By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State Softball picked up a split in its doubleheader with Missouri Western on Sunday (Mar. 12) at Tiger Stadium. The Griffons took game one 8-2, but the Tigers bounced for a come-from-behind 3-2 win in game two. FHSU is now 13-9 overall, 2-2 in the MIAA, while MWSU went to 11-4 overall, 1-1 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Missouri Western 8, Fort Hays State 2
Missouri Western built an 8-0 lead in game one with two runs in the second, two in the third, and four in the fourth. They were one out away from invoking the run rule in the fifth, but Peyton Shepard legged out an infield RBI single to score Regan Curry who led off the inning with a hit. The Tigers got another run in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Loren Beggs and Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson to make it 8-2, which turned out to be the final.
The Griffons scored their first four runs off Tiger starter Savanah Egger. Adrian Pilkington turned the ball over to Morgan Schmidt with two outs in the third and she surrendered four runs in the fourth, but only two were earned. Egger returned to pitch at the start of the fifth inning and held the Griffons scoreless the rest of the way. Three of her four runs surrendered were earned and she moved to 6-4 on the year with the loss. Egger struck out eight Griffons in 5.2 innings of work, while Schmidt fanned one in her 1.1 innings thrown.
Kennedy Preston collected three of seven RBIs in the game for MWSU. Sam Pederson threw a complete game for the Griffons, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. She remained unbeaten on the season, now at 5-0.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 3, Missouri Western 2
Fort Hays State fell behind 1-0 in the second contest of the day, but turned the tide in its favor in the fourth inning on a two-run home run by Carly Stuke. Harley Pruetting leveled the score in the fifth with a solo homer for the Griffons, but the Tigers benefitted from a pair of errors in the bottom of the fifth to manufacture a run and take the lead for good at 3-2. Loren Beggs knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.
Pitcher Emma Montoya and the Tigers were able to dance out of danger several times throughout the contest. In the first, Missouri Western tried to execute a double steal of second and home, but Adysen Burghart cut down the runner at the plate to keep the inning scoreless. Montoya escaped a bases-loaded situation in the fourth with a strikeout of red-hot Mackenzie DeVine, who was 4-for-4 on the day to that point. With runners at second and third in the sixth she got DeVine again, this time looking at strike three to get the second out, and then Peyton Shepardtracked a ball down in foul territory for the third out. In the seventh, the Griffons led off with a single and got the runner to third before Montoya punched out Rian Gere looking to end the game.
Montoya threw 146 pitches in her complete-game win to move to 2-1 on the season. She struck out eight and allowed seven hits and seven walks. Pruetting was the starting pitcher for the Griffons and lasted 3.0 innings. She gave up two runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts before handing the ball to Natalie Kissinger in the fourth following Stuke’s home run. Kissinger did not allow a hit and struck out four, but took the loss with the run surrendered in the fifth via a pair of errors, a walk, and the sac fly by Beggs.
The Tigers step outside of conference play for their next eight games. They play doubleheaders at MSU Denver and CSU-Pueblo in Colorado on Tuesday (Mar. 14) and Wednesday (Mar. 15) this week, then host Colorado School of Mines for a four-game series on March 21-22 before returning to MIAA play.
Saturday
Fort Hays State split its MIAA-opening doubleheader with Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Mar. 11). The Tigers held on for a 2-1 win in game one, but fell 4-0 in the second contest. The Tigers moved to 12-8 overall, 1-1 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats moved to 13-7 overall, 1-1 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 2, Northwest Missouri State 1
Savanah Egger held on for a complete-game, 2-1 win in the first contest of the day. She held the Bearcats scoreless through six innings and then fought off the potential tying run late after allowing consecutive doubles to open the seventh. She ended the Bearcat rally with a fly out, strikeout, and a pop up to end the game, stranding the potential tying run at third.
Egger and Northwest Missouri State pitcher Breck Dickey were matching each other with zeros on the scoreboard through four innings until FHSU finally broke through in the fifth. Lexi Mohr started a rally with a two-out walk. Reese Curry pinch ran for her and then after fouling three straight pitches off, Aubrey Martinez placed a hit perfectly down the right field line for a triple. That scored Curry and then Martinez came in to score on an RBI single by Peyton Shepard, who finished the first contest 3-for-3 at the plate. Shepard also had a pair of stolen bases in the game.
That was just enough offense for Egger who allowed just two hits through the first six innings. She finished with four hits allowed and just one walk, while striking out six to move to 6-3 on the season. Dickey also threw a complete game with four hits allowed, one walk, and eight strikeouts, moving to 3-4 with the loss despite holding the Tigers scoreless in five of six innings.
Game 2: Northwest Missouri State 4, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State struggled to get anything going against Jadyn Streigle, who threw a complete game shutout for Northwest Missouri State in the second contest. She retired the first 13 batters of the game for FHSU until Carly Stukebroke up her no-hit bid in the fifth with a single up the middle. Streigle finished with just three hits allowed and had one strikeout, though she induced plenty of weak contact by the Tigers throughout the game.
Aside from Stuke, Peyton Shepard and Regan Curry were the other Tigers to record hits in the game, all singles.
Bailey Carlson took the loss for FHSU, throwing the first 2.2 innings before handing the ball to Morgan Schmidt. Carlson allowed three runs to the Bearcats in the third, but finished with four strikeouts. She is now 3-3 on the season. Schmidt continued her high strikeout rate for the season with eight in 4.1 innings of work. She mowed down the first four Bearcats she saw. Schmidt gave up a run in the sixth and surrendered four hits.