By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Before opening the conference season next week, the Fort Hays State baseball team will host CSU-Pueblo in a four-game series this weekend (Feb. 21-23) at Larks Park. The Tigers (9-3) and ThunderWolves (3-3) are slated to open the series at 3 p.m. Friday before facing off in a doubleheader at noon Saturday. The series finale is set for a noon first pitch on Sunday.
The former RMAC rivals are playing for the first time since the Tigers made the move to the MIAA before the 2007 season. CSU-Pueblo holds a 44-33 lead in the all-time series, including a slim 17-14 lead in games played in Hays. The ThunderWolves have not traveled to Hays since completing a four-game sweep in 2005.
Fort Hays State leads the MIAA with a .308 batting average while scoring a league-high 85 runs to date, averaging 7.1 runs per game. The Tigers have clubbed 14 home runs through 12 games, the most in the conference and ninth-most nationally. The Tiger pitching staff has struck out 89 batters so far this season, fourth-most in the MIAA.
Senior catcher Garrett Stephens, the reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week, is the national leader in hits (23) and total bases (42), while Drake Angeron has swiped a Division II-best 12 bases. Jacob Ensz has struck out 21 batters over 13.2 innings of work, ranking sixth in the conference with 13.83 strikeouts per nine innings.
CSU-Pueblo is playing on the road for the first time this season after hosting its first six games of the year. The Pack opened the season by taking two out of three games against MIAA rival Emporia State. The ThunderWolves are batting .257 as a team on the year and are averaging 5.8 runs per contest. Aidan Welch has hit safely in all six games so far this season, leading the team with a .400 batting average, eight hits and 10 total bases. CSU-Pueblo’s pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.71 while striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings, 13th-most in Division II. Cole Martin has scattered three hits and two runs across a pair of starts this season, striking out 11 batters in nine innings of work. Opponents are batting just .103 against the junior righty.