FHSU Athletics
DENVER - The Fort Hays State baseball team split its first doubleheader with Regis on Saturday (Feb. 18). After falling in a tough battle in the opener, the Tigers scored eight runs over the final three innings to complete the comeback in game two and secure the split. The Tigers move to 6-4 overall, while the Rangers move to 5-5.
The series will conclude Sunday with another doubleheader at Regis Baseball Field beginning at noon (11 a.m. MT).
Game One - Regis 6, Fort Hays State 4
The Tigers were playing from behind for the duration of the opener after the Rangers plated two runs in the bottom of the first. FHSU cut the lead in half with a solo bomb from Zane Knox in the top of the second inning, but Regis plated their third run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the home half to go back up by two. Emilie Boies brought home Trey DeGarmo with an RBI single in the following frame before the Rangers plated two more runs in the bottom of the third.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for the Tigers in the fourth, setting up a run for Mikey Felton on a wild pitch. The Tiger pitching staff held the Rangers scoreless in the bottom of the inning, which allowed them to cut the Ranger lead back to one with an RBI single from Felton in the fifth. Regis plated their final run of the contest in the home half of the fifth to push their lead to 6-4. The Tigers were unable to figure out Ranger reliever Ethan Sloan in the final two innings, with the lefty retiring all six batters he faced to finish the game.
Felton and DeGarmo led the way at the plate, each managing two hits. Connor Holle (1-1) and Spencer Maley each recorded a pair of strikeouts on the mound.
Game Two - Fort Hays State 13, Regis 10
Fort Hays State got on the board first in the night cap, scoring three runs in the opening frame. Isaiah Ural plated the first two on a bases-clearing triple before Elliott Herrmann singled to bring him home.
The Rangers overcame the early deficit with two big innings, bringing seven runs across in the second and third innings. The Tigers chipped away at the Ranger lead in the fourth scoring two runs on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Ural, but the Rangers answered with a run in the home half of the frame and another in the sixth.
Trailing by four in the top of the seventh, the Tiger offense got to work. In the seventh, an RBI single from Knox and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Dylan Hupfer brought the Tigers within two before a fielder's choice in the eighth shrunk the Ranger lead to 9-8.
In the final frame, the Tigers pieced together a five-run rally with two outs to take the lead. Down to the last two strikes in the game, Ed Scott put the tying run on base on a single up the middle. DeGarmo followed with a double down the left field line, tying the score at nine.
After an intentional walk was granted to Ural, Herrmann sent a first-pitch, three-run bomb over the fence in left center to give the Tigers the lead. Boies followed with a solo home run of his own three pitches later, putting the Tigers in front 13-9.
Boies came in to pitch in the ninth, allowing one run before getting a game-ending double play up the middle.
Herrmann finished 4-for-6 at the plate and drove in four runs while Scott, Ural, and Knox each collected three hits in the contest. Andrew Hansen punched out five batters via strikeout while allowing eight runs (four earned) over 3.2 innings of work. Jake Campbell collected his first win of the season allowing only one run on four hits through 4.1 innings pitched.