By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State had a good chance to win both games of an MIAA doubleheader on Sunday (Apr. 16), only to see Central Missouri rally past late in each game. Errors were very costly to the Tigers in both games as the Jennies won by scores of 10-9 and 6-4. UCM improved to 29-14 overall, 13-7 in the MIAA, while FHSU moved to 25-18 overall, 7-9 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Central Missouri 10, Fort Hays State 9
Fort Hays State had a five-run lead going into the bottom of the sixth, only to see Central Missouri benefit from a pair of very costly errors and rally for six runs in the inning to get past FHSU.
The Tigers scored first, benefitting from Central Missouri’s only error of the game in the top of the first. Peyton Shepard reached by error to open the game. She eventually reached third and came in to score on an RBI double by Loren Beggs.
The Jennies moved in front with three runs in the bottom half of the first. A two-out, two-run homer pushed them into the lead, 3-1.
The Tigers rallied past the Jennies in the third with five runs. Adysen Burghart led off the frame with a single, then Sarah Tiffany singled and moved up to second on a throw, giving the Tigers runners in scoring position with one out. Beggs was hit by a pitch, then Madison Pierce looped an RBI single to right field to make it 3-2. With two outs, Regan Curry kept the rally going with a flare RBI single to right field to tie the game. Immediately following, Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson cleared the bases with a 3-RBI double to vault the Tigers to a 6-3 lead. The Jennies moved back within two in the bottom half of the inning after a walk and RBI double.
The Tigers made another big two-out rally in the top of the sixth to take what looked to be solid command of the game. Shepard drew a walk and motored all the way around to score on a Sarah Tiffany RBI double. Beggs backed Tiffany with another RBI double to make it 8-4. Pierce capped the rally with an RBI single.
The Jennies started their big sixth-inning rally with a single and double. A ground out pushed their first run across, but then a Tiger error for what should have been the second out started a bad chain of events. A two-run triple made it 9-7, then an RBI single made it 9-8. Then with two outs, a dropped fly ball should have been the end of the inning and allowed the tying run to come across. Adrian Pilkington relieved Savanah Egger, handing the ball to Morgan Schmidt. The bad fortune continued when Schmidt got a swinging strikeout that should have left the game tied, but the ball got away and allowed the batter to reach safely. With the bases loaded, UCM drew a walk for what turned out to be the game-winning run.
Reese Curry singled to leadoff the seventh and moved up to second on a sacrifice, but the Tigers lined out and grounded out to end the game.
Tiger pitchers had seven strikeouts in the game, five by Egger and two by Schmidt. The loss went to Egger, who threw 5.2 innings of the contest. UCM used three pitchers in the game and second reliever Kyleigh Lay ended up with a win in 1.1 innings pitched. The Tigers tagged Paige Petefish for six runs (five earned) runs in 3.0 innings, then reliever Mandy Hansen for three runs in 2.2 innings.
Game 2: Central Missouri 6, Fort Hays State 4
Just like game one, the Tigers took a healthy lead before seeing the Jennies rally right back to tie the game. UCM ended up winning in walk-off fashion on a two-run homer in the seventh.
Central Missouri took the initial lead in the game, 1-0 in the first inning. A leadoff walk preceded an RBI double by Ashlyn Cook. UCM pitcher Andi Siebeneck retired nine of the first 10 Tigers she faced, yielding just a walk, but Sarah Tiffany ended that in the top of the fourth with a solo homer to dead center tying the game at 1-1.
The Tigers did the majority of their damage in the top of the fifth inning, started by a leadoff walk to Regan Curry. Aubrey Martinez gave the Tigers two runners with a single, then Adysen Burghart put a charge into a ball into right center for a double that scored Curry. Tiffany then picked up her second and third RBIs of the game with a clutch two-out single to left field, making it 4-1 in favor of FHSU.
The Jennies immediately rallied back in the bottom half of the fifth. A one-out single and then a fielding error by the Tigers opened the door for a game-tying three-run home run by Abbey Fischer. That put an end to Bailey Carlson’safternoon in the circle and Morgan Schmidt went the rest of the way for the Tigers.
The Tigers left a golden opportunity stranded on third in the seventh. Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson singled to open the inning and they Sydnee Hoffman ran for her. She eventually moved up to just one station away from home plate with one out after a sacrifice and a wild pitch. However, the Tigers were unable to get her home in two chances at the dish. In the bottom half of the inning, a flare to left center dropped in and got past the Tiger fielders going all the way to the wall. With a runner at third and no outs, the Fischer ended the game with her second homer of the contest. She had five of UCM’s six RBIs in the game.
Schmidt took the loss for FHSU and finished with two strikeouts in her 1.2 innings of work. Carlson threw the first 4.1 innings and struck out one. The error before Fischer’s home run in the fifth was the only unearned run of the game. Kyleigh Lay was able to vulture her second win of the day by getting all three outs in the seventh. Siebeneck gave up the single to Ramirez-Johnson before handing the ball to Lay. Siebeneck allowed all four Tiger runs and struck out four.
The Tigers will wrap up their road trip to Missouri at Lincoln University on Monday (Apr. 17) in Jefferson City. The doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m.