By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The Fort Hays State baseball team dropped Sunday’s series finale against Central Oklahoma, 12-0, at Larks Park (March 20). Broncho starter Lawson Isaacs tossed a seven-inning perfect game, retiring all 21 batters he faced.
The Tigers put the ball in play 16 times, including 11 flyouts and five ground-outs.
Fort Hays State turned a pair of double plays in the contest, including an around-the-horn double dip to end the first inning and a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play to end the fifth.
Half of Central Oklahoma’s 12 runs were unearned after a pair of Tiger errors. UCO finished the game with 12 hits.
Jake Campbell (0-5) took the loss after allowing seven runs (three earned) on nine hits over 4.0 innings of work. The starter struck out one and did not walk a batter. Cade Flaherty added two strikeouts in 2.0 innings of relief while giving up three runs on two hits and three walks. Cole Zimmerman tossed the final inning out of the bullpen, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and two walks.
The Tigers are scheduled to return to action Tuesday for a midweek doubleheader against Colorado Christian. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Saturday
The Fort Hays State baseball team rallied from 6-1 down to get the tying run 90 feet away in the ninth inning Saturday (March 19), but Central Oklahoma held on for the 6-5 win after back-to-back strikeouts closed things out. The Tigers (3-21, 2-10 MIAA) scored the final four runs in the game, but six Broncho (13-10, 7-5 MIAA) runs over the first four innings proved to be just enough.
Central Oklahoma scored a pair of two-out runs in the top of the first before the Tigers cut the deficit in half in the home half. A solid single from Ed Scott followed walks to Jenner Kehe and Brady Kreutzer, loading the bases with no outs. Grant Schmidt came through with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Kehe, but the Bronchos got out of the jam with a strikeout, batter interference double play.
Tiger starter Hunter Parker (0-5) retired the side in order in the second before the Bronchos put together another two-out rally in the third, scoring two more runs on three hits. UCO tacked on another two-spot in the fourth, pushing the lead to 6-1.
Fort Hays State answered right back, scoring two runs of its own in the bottom of the fourth. Scott reached on an error to lead things off before Broncho starter Tucker Elliott (2-1) walked four consecutive batters, making the score 6-3. But Elliott finally got out of the jam with a strikeout and a double play ball to short.
Parker worked around a hit in the fifth before Zach Berg came on to pitch in the sixth. The reliver tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two batters to give the Tigers the chance to complete the comeback.
The Tigers scored one final run off Elliott in the fifth when Kehe worked his second walk of the game. The speedy second baseman took second on a wild pitch before advancing to third on a fly ball to right. He later scored on a wild pitch, helping the Tigers close within 6-4.
Central Oklahoma went to the bullpen in the sixth, with the Tigers stranding runners on the corners before going down in order in the seventh against A.J. Ozorio-Brace. Fort Hays State closed within one in the bottom of the eighth on a solo home run from Schmidt, the senior’s team-best seventh home run of the season. The Hastings, Neb. native swung at the first pitch thrown by reliever Beaux Bonvillain, sending a no-doubter sailing over the wall in dead center.
Kade Wallace followed with a single, but the hard-throwing lefty got out of the inning with a pop up, a strikeout and a ground out.
After Berg retired the final six batters he faced, pinch hitter Cade Flaherty opened the bottom of the ninth with a base knock to left off UCO closer Kyler Patterson. Kehe followed with a single to center, putting the winning run on base with zero outs. Pinch runner Dylan Hupfer advanced to third on a hard-hit flyout from Kreutzer before Patterson locked down his fifth save of the season with back-to-back strikeouts.
Parker struck out three batters across 5.0 innings of work, giving up six runs on seven hits and four walks. Schmidt scored two runs and drove in two more, while Wallace (2-for-3) was the lone Tiger with multiple hits.
Friday
The Fort Hays State baseball team fell behind early and couldn’t quite complete the comeback, falling to Central Oklahoma 10-6 in the series opener Friday (March 18).
Both sides went down in order in the first inning before Central Oklahoma plated five runs with two outs in the second inning. The Tigers got one run back in the home half when Ty Campbell plated Kate Wallace with a single to center. An RBI double off the bat of Grant Schmidt brought Brady Kreutzer in to score in the third before the Bronchos went back up by five with two runs in the fourth.
Central Oklahoma then scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before the Tigers scored four runs down the stretch to close the gap. Schmidt picked up another RBI in the sixth inning when he crushed a solo home run over the fence in left center, his team-high sixth long ball of the season. Traelon Yarbough kept the inning going with a two-out infield single before coming in to score on a base hit from Campbell.
Jenner Kehe then led the seventh inning with a single, later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Ed Scott. The Tigers closed within four in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run from Kate Wallace, his first home run of the season. The Tigers later had the tying run on deck in the inning, but UCO got out of the jam with two strikeouts. Schmidt picked up his third hit on the day with a single in the ninth, before the Bronchos closed things out with a nice catch on the final out.
Sammy Sanchez (2-3) tossed 2.0 innings as the starter, giving up five runs on five hits and one walk. Dustin Menard struck out a pair in 3.0 innings of relief while allowing three runs on five hits. Tanner Lukowski gave up two runs on one hit and two walks over 2.0 innings of work, while Jacob Douglas tossed two scoreless innings in the final frames on two hits and two strikeouts.
Schmidt finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run. Campbell also drove in a pair on a 2-for-3 day. Kreutzer, Wallace and Yarbrough also picked up two hits each.