By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Fort Hays State baseball team could not quite get things done Thursday (March 11), falling in both ends of a doubleheader at No. 14 Central Missouri. The Mules pulled away with a 9-0 win in the series opener before the Tigers battled to an 8-5 loss in game 2.
The teams will attempt to get in game 3 beginning at 10:30 a.m. Friday, With rain in the forecast in the morning, stay tuned to fhsuathletics.com and @fhsubaseball on twitter for any further updates.
Game 1 – No. 14 Central Missouri 9, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State held the Mules at bay over the first three innings of game one, allowing just one run on two hits. But the Mules erupted for five runs on six hits in the fourth inning, including a pair of home runs to take a 6-0 lead. UCM pushed across three more runs in the sixth to pad its lead to 9-0.
The Tigers were limited tofour hits, including one each from Jacob Bouzide, Garrett Stephens, Grant Schmidt and Griffin Brunson.
Jayce Meyer (0-1) took the loss in his first collegiate start after allowing six runs on eight hits over 3.1 innings of work. Jake Steinbring tossed 2.2 innings of relief, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out two. Brayden Smith and Ryan Brown finished the game with each tossing one scoreless inning.
Game 2 – No. 14 Central Missouri 8, Fort Hays State 5
The Tigers got the bats going in game two, jumping in front in the top of the first on a home run to right from Garrett Stephens. The redshirt-senior drove in Kade Wallace who opened the two-out rally with a single to left center.
Central Missouri responded with a run in the home half of the first, but Fort Hays State tacked on two more runs in the second to go up 4-1. Jaxson Webb turned a 1-2 count into a walk after taking three straight pitches before moving to second on a single from Connor Kessler. Griffin Brunson followed with a double into the left-field corner, plating Webb and Kessler.
The Mules fought back with five runs in the next half inning, taking advantage of four hits and three hit-by-pitches. Central Missouri added another run in the third before being held scoreless in four consecutive innings.
Grant Schmidt helped the Tigers close the gap to 7-5 with an RBI double in the top of the fifth, plating Wallace.
Kessler was 3-for-4 with one run in the second game, while Kade Wallace scored a team-high two runs. Brunson was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI while Stephens also drove in a pair of runs with one hit and one walk.
Jake Campbell (2-1) took the loss after allowing six runs on four hits over 1.1 innings of work. Jacob Ensz tossed 4.2 effective innings of relief, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out four batters. Jacob Douglas tossed the next 1.1 innings and allowed one run on two hits, while Dustin Menard came on for the final two outs, including one strikeout.