By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Fort Hays State saw its win streak reach nine games behind a no-hitter by Morgan Schmidt in the first game of a doubleheader at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday (Mar. 28). It was the 14th no-hitter in the program’s NCAA Division II history in a 4-0 win by the Tigers. However, the season’s longest winning string came to an end in the second contest as the Tigers fell 4-2. FHSU moved to 22-11 overall, while SWOSU moved to 7-27 overall.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 4, Southwestern Oklahoma State 0
Morgan Schmidt had not seen action in the pitching circle for just over two weeks but returned with a bang by throwing the 14th no-hitter in Fort Hays State Softball’s NCAA Division II history. After retiring the first seven batters of the game, she allowed just one walk to the second batter of the third inning for SWOSU. Following that, she retired 14 consecutive batters on the way to her first career no-no.
Schmidt holds a high strikeout rate in the circle this year, averaging 12.32 per seven innings entering Tuesday. However, she did not need very many punchouts in this contest, finishing with just three. Eleven of the outs were flyouts and seven were groundouts. She threw 91 pitches. Schmidt has two complete games this season and both have been against Southwestern Oklahoma State. She threw a five-inning shutout against the Bulldogs in a 12-0 run-rule win in Wichita Falls, Texas back on February 11.
Schmidt’s no-hitter was the first since Michaelanne Nelson’s 8-inning no-hitter against Oklahoma Baptist back on February 16, 2020, in Oklahoma City. The last three FHSU no-hitters have been thrown in the state of Oklahoma as Paxton Duran threw a no-no at Northeastern State in Tahlequah back on March 21, 2014. Schmidt is the seventh individual to join the individual no-hitter club at FHSU. Six of the seven have all thrown one, while Maddie Holub threw seven in her career. Head coach Adrian (Mohr) Pilkington joined Holub for the only combined no-hitter in the program’s NCAA Division II history.
The Tigers picked up their first run of the contest in the second inning on a Lexi Mohr two-out RBI single. Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson had an RBI sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to make it 2-0. The Tigers picked up another pair of runs in the fifth with two outs. Three walks in the inning loaded the bases before Carly Stuke hit a single up the middle to plate a pair of runs, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Game 2: Southwestern Oklahoma State 4, Fort Hays State 2
Fort Hays State saw its 9-game win streak come to an end in game two as a timely two-out, two-run double by SWOSU in the bottom of the sixth broke a 2-2 tie between the teams. The Tigers got the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh, but the game ended on a flyout.
The Bulldogs took its first lead of the game in the second inning, also in a two-out situation. A pair of RBI singles pushed them in front 2-0. Bailey Carlson relieved Emma Montoya after just 1.2 innings of work. Montoya struck out four batters but allowed three hits and three walks in her outing.
The Tigers immediately evened the score in the third when Peyton Shepard led off with a single and Sarah Tiffany walked. Loren Beggs then brought both in to score on an RBI triple to the right-field corner. However, not getting Beggs across to score when they had no outs was costly for the Tigers as they went scoreless the remainder of the game. The Tigers had a runner in scoring position in the top of the sixth, but could not come up with a two-out hit to score the run.
SWOSU had a pair of two-out scoring chances in the third and fifth innings and went scoreless, but it finally cashed in on its opportunity in the sixth. A two-out walk and single set up Skyla McPhillips’ game-deciding double.
Carlson worked 4.1 innings, allowing four hits and five walks, while striking out two. Taryn Westbrook threw a complete game for the Bulldogs, allowing six hits and two walks. She struck out four.
The Tigers return to MIAA play this weekend in Hays, hosting Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern. The doubleheader with Pittsburg State on Friday begins at 1 p.m., then the doubleheader with Missouri Southern begins at 12 p.m. on Saturday.