By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State generated seven home runs during a doubleheader with Missouri Southern on Saturday (Mar. 27), but the Lions won both games by scores of 16-6 and 18-17. The No. 9 ranked Lions took all three games in the MIAA series.
Game 1: Missouri Southern 16, Fort Hays State 6
Missouri Southern jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an inning and never trailed in the first contest of the day. The Lions broke the game open in the fourth with five more runs, taking a commanding 7-0 lead.
FHSU broke through with a pair of runs in the fifth inning when Griffin Brunson recorded a two-RBI double. However, the Lions tacked on four more runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 11-2. MSSU went on to tack on another run in the eighth and four in the ninth.
FHSU countered MSSU with four runs over the last three innings. Grant Schmidt hit a solo homer and Ed Scott added an RBI single. Garrett Stephens capped the scoring in the game in the ninth with a two-run homer.
Will Bausinger moved to 5-1 on the season for MSSU by throwing the first 5.0 innings of the game. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out eight. MSSU got an inning of relief each out of four relievers.
Jake Campbell took the loss for FHSU, allowing the first seven runs of the game. He struck out four. Dylan Hamilton, Jake Steinbring, Dustin Menard, and Cade Peters all made relief appearances.
Game 2: Missouri Southern 18, Fort Hays State 17
Fort Hays State took the lead four times in a nightcap that saw plenty of offensive fireworks. The teams combined for 35 runs and 40 hits and 10 home runs (both with five) in game two. A three-run seventh inning by the Lions was the final of six lead changes in the game, which proved the be the difference in the contest.
Like game one, the Lions took a two-run lead following their first at bat. However, this time the Tigers countered with three runs in the bottom of the first to take their first lead of the day. Kade Wallace launched a solo homer to lead off for the Tigers and Corbin Truslow followed a few batters later with a two-run homer.
The Lions grabbed the lead back with three runs in the top of the second, but the Tigers leapt back in front with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Tyler Olson started the Tiger side of the inning with a solo homer and then Grant Schmidt hit his second homer of the day, a three-run shot, to put the Tigers up 7-5.
The Lions moved back in front with a seven-run third inning and the Tigers nearly evened the score in the bottom half of the inning with four more runs. Ed Scott scored on a passed ball, Griffin Brunson had an RBI ground out, Wallace laced an RBI double, and Jacob Bouzide added an RBI single. MSSU led 12-11 after three innings.
The Lions picked up another run in the fourth, but the Tigers stormed back in front with four runs in the fifth. Schmidt started the scoring with an RBI single, Drake Angeron was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game, Olson put the Tigers in front with an RBI single, and Garrett Stephens added a bases loaded walk. FHSU led 15-13 after five innings.
Each team traded two runs in the sixth. The Lions knotted the score at 15-15 with back-to-back solo home runs, but a Bouzide homer to lead off the bottom half of the inning put the Tigers in front for the fourth time in the game. Olson added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 17-15 Tigers.
With his second homer of the game, Joe Kinder pulled MSSU within one in the seventh. The Lions would put together a two-out rally with a double and RBI single. After a hit batter and a single to load the bases, the Lions scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch.
Missouri Southern relievers Scott Duensing and Logan Vanwey buckled down to hold the Tigers scoreless in the final three innings. Duensing picked up the win in relief and Vanwey recorded a save by retiring the Tigers in order in the ninth.
Hunter Parker took the loss in four innings of relief work for the Tigers. He followed Jayce Meyer and Jacob Ensz on the mound. Padraic Walsh kept the Lions scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings, striking out four in 2.1 innings of relief.
The Tigers hit the road next week for a three-game conference set at Northeastern State (Apr. 2-3).
Friday
Fort Hays State Baseball fell victim to three big run-scoring innings in a 12-2 loss to No. 9 ranked Missouri Southern on Friday evening (Mar. 26) at Larks Park. In a game that was scoreless through two innings, Missouri Southern scored four runs in the third, five runs in the fifth, and three in the sixth to pull away for a run-rule victory.
Back-to-back doubles by the Lions in the third plated three of their four runs in the inning. A single a couple batters later produced the fourth run. The Tigers countered by loading the bases in the bottom of the third when Jacob Bouzide produced the only hit off MSSU starter Zach Parish. Grant Schmidt drew a bases loaded walk to get the Tigers on the board, but a strikeout ended the Tiger threat. Parish went on to throw 5.0 innings and struck out eight, allowing just the one run on a hit and two walks.
The Lions broke the game open in the fifth on a one-out grand slam by Tommy Stevenson and a sacrifice fly later in the inning made the score 9-1. The Lions tacked on three more before the Tigers scored their second run in the bottom of the seventh. Garrett Stephens singled to open the inning and later came in to score on a passed ball.
Ryan Ruder took the loss on the mound, throwing the first 4.1 innings of the game. He struck out two Lions. Parish moved to 6-0 on the season for the Lions with the win. Conner Kessler, Padraic Walsh, and Tanner Lukowski threw in relief for the Tigers. Kessler was charged with the final three runs scored by MSSU.