Baseball drops Sunday game at Washburn

By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team dropped Sunday’s contest against Washburn, 6-3, after another late Ichabod rally (Feb. 27). The Tigers led for much of the contest after early home runs from Mikey Felton and Grant Schmidt, but a three-run rally in the eighth propelled Washburn into the lead for good.

Tiger starter Hunter Parker nearly worked around a triple in the first inning, but the run came in to score with two outs on a wild pitch. FHSU quickly responded with Felton’s first home run as a Tiger. The catcher fell behind in the count 0-2 before working it back to 3-2. He then sent a towering fly over the fence in left center, knotting things up at 1-1.

Parker retired the side in order in the second before the Tigers jumped in front in the top of the third. Ed Scott worked a one-out walk before Schmidt followed with a two-run homer to left. The senior fouled off five pitches in the at bat before squaring up on a pitch for his fourth long ball of the season.

Parker scattered five hits over the next five innings, with Washburn manufacturing a run in the fifth before tying it up with a solo shot in the sixth. The Tigers had runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but the Washburn pitching staff got out of the jam each time.

The Tigers went to the bullpen in the eighth, bringing in the lefty Dustin Menard (0-1). The Ichabods had two on and two out before rattling off back-to-back singles to take a 6-3 lead.

Jaxson Webb gave FHSU a chance with a leadoff single in the ninth before Traelon Yarbrough sent the tying run to the plate with a pinch-hit single on the first pitch he saw. But the Ichabods capped off the win with a 6-4-3 double play.

Parker went seven strong, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Menard was issued the loss after giving up three runs on three hits and one walk. FHSU had six hits from six different players for the second day in a row. Jenner Kehe worked a walk in his third at bat, extending his on-base streak to 14 games.

The Tigers and Ichabods wrap up the series Monday (Feb. 28) beginning at 1 p.m.

Saturday

The Fort Hays State baseball team got a solid start from Sammy Sanchez and a good effort from relievers Zach Berg and Dylan Hamilton, but Washburn was the team that ended up finding the game-winning run in extra innings Saturday (Feb. 26). The Tigers (1-12, 0-1 MIAA) knotted things up with a rally in the ninth before the Ichabods (9-4, 1-0 MIAA) walked off in the 12th.

Fort Hays State jumped in front early after Jenner Kehe worked another walk, his league-leading 13th of the season. He then swiped his fourth bag of the year before scoring on a single from Grant Schmidt. The Tigers went on to load the bases with just one out, but Washburn got out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.

Sanchez was rolling from the start, tossing one of his four one-two-three innings in the home half of the first. He worked around a walk and two hits in the second to escape unscathed before retiring the next 10 batters he faced. The Ichabods finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth with a home run, but Sanchez shook that off with back-to-back strikeouts. He then worked around three hits to post another zero in the seventh, his final inning of work.

The Tigers had chances on offense, picking up base runners in each of the first six innings. But Ichabod starter Rane Pfeifer and long reliever Dalton Huggins always found a way to get out of the jam. Huggins appeared to be in line for a win after retiring eight in a row, leading to a two-out, nobody on situation in the top of the ninth. Griffin Brunson had other thoughts, working a five-pitch walk to keep the inning going. Kehe followed with a single before Ed Scott tied things up with an RBI single between the short stop and third baseman. A throw from left tried to catch Brunson at home, but the shortstop beat the throw easily.

After coming on to retire the side in order in the eighth, Zach Berg got into a little bit of trouble in the ninth with a leadoff double. It was later first and third with one out, but the redshirt-junior got out of the jam with a pop out and a flyout, sending things to extra innings.

Fort Hays State had two men on in both the 11th and 12th innings, but could not get a run across. Berg worked around a walk in the 10th to keep things going before Dylan Hamilton retired the side in order in the 11th. Washburn finally pushed a run across with a sacrifice fly in the 12th after two walks and a bunt single loaded the bases with one out.

Sanchez struck out eight Ichabods over 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and just one walk. Berg tossed 3.0 scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out one. Hamilton (0-1) took the loss after allowing one run on one hit and two walks over 1.2 innings of relief.

The Tigers had six hits from six different players in the contest. Fort Hays State did not commit an error for the third time this season, compared to two fielding miscues by the Ichabods.

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