Flaherty’s stellar performance scores win for Tigers

STORY BY CAYDEN SANDERS
PHOTOS BY TIM SCHOEPFLIN AND MADISON SHAPLAND

This season has been about milestones for the Fort Hays State baseball team, and a main focus for the program has been hitting small, reachable goals every week. With these goals in mind, the Tigers had the tall task of playing Missouri Southern this weekend, a top-five team nationally with a 25-7 record entering the contest. While Missouri Southern won the series, the Tigers stunned the mighty Lion offense on Sunday, 7-4.

“Coming into the weekend, we knew it was going to be tough, and we knew if we wanted to win, we had to play clean, good baseball,” FHSU Head Coach Justin Wichert said.

For the Tigers (14-22), the headline of the game was Cade Flaherty, as the 6’3” sophomore was dealing. Flaherty did not give up a hit to the Lion offense in the first two innings. In the third inning, Flaherty gave up hits by Drew Davis and Tyler Ferguson. Davis scored, but Flaherty ended the third inning with three consecutive outs. 

The Lions (27-8) attacked Flaherty in the fifth inning, scoring three runs and had two runners on the bases, but a swinging strikeout from Tregan Parker stranded the MSSU runners. 

“When I was going through the fifth inning, it seemed that I would not make it out, but having a coach like Wichert supportive and telling me to keep competing is something special, especially when you know he supports you,” Flaherty said.

After that, Flaherty cruised past the Lions in the next three innings of work. The Tiger showed his claws on the mound getting two flyouts, four groundouts, and four strikeouts that were all looking. Flaherty had 123 pitches on the day and completed the game, earning a second win this season on the bump. 

For Flaherty, he said the game against the Lions is one in his books.

“I have a lot of respect for those guys; I mean, there is a reason why they are one of the best in the country, and to come out of here and have an outing like I did today takes the cake,” Flaherty said.

Wichert elaborated on Flaherty’s performance for the Tigers.

“Cade [Flaherty] is a good kid, and he comes to practice every day and comes to work hard, and to have an outing like he did is something that was possible,” Wichert said. “It was just being able to have a couple things go his way and carried the rest of the way.”

Fort Hays State had its chances in the game on Saturday against the Lions. Still, MSSU’s offense scored nine runs in the fifth and sixth inning, and the Tigers could not overcome the offensive power the Lions showed even though the Tigers had the lead going into the top of the fifth. MSSU won Saturday’s tilt, 17-8 and also defeated FHSU 13-3 on Friday. 

“We had our chances in the game on Saturday, we just could not capitalize on the opportunity,” Wichert said.

FHSU’s win on Sunday was the first against MSSU since 2016 and the Tigers’ first win over a ranked opponent in over a decade when in 2012, FHSU beat No. 28 Emporia State and No. 1 Central Missouri. 

The Tigers will look to carry their momentum on the road this next against Rockhurst on Tuesday. FHSU will then travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to take on the Northeastern State RiverHawks for a weekend series Thursday-Saturday.