HAYS, Kan. - Five scoreless innings of relief from Jacob Douglas and a walk-off home run from Brady Kreutzer helped the Tigers rally to defeat Missouri Western in Thursday's series opener, 8-7 (April 14). The Tigers trailed by as many as five runs, 7-2, before scoring the final six runs of the contest to secure the win.
The Griffons got to Tiger starter Conner Kessler early, scoring one in the first, two in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth. Fort Hays State responded with two runs in the second before starting the big comeback in the fifth.
Kade Wallace opened the second with a double into the left field corner before Ed Scott tripled to right center, driving in the first Tiger run. Scott later scored on a single from Mason Holton.
Down 7-2 in the fifth, Grant Schmidt immediately brought FHSU right back into the contest with a three-run home run to left center. After a Jenner Kehe walk and Tico Olivas single, the senior worked an eight-pitch at-bat before crushing a 3-2 pitch over the fence for his 11th home run of the year.
The Tigers closed within one in the sixth when Scott led off with a double. Griffin Brunson drove him in three batters later with a single down the third-base line.
Fort Hays State then used three walks and one base hit to tie the game in the seventh. Schmidt worked another full count before drawing a walk to open the inning, prompting MWSU to go back to the bullpen for their third pitcher of the game. The next two batters were retired before Scott singled to extend the inning. Holton then walked on four pitches to load the bases before Mikey Felton worked a six-pitch walk to drive in a run and tie things up at seven.
After Kessler gave up seven runs over four innings of work with four strikeouts, the Tigers went to the bullpen in the fifth in Douglas. The senior proceeded to retire nine of the first 10 batters he faced, giving the Tiger offense a chance to complete the comeback. Douglas then worked around a pair of hits in the eighth to strand a man on third before pitching a scoreless ninth with only one single in the frame.
With the score still tied at seven, Kreutzer stepped up to the plate with one out in the ninth. The Hays native watched the first pitch cross over the plate before timing up the next offering perfectly, sending it soaring over the fence in left for a walk-off home run. It was the first walk-off victory for the Tigers since early in the 2020 season (2/21/20, 1-0 vs CSU-Pueblo in 10 innings).
Douglas (1-0) earned the win after striking out three and giving up only three hits over five scoreless innings of relief. Scott was a home run shy of the cycle, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Holton also had multiple base hits, while Schmidt drove in a team-high three RBI and also scored two runs.
The Tigers and Griffons will resume their series Friday (April 15) at 4 p.m. before wrapping things up on Saturday (April 16) beginning at 1 p.m.