By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
A combined 22 strikeouts compared to just two walks from four Tiger pitchers helped the Fort Hays State baseball team to another doubleheader sweep Sunday afternoon (Feb. 18), propelling FHSU to a series sweep against New Mexico Highlands. The Tigers (10-2) pushed their winning streak to nine in a row, while the Cowboys are now 0-12 to start the season.
This is the fastest the Tigers have reached 10 wins since 2006, when they also started the year 10-2.
Rafael Espinoza, Brett Jacobs, Dylan Rinker and Trevor Baugh combined to allow just one run across 16.0 innings of work, striking out 22 batters while allowing just nine hits.
Brady Kreutzer drove in three RBI on the day while matching Isaiah Ural and Shaun Gomez with a team-high two hits.
Fort Hays State will enter conference play next weekend (Feb. 23-25) when the Tigers host 14th-ranked Missouri Southern. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. each day at Larks Park.
Game One – Fort Hays State 6, New Mexico Highlands 0
Tiger starter Rafael Espinoza was nearly unhittable in the opener, giving up just two hits across 6.0 scoreless innings of work. He retired the side in order twice while allowing single baserunners in the other four frames. The righty did not allow a runner to reach third base, while a Cowboy baserunner reached second only once in the game.
With Espinoza dealing on the mound, the Tiger bats managed all the runs they needed in the bottom of the first when Brady Kreutzer led off with a triple to right center. He scored in the next at bat on an RBI groundout from Trey DeGarmo.
The Tigers added two more runs in the second when Shaun Gomez led off with a single. The designated hitter later came in to score on a double to center from Jamison Armstrong before Kreutzer lifted a sacrifice fly to right, stretching the lead to 3-0. Fort Hays State tacked on three unearned runs following a pair of errors in the fourth inning.
Fort Hays State went to the bullpen in Brett Jacobs to finish things out, with the freshman completing the shutout by striking out one and allowing one hit in 1.0 scoreless innings of relief.
Espinoza (2-0) struck out eight batters over his 6.0 innings of work, allowing just four baserunners on two hits, one walk and one hit-by-pitch.
Gomez and catcher Luis Ayala both scored two runs in the win, while Gomez was the lone Tiger with multiple hits in the contest.
Game Two – Fort Hays State 6, New Mexico Highlands 1
Game two starter Dylan Rinker took up the challenge of duplicating Espinoza’s effort, working 7.0 innings while allowing just one run. New Mexico Highlands took a 1-0 lead in the first after a leadoff walk came in to score on a two-out base hit, but that would prove to be their only run of the day.
Fort Hays State answered right back, plating three runs in the home half of the inning to take the lead for good. Elliott Herrmann led off with a double to left before Kyle Morrell was hit by a pitch. Zane Knox followed with a single to load the bases before Justin Lipka came through with a two-RBI single through the left side. Knox later scored on a passed ball, giving the Tigers a 3-1 advantage.
Rinker worked around a single in the third before escaping a first-and-third jam in the fourth thanks to back-to-back called third strikes. The two strikeouts kicked off a stretch of 11-consecutive batters retired by Rinker, including seven strikeouts. He finished his outing by striking out the side in the seventh.
The Tigers, meanwhile, added a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Kreutzer before the Cowboy pitching staff retired 10-straight Tiger batters from the fourth through seventh innings. A two-RBI double from Morrell stretched the FHSU lead to 6-0 in the eighth.
Trevor Baugh came on to pitch the final two innings for the Tigers, working around a two-out double to get out of the inning before retiring the side in order in the ninth to secure the win.
Rinker (1-0) struck out 11 batters in 7.0 innings of work, allowing one run on five hits and one walk. The 11 strikeouts are the most by a Tiger this season and second-most by an MIAA pitcher in 2024. Baugh earned his first save of the season after striking out a pair and allowing just one hit in 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.