FHSU Athletics
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Fort Hays State Softball finished its first weekend of play 3-1 after a pair of wins on Saturday. The Tigers ran away with their first contest, defeating Southwestern Oklahoma State by run rule in five innings, 12-0, before knocking off Northwestern Oklahoma State 4-1 in the weekend finale. Morgan Schmidt hurled a complete-game shutout in the opening contest with 10 strikeouts and Savanah Egger followed with a complete-game, eight-strikeout performance.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 12, Southwestern Oklahoma State 0
Fort Hays State gradually built its lead out to 5-0 through four inning before erupting for seven runs in the top of the fifth to get a run-rule victory against Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Sarah Tiffany and Aubrey Martinez put the Tigers up 2-0 in the first inning on a pair of RBI singles before starting pitcher Morgan Schmidt mowed through SWOSU with three swinging strikeouts. The Tigers added another pair in the third when Martinez picked up another RBI on a groundout and Regan Curry drove in a run with a single. After the two-spot, Schmidt buzzed through three more SWOSU batters in the bottom half and had seven strikeouts through three innings. Tiffany added another run in the fourth with another RBI single.
After having no runners on with two outs in the fifth, the Tigers went on a seven-run rally. Carly Stuke doubled home the first run, Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson knocked in the next with a single. Loren Beggs recorded two RBIs on a single before Madison Pierce delivered the knock-out blow with a three-run homer.
Schmidt went on to finish her pitching gem, striking out 10 in just the five innings of work. She surrendered just two hits and did not allow any walks in her first outing of the season.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 4, Northwestern Oklahoma State 1
Savanah Egger was just one out away from giving FHSU a pair of shutout performances in the circle on the second day of competition in Wichita Falls. She held Northwestern Oklahoma State scoreless for 6.2 innings before giving up an RBI single in the top of the seventh. She ended any more threat from the Rangers by getting a flyout to end the game. Egger allowed just four hits and one walk, while striking out eight batters for her first win of the season. Egger held the Rangers hitless in five of seven innings.
The Tigers did all of their scoring damage in the fifth. After Carly Stuke singled, moved up on a sacrifice bunt and Peyton Shepard walked, Sarah Tiffany doubled both runners home to break a scoreless tie. Loren Beggs immediately followed with an RBI single to knock Tiffany in, then Madison Pierce singled Beggs home to complete the scoring burst.
The Tigers will head south again next week for six games, all in Oklahoma. They play a doubleheader at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday (Feb. 16) before playing four games in the Edmond/Oklahoma City area tournament on February 17 and 18. All six games will be against Great American Conference opponents.