By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
EMPORIA, Kan. – Fort Hays State notched a split for the second straight day in conference play, this time at Emporia State on Saturday (Mar. 27). The Hornets took game one 5-0, but trio of home runs proved to be the difference in a 7-5 game two win for the Tigers. FHSU is now 10-12 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA. ESU moved to 13-9 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Emporia State 5, Fort Hays State 0
Emporia State took an early 1-0 lead when Kelsey Phillips helped her own cause with an RBI single in the first inning. The Hornets plated three unearned runs in the third inning when a Tiger error extended the inning. The Hornets tacked on their final run in the fourth with another RBI single.
The Tigers produced seven hits off Phillips, who threw a complete-game shutout for the Hornets. She only struck out one batter. Katie Adler and Grace Philop each had two hits for the Tigers. The Tigers only reached scoring position twice, once in the third inning and once in the seventh.
Michaelanne Nelson took the loss for FHSU, but only allowed one earned run. She scattered four hits over 3.0 innings of work and struck out three. Jessica Espinoza threw three innings of relief, allowing one run on three hits with a strikeout.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 7, Emporia State 5
The Tigers did the majority of their damage in game two on three home runs. Kristen Reed put the Tigers on the board first with a two-run blast in the second. Elisa Capra immediately followed with a solo blast to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, Katie Adler came in to score on a wild pitch, giving FHSU a 4-0 advantage. In the fourth inning, the Tigers took a commanding 7-0 lead when Sara Breckbill hit a three-run bomb.
Emporia State managed to chip away at the Tiger lead, scoring twice in the bottom of the fourth and once in the fifth. The Hornets put together a rally in the seventh, plating two runs and getting the tying run to the plate, but a ground out ended the game.
Hailey Chapman notched a complete-game win for the Tigers, allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks. She struck out two. Sydney Righi took the loss for ESU, allowing four runs (two earned) in just 1.1 innings. Josie Harrison pitched the final 5.2 innings for the Hornets and struck out two. Breckbill and Capra each finished with two hits in the game for FHSU.
The Tigers are finally scheduled to be at home next week for another pair of MIAA doubleheaders. The Tigers will take on Pittsburg State on Friday (Apr. 2) at 2 pm, then face Missouri Southern on Saturday (Apr. 3) at 12 pm.
Friday
TOPEKA, Kan. – Fort Hays State Softball earned a split on Friday (Mar. 26) in its conference doubleheader at Washburn. Jaycee Ginter threw a no-hitter against FHSU, resulting in a 2-0 win for Washburn. But Michaelanne Nelson countered with her second-straight two-hit shutout in conference action, striking out 11 and propelling the Tigers to a 4-0 win in game two.
Game 1: Washburn 2, Fort Hays State 0
Jaycee Ginter was nearly perfect against the Tigers in the first game of the day. She faced 22 batters and a walk allowed to Grace Philop in the second was only flaw separating her from a perfect game. The Tigers were able to put the ball in play throughout the game, but they never found any holes as Ginter recorded only two strikeouts in her no-hit effort.
Hailey Chapman kept the Tigers in the game by surrendering just two runs in the pitching circle. Ginter helped her own cause in the first inning with an RBI double and Marrit Mead added a sacrifice fly RBI in the fourth inning. Otherwise, Chapman worked around eight hits and three walks to limit the Ichabods to just the pair of runs.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 4, Washburn 0
After throwing a two-hit shutout in her first MIAA game of the season last week at Lincoln, Michaelanne Nelson backed it up with another two-hit shutout in game two of the doubleheader with Washburn. Both of Nelson’s two-hit shutouts came in 4-0 wins by the Tigers. Nelson struck out a season-high 11 batters on Friday to help the Tigers gain the split with the Ichabods. Nelson at one point retired 13 straight batters from the first inning through the end of the fifth. She allowed only one walk.
The Tigers finally broke through on offense with a big fourth inning. Loren Beggs started the rally with a single and Sara Breckbill followed with a double. Grace Philop knocked in the first run of the game with a single and Kristen Reed followed with a 2-RBI double. Jessica Espinoza drew a walk to force Washburn starter Raegan Hamm from the game as she handed the ball to Ashlie Thissen for the final 3.2 innings. Terran Caldwell knocked in another run with a single, pushing the Tiger lead to four.
That was plenty of offense for Nelson, who worked around her only walk of the game in the sixth by getting a double play ball on the infield. She allowed her second hit with two outs in the seventh before striking out Bri Francis to end the game.
All nine Tigers in the starting lineup reached base. All but Espinoza recorded hits in the game, but she drew FHSU’s only walk of the game in the fourth.