort Hays State scratched out just three hits against Madison Hagood, who tossed a complete game with nine strikeouts and just one walk. The Tigers had only one runner reach second base in the game. Terran Caldwell, Sara Breckbill, and Elise Capra were the Tigers who collected hits.
Michaelanne Nelson matched Hagood with zeros all the way through the fifth inning, but back-to-back one-out singles put the Eagles in business in the sixth. Kayla Eichler, who was 3-for-3 in the game for OCU, drove in the winning run with a third-consecutive single in the inning. It was off Hailey Chapman, who just entered the game, but the run responsibility was Nelson’s. In 5.1 innings of work, Nelson took the loss with seven hits and one walk allowed, while striking out five.
Game 2: Oklahoma Christian 1, Fort Hays State 0 (8 inn.)
The second contest of the day was much like the first with runs hard to come by. Hailey Chapman tossed a complete-game effort for FHSU, but it was not enough as FHSU fell in the international tiebreaker format.
The game remained scoreless through seven innings, so the Tigers began the tiebreaker format with a runner on second. Missed bunt attempts leading to a strikeout in Fort Hays State’s first at bat of the eighth were costly. Eventually the Tigers got runners to second and third with two outs, but a groundout ended the threat.
In the bottom half of the inning, OCU got its sacrifice down in the first at bat successfully, getting the runner to third with just one out. After a walk, OCU’s Bridget White ended the game with a long RBI single that nearly reached the center field fence.
The Tigers had only four hits in the contest, half by Grace Philop who went 2-for-2 at the dish. Bailey Boxberger and Lily Sale also collected hits.
On the other hand, Chapman allowed just four hits in her 7.1 inning effort. She walked three and struck out six. She is now 4-3 on the season.
Kali Crandall went seven innings in the circle for OCU, allowing four hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. Madison Hagood relieved her at the beginning of the international tiebreaker format in the eighth and recorded one strikeout. Hagood moved to 8-2, picking up the win after her team broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the eighth.
Tiger Notes
-Fort Hays State has scored one or less runs in all six of its losses this year. The Tigers have been shutout four of those six times.
-Five of Fort Hays State’s last six games have resulted in shutouts, one in favor of FHSU and four in favor of its opponents.
Fort Hays State looks to get the bats going at Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday (Mar. 12). The Tigers are scheduled to begin at doubleheader with the Bison at 2 pm in Shawnee