By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
ALVA, Okla. – Fort Hays State left with a win and a tie from its doubleheader at Northwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday (Mar. 29). The Tigers took game one 6-1 before a pair of lightning delays ultimately halted play for good in game two, which ended in a 6-6 tie through six innings. The Tigers are now 14-17-1 overall on the season, while the Rangers went to 12-17-1 on the season.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 6, Northwestern Oklahoma State 1
Fort Hays State jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a half inning, which was plenty of cushion for Savanah Egger who threw a complete game in the circle. Egger allowed just one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out seven.
The Tigers built their cushion in the first when Sarah Tiffany doubled and moments later came in to score on an infield throwing error. Sara Breckbill and Madison Pierce each singled to set up a three-run home run by Regan Curry. An inning later, the Tigers pushed their lead to 5-0 when Kiana Blake doubled and came in to score on an RBI single by Tiffany.
Egger yielded the only NWOSU run of the game in the bottom of the second, but FHSU picked up an insurance run in the seventh to get their lead back to five on a Breckbill RBI. Tiffany led the Tigers with three of the team’s 10 hits. Breckbill and Blake each had two.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 6, Northwestern Oklahoma State 6
Like the first contest, the Tigers went on top with a four-run inning, this time in the second frame. Another three-run home run, this time by Kiana Blake, gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead and then Sarah Tiffany added an RBI double to make it 4-0. The Rangers hit solo home runs in both the second and third to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
The Tigers pushed their lead back out to four in the fourth when Sara Breckbill drove in a run and Jessica Espinoza and Sarah Tiffany executed a double steal of home and second.
The game saw its first lightning delay going into the fifth inning, already at official length since four innings had passed. But play resumed and the Rangers stormed back with a four-run fifth to get the game tied. They produced the runs on an RBI single, a sacrifice fly, and a two-run home run.
Both teams got runners aboard in the sixth but went scoreless and then the second lightning delay came along, which ultimately spelled the end of the day. The tie was the first in Fort Hays State’s NCAA Division II history for softball, which goes back to 1999.
Morgan Schmidt threw the first 4.1 innings for FHSU and allowed the six Ranger runs on eight hits and two walks. She struck out six. Savanah Egger threw the final 1.2 innings and struck out two with just one hit allowed.
The Tigers will head back on the road this weekend for a pair of MIAA doubleheaders. FHSU will be at Pittsburg State on Friday (Apr. 1) at 1 pm, then at Missouri Southern on Saturday (Apr. 2), also at 1 pm.