BY FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The Fort Hays State baseball team came up on the losing end of an 11-4 rain-soaked contest Sunday (Feb. 23) against CSU-Pueblo. The game was called after eight innings due to the increasingly soggy conditions.
The Tigers (10-6) seemed to be in control early, taking the lead in the first inning on offense while starter Jacob Ensz struck out six batters over the first three frames. But the ThunderWolves (6-4) got things rolling in the fourth inning, plating five runs before adding to its lead with three runs in the fifth and three more in the eighth.
After Ensz struck out two in the top of the first, Grant Schmidt started a two-out rally when he pulled a double to left. Corbin Truslow followed with a double of his own into the right-center gap, driving in the first run of the game.
Garrett Stephens led off the third with a base knock back up the middle, prompting the ThunderWolves to go to the bullpen. JC Hatch came on to throw four consecutive scoreless innings, retiring nine straight Tigers.
Ensz allowed just one runner over the first three frames before CSU-Pueblo got its bats going the second time through the lineup. The ThunderWolves pushed across five runs on four hits in the fourth, forcing the Tigers to go to the bullpen in Dylan Hamilton.
Hamilton got the final out in the fourth inning right away, but the ThunderWolves tacked on three runs against the righty in the fifth. Jacob Douglas then needed just one pitch to get out of the inning with a lineout.
Fort Hays State finally got the best of Hatch in the home half of the seventh when Griffin Brunson worked a one-out walk. Jeb Sauer followed with a deep drive to left center, tallying his second home run of the year and helping the Tigers close within 8-3.
Drake Angeron kept things rolling with a bunt single, leading to Pueblo going back to the pen in Logan Gibbons. Stephens swung at the first pitch Gibbons threw and sent it to the warning track in right field, plating Angeron from first. The ThunderWolves escaped the inning with a four-run lead after Gibbons managed a strikeout and groundout.
Despite striking out seven batters, Ensz (3-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on five hits over 3.2 innings of work. Stephens and Truslow both picked up a pair of base hits while Sauer drove in a team-high two runs.
The Tigers will hit the road for the first time this season when they open MIAA play at Pittsburg State next weekend (Feb. 28-March 1). First pitch in Friday’s series opener is slated for 3 p.m. from Al Ortolani Field in Pittsburg, Kan.