By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State closed out its first weekend trip to Oklahoma with a win on Saturday (Feb. 12). The Tigers knocked off Midwestern State 5-4 to close out their weekend action, but fell earlier in the day to undefeated Cameron University by a score of 7-4.
Cameron 7, Fort Hays State 4
Fort Hays State took an early 1-0 advantage on a Madison Pierce solo home run in the second inning, but Cameron rallied for six runs in the third and then added another in the fifth to build a 7-1 lead. The Tigers made a late push by scoring two in the sixth and one in the seventh, but came up short in a comeback effort.
The Tigers were able to load the bases with one out in the fifth and Betsy Parmley provided a sacrifice fly RBI to make it 7-2. The Tigers loaded the bases again and then scored another run on a fielding error. In the seventh, Emily Jordan doubled to open the inning and then Loren Beggs laced an RBI single through the right side. But the late rally ran out of steam as the Aggies retired the next three Tigers to preserve their 3-run victory.
Jocelyn Bright threw the first 5.1 innings for the Aggies to get the win. She struck out four Tigers, but struggled with command allowing six walks and the first three Tiger runs (two earned). Erika Flynn took a tough-luck loss. She kept the Aggies hitless through the first two innings and later re-entered after handing the ball to Morgan Schmidt in the third with one out. Flynn picked up the final three outs and finished with 3.1 innings pitched with four runs allowed and two strikeouts. Schmidt surrendered three runs in 1.2 innings of work and Bailey Carlson did not have any runs charged in 1.0 innings of action.
Fort Hays State 5, Midwestern State 4
Midwestern State opened the scoring in game two with a run in the second inning, but the Tigers rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the second to take a 3-1 lead. Betsy Parmley had her second sacrifice fly RBI of the day, then Regan Curry picked up an RBI on an infield grounder, and Lindsey Kelly drove in a run with an infield single. Kelly finished with two of FHSU’s four hits in the game. The Tigers added on a run in the fourth when they executed a double steal of second and home with Sarah Tiffany and Loren Beggs.
Midwestern State got a run back in the fifth to make it 4-2 and the Tigers tacked on their final run of the game in the bottom half of the inning when Sydnee Hoffman scored on a wild pitch. That proved to be the game-winning run as the Mustangs found two runs in the sixth, but no more against Savanah Egger.
Egger pitched the first complete game of her collegiate career, striking out nine Mustangs over the seven-inning effort. She retired the side in order in the seventh, getting the first two batters with strikeouts. Malea Rodriguez also threw a complete game for MSU, allowing four hits and five walks.
The Tigers (2-6) will head back to the Oklahoma City area next Thursday and Friday (Feb. 17-18) for four more games. All four opponents are from the Great American Conference, which includes East Central, Oklahoma Baptist, Southern Arkansas, and Arkansas Tech.
Friday
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Fort Hays State Softball fell twice on Friday (Feb. 11) at Tom Heath Field in Oklahoma City. FHSU fell 14-9 to Southern Nazarene in their first contest before No. 15 ranked Oklahoma Christian claimed a 9-1 victory over the Tigers on its home turf.
Southern Nazarene 14, Fort Hays State 9
The Tigers fell in a 5-0 hole right away and never could catch up to the Crimson Storm. Even though the Tigers scored in every inning but the seventh, the Crimson Storm had three innings in which they scored three or more runs. FHSU held SNU scoreless in two of the seven innings.
Four of the five runs Southern Nazarene scored in the first inning were unearned, caused by an early Tiger error. Sara Breckbill was able to get one of the runs back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single. The Crimson Storm tacked on three more runs in the second to take an 8-1 lead, but the Tigers kept chipping away and scored twice in the second on a 2-RBI single by Sarah Tiffany.
The Tigers kept charging back into the game in the third when they scored three. A pair of doubles by Madison Pierce and Regan Curry and a single by Elise Capra set up a bases loaded situation for the Tigers. SNU helped the Tiger cause by allowing one run to score on a passed ball and another on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Jessica Espinoza knocked home a run with an RBI groundout. FHSU trailed by just two, 8-6, going into the fourth.
The teams traded runs in the fourth. Capra generated the Tiger run in the frame with an RBI single, making the score 9-7. The Tigers looked to have the momentum to potentially charge back to even with the Crimson Storm, but three RBI singles (one a 2-RBI single) in the top of the fifth spoiled the Tiger climb and added four more runs to the SNU side. Tiffany provided a sacrifice fly RBI in the bottom of the fifth to get one of the four runs back, but SNU had its lead back to five with two innings to go. The teams traded runs once more in the sixth, the Tigers’ run coming on Madison Pierce’s first collegiate home run. That would make the final tally of 14-9 in favor of SNU.
Morgan Schmidt took the loss in the circle for the Tigers, even though half of her eight runs allowed were earned. She struck out three in 1.2 innings of work. Erika Flynn allowed five runs (four earned) in 2.2 innings of action and Savanah Egger allowed one (no earned) in 2.2 innings. Hannah Sattler picked up the win in relief for SNU since starter Jennifer Romero came up an out short of qualifying for the win. Romero surrendered the first seven runs to the Tigers (four earned) before Sattler allowed the final two.
Oklahoma Christian 9, Fort Hays State 1
Fort Hays State fell down 3-0 through three innings before putting its only tally on the board in the fourth inning. Madison Pierce plated the run on a sacrifice bunt, getting the Tigers back within two. Loren Beggs set up the opportunity for the Tigers with a double to open the inning. However, the Eagles went back up by three with a run in the bottom half of the inning, and then rallied for five more runs without making an out in the fifth inning to force the run-rule.
Savanah Egger pitched the first 3.2 innings for the Tigers and allowed four runs. Bailey Carlson picked up the final out of the fourth inning but still allowed three runs after facing three batters in the fifth. Morgan Schmidt came on in relief and allowed the final two runs to the Eagles over the three batters she faced.
Kali Crandall picked up the win for Oklahoma Christian in 4.1 innings of work, recording four strikeouts. Grace Anderson picked up a save in just 0.2 innings of work by entering with the Eagles ahead by just three and benefitted from the Eagle rally in the fifth.