By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State received big performances from Hailey Chapman and Elise Capra in a doubleheader sweep of Lincoln University Friday afternoon (Mar. 22). Chapman struck out 19 batters in 11.2 innings of work over two games, while Capra drove home six of seven runs in game two. FHSU moved to 12-9 overall, 5-1 in the MIAA, while Lincoln dropped to 4-22 overall, 1-9 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 4, Lincoln 2
Despite giving up two runs, Hailey Chapman turned in a great effort in the pitching circle by striking out a career-high 14 batters. It was her fifth complete-game performance of the season and she moved to 6-4 on the season in a 4-2 win.
The difference in the game was a bases clearing, 3-RBI double by Sierra Rodriguez in the first inning that put the Tigers up 3-0. Rodriguez was one of five Tigers to record a hit in the game.
Chapman surrendered single runs in the second and sixth innings. FHSU pushed its lead back to three runs in the fourth when Elise Capra crossed the plate on a wild pitch before the gap moved back to two after six innings.
Chapman had a pair of three-strikeout innings (first and third inning), along with four innings where she struck out two. The fourth inning was the only inning in which she did not record a strikeout. Chapman allowed six hits and one walk in the contest.
Hannah Hennessey took the loss for Lincoln in the pitching circle, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and five walks. She struck out five. Hennessey moved to 2-11 on the season.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 7, Lincoln 6
Fort Hays State produced a comeback win in game two of the doubleheader thanks to the bat of Elise Capra, who went 4-for-4 in the game with a pair of singles, a double, and a home run. Capra produced six RBIs in the game, helping push the Tigers past the Blue Tigers and avoid a split.
Lincoln’s offense clicked early by scoring two runs in each of the first two innings, building a 4-1 lead in the process. Lincoln went up 2-0 after one inning, thanks to a two-out, two-RBI single by Gabi McGinty.
Jeni Mohr trimmed the Lincoln lead in half in the top of the second by producing a sacrifice fly RBI with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, the Tigers could not push any more runs across in the inning. They saw Lincoln’s lead grow after two innings when another two-RBI hit, this time by Jordan Lawson, pushed the lead to three at 4-1.
Capra, who already recorded a single in the second to help get the bases loaded, began her damage against the Blue Tigers in the third. Lincoln committed a pair of errors in the third that loaded the bases. Capra made the Blue Tigers pay by hitting a bases-clearing double to tie the game at 4-4.
Lincoln moved back in front 5-4 in the bottom of the third on an RBI single. The first two FHSU pitchers of the game, Megan Jamison and Sierra Rodriguez, were unable to get through more than 2.1 innings of play. At that point, head coach Adrian Pilkington turned the ball back over to Hailey Chapman, who went the remaining 4.2 innings in the circle and limited Lincoln to just one run. Jamison started the game and allowed four runs on four hits and two walks in 1.1 innings, while Rodriguez relieved for 1.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits.
Chapman shut the door on Lincoln scoring any more runs over her first 3.1 innings of work, allowing Capra’s bat to push the Tigers into the lead. In the fifth, Capra sent a ball over the left field wall for her fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot, which pushed the Tigers into the lead for the first time in the game, 6-5. Capra added an insurance run in the sixth with a bases-loaded RBI single, pushing the Tiger lead to 7-5. The Blue Tigers finally picked up a run against Chapman in the sixth to make the score 7-6, but they failed to capitalize on their leadoff batter reaching second base with no outs in the seventh. Chapman got a pair of fly outs surrounding a strikeout to end the threat and give the Tigers a doubleheader sweep.
Chapman allowed one run on five hits and struck out five to pick up her second win of the afternoon. She moved to 7-4 on the season.
Shannon Greene threw all seven innings for Lincoln, allowing seven runs (four earned) on 12 hits and a walk. She struck out two. Greene moved to 2-9 on the season.
Tiger Notes
-Fort Hays State had two bases-clearing 3-RBI doubles on the afternoon, one by Sierra Rodriguez and the other by Elise Capra in separate games.
– Chapman averaged 1.63 strikeouts per inning on the day, which translates to 11.4 per seven innings. She fanned 19 in 11.2 innings of work.
– Chapman threw her team-leading fifth complete game of the season in the pitching circle in Game 1.
– Chapman set a new career high for strikeouts in a game with 14 in Game 1, passing her previous record of 12 set last season.
– Elise Capra went 5-for-6 at the plate on the day and now leads the team in batting average for the season at .415.
– Sara Breckbill reached base five times on the day, including all four at bats of game two, and scored four runs in the doubleheader.
Up Next
Fort Hays State heads to St. Charles, Missouri for a conference doubleheader with Lindenwood University on Saturday (Mar. 23) at 12 pm. Live video and live stats will be available for the contests.