FHSU Athletics
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
GOLDEN, Colo. - The Fort Hays State baseball team picked up a doubleheader split on the road against Colorado School of Mines on Friday, falling 6-3 in the opener before rallying with a 14-12 win in the nightcap. The Tigers are now 5-4 on the year, while the Orediggers move to 3-7 overall.
The Tigers accumulated 23 hits on the day, including a season-high 16 base knocks in the second game.
UP NEXT
FHSU will open a 36-game conference series next weekend (Feb. 21-23) when the Tigers travel to Fort Smith, Ark. to take on conference newcomer Arkansas-Fort Smith.
GAME 1: Colorado School of Mines 6, Fort Hays State 3
The Tigers rallied from an early deficit to take a 3-1 lead in the opener before the Orediggers scored the final five runs in the contest to secure the win.
Ty Riley got the start for the Tigers and allowed just one run on three hits while striking out seven batters over 5.0 innings of work. The senior allowed one baserunner in the top of the first before giving up his first run of the season on three hits in the home half of the second. He settled in after that, recording 10-straight outs to complete his outing.
Fort Hays State struggled to get going against Mines starter Alex Honeyman, with the Tigers going hitless through the first four innings. Tyson Jimenez led off the top of the fifth win an infield single and later came around to score on an RBI double from Tony Moore, leveling the score at one.
The Tigers then took the lead in the top of the sixth when Elliott Herrmann reached on a throwing error. Trey DeGarmo followed with a single before Derek Woolwine advanced the runners 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt. Luis Ayala then came through with an RBI base knock to left, plating Herrmann and giving FHSU a 2-1 lead.
Kaleb Carpenter was the first out of the pen for the Tigers, working around a leadoff walk to pitch a scoreless sixth inning. Fort Hays State later tacked on another run in the seventh when Isaiah Ural opened a two-out rally with a single. Herrmann followed with another single, allowing Ural to advance to third before he scored on a wild pitch.
The Orediggers bounced back with three runs on three hits and one walk in the home half of the seventh, giving Mines a 4-3 lead. Brandon Chavez came on with two outs to record a strikeout and get out of the inning before Mines put up two more runs against Dylan Rinker in the eighth.
The Tigers had their leadoff man on in the eighth with a Woolwine single before the next six batters were retired to end the game. Mines outhit the Tigers by two, 9-7, while FHSU pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts compared to seven by Oredigger hurlers.
GAME 2: Fort Hays State 14, Colorado School of Mines 12
Fort Hays State took an early lead in the second contest when DeGarmo led off with a home run to center field. Three doubles helped the Orediggers take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame before Moore put the Tigers back on top in the third with a two-run home run to right center.
Cade Flaherty bounced back by retiring the side in order in the third and then posted another scoreless inning in the fourth, giving the offense an opportunity to add to its lead.
The Tigers did just that with two more runs in the fourth and a five-spot in the top of the fifth. Two hits and three errors allowed FHSU to score twice in the fourth, including an RBI single from Ayala and a sacrifice fly from Cooper Howell.
Fort Hays State pushed the lead to 10-2 with five runs on five hits and one error in the fifth. Back-to-back doubles from Herrmann and Woolwine opened the frame with a run before DeGarmo plated another run with a base hit. Howell and Moore both added RBI base knocks later in the frame while Ayala came around to score on a wild pitch.
Mines rallied with five runs on three hits and two free bases thanks to a fluke play where center fielder Ural appeared to make a leaping catch for the final out. Ural then landed awkwardly on his head, with his glove coming off during the process. The umpires ruled that no catch was made, allowing four runs to come in to score on an inside-the-park grand slam.
The Orediggers closed within 10-8 with another run in the sixth before Howell hit his first home run as a Tiger in the top of the seventh. Fort Hays State scored three more in the top of the eighth, including two more RBI for Howell on a single and a bases loaded hit-by-pitch RBI for Ural, padding the lead to 14-8.Mines put together a two-out rally in the eighth, pushing across four runs on four hits to pull within two, 14-12. Chavez got out of the jam with a groundout before retiring the side in order in the ninth to complete the win.
Chavez picked up the win after allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits over 4.1 innings of work. Flaherty worked the first 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits while striking out three batters.
Howell went 3-for-4 with five RBI in the win, with five other Tigers also collecting multiple hits in the win. DeGarmo scored a team-high four times.