FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State softball team needed one win Sunday to punch their ticket to the MIAA Tournament next week in Topeka. The Tigers got the job done in game one with a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Northeastern State. The RiverHawks took game two 7-1.
FHSU closed the regular season at 31-22 overall, 13-13 in the MIAA, while NSU finished its season at 30-21 overall, 12-14 in the MIAA.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
The MIAA will officially release the championship tournament bracket once all games wrap up on Sunday.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 5, Northeastern State 4
The RiverHawks took the early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a well-placed infield single and a two-run home run by Chloe Bohuslavicky. They added to that in the second after a double to open the inning led to a sacrifice fly making it 3-0.
Fort Hays State rallied back within a run in the bottom of the second as an error led to a pair of runs. Carly Stuke led off the inning with a single and then Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson reached on a throwing error that allowed both to move up an extra base. Adysen Burghart plated the first Tiger run with a sacrifice fly RBI to right field, then Peyton Shepard followed with a single down the third-base line to plate the second run.
Savanah Egger started a run of three scoreless frames in the circle in the third inning and saw her team rally ahead in the bottom of the fourth. Ramirez-Johnson got things started with a one-out single, then Reese Curry singled to put two on base. Burghart delivered a game-changing blow with a deep drive to right-center field for an RBI double, tying the game at 3-3. Moments later, Shepard beat out a chopper on the infield for an RBI single that put the Tigers into the lead at 4-3. Sarah Tiffany recorded the Tigers' fifth straight hit with a single to right field scoring the third run of the inning to give FHSU a 5-3 advantage.
After Egger limited the RiverHawks to just one hit between the third and fifth innings, Bohuslavicky notched her second homer of the game in the sixth on a line drive to dead center field getting the RiverHawks back within one. But Egger and the Tiger defense was air tight the rest of the way as she retired the final six batters of the game for her 18th complete game of the season. She improved to 14-8 on the season with the win, recording four strikeouts. And for her third-straight complete game, she did not allow a walk.
Game 2: Northeastern State 7, Fort Hays State 1
The RiverHawks scored two in the third, one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and two in the seventh before the Tigers avoided a shutout with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
FHSU recorded six hits in the game, all scattered among six different players. Aubrey Martinez broke up a shutout bid by Madison Heinle in the circle with a two-out RBI single in the seventh. She moved to 13-7 on the season for NSU with a complete-game win. Heinle struck out eight Tigers and walked three. The RiverHawks had four players record two hits in the game and Emily Sampson led their cause in RBIs with two on a home run. Like the first contest, NSU had a pair of home runs in the game.
Bailey Carlson tossed the first 4.0 innings of the game for the Tigers, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. Morgan Schmidt threw 2.0 innings and surrendered three runs (two earned) on four hits with two strikeouts. Emma Montoya got the final three outs for FHSU, allowing a run on a hit and walk. Carlson moved to 11-9 on the season.
The MIAA Tournament is set to start on Wednesday afternoon (May 3) in Topeka, Kan. at Envista Softball Complex (Lake Shawnee Softball Complex), where the Tigers played earlier this season in February. A release on the Tigers' seed and first-round game time will come later Sunday evening.