By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State Softball split a pair of games in MIAA play with Emporia State on Thursday (April 4) at Fleharty Family Field. After falling in the first contest 6-0, the Tigers had a late come-from-behind victory in game two forcing extra innings and then won 5-4 on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the eighth. FHSU moved to 17-17 overall on the season, 3-9 in the MIAA, while ESU moved to 25-16 overall, 9-9 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Emporia State 6, Fort Hays State 0
Fort Hays State struggled to find its offensive footing against Emporia State in the first game against Hornet starter Gracie Rabe, who allowed just four hits in a complete-game shutout effort. The four hits were scattered among four different Tigers.
The Hornets immediately took a 1-0 lead with a double and then RBI single to start the game. ESU added three more runs in the second and then a pair in the fifth to round out its scoring for the game. Abbey Ward and Emma Furnish each had three hits for the Hornets and all three of Furnish’s hits were triples. Two of the Hornet runs scored on passed balls in the second inning.
Savanah Egger (9-8) took the loss for FHSU. Three of the four runs she allowed in 1.2 innings of work were earned. Bailey Carlson and Emma Montoya each threw 2.2 innings of relief work. The trio combined to strike out five in the game. Rabe moved to 7-7 on the season with the win, striking out five.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 5, Emporia State 4 (8 inn.)
Fort Hays State took the early advantage in game two with a pair of runs in the first and another in the second to lead 3-0. However, the Hornets would rally for a run in the third and three in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. The Tigers then put together a seventh-inning rally to get the game tied and went on to win in the eighth on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Audrey Gillespie.
In the first, Loren Beggs plated FHSU’s first two runs of the day with a two-RBI single. Peyton Shepard forced in a run in the second with an RBI bases loaded walk. That chased ESU starter Jayda VanAckeren from the game.
Emporia State scratched its first run across in the third with a two-out double and single. In the fifth, the Hornets rallied on two outs again when Bailey Flewelling tripled to right-center field and drove in a pair of runs to tie the game. A batter later, Karli Wehunt doubled home Flewelling to put the Hornets in front by a run.
Jordan Harrison did well for ESU in relief until running into trouble in the seventh. Alondra Dominguez and Sarah Tiffany both singled to open the inning and then Regan Curry singled to load the bases with one out. Madison Pierce pinch hit and drew a bases loaded walk that tied the game, but FHSU could not push across the winning run in the seventh after Gracie Rabe relieved Harrison. It would only take until the next inning when the Tigers finally broke through for the first time of the day against Rabe. Three-straight singles by Beggs, Dominguez, and Tiffany set up the walk-off sacrifice fly to center field by Audrey Gillespie.
Emma Montoya was huge for the Tigers in relief, entering in the sixth inning with one out in place of Morgan Schmidt, who went 5.1 innings in her start with one strikeout. Montoya struck out four batters over her 2.2 innings of relief, moving to 2-0 on the season with a relief win. She retired the final eight Hornet batters of the game.
Fort Hays State will take on No. 24 ranked Washburn on Friday (April 5) at 1 p.m. in another MIAA doubleheader at Fleharty Family Field in Hays.