FHSU Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State picked up its 14th and 15th shutouts of the season on Friday in a doubleheader sweep at Newman University. The Tigers won by scores of 7-0 and 3-0, improving to 29-18 overall and 11-9 in the MIAA. Newman fell to 15-35 overall, 3-17 in the MIAA. Bailey Carlson picked up her third shutout of the season in game one, a contest that was scoreless all the way until a big Tiger rally in the seventh, then Morgan Schmidt made history once again this season with her second no-hitter of 2023 in game two.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 7, Newman 0
Game one was a scoreless pitching and defensive battle all the way up to the seventh inning, when Fort Hays State broke through in a big way. A Peyton Shepard single to lead off the final inning ballooned into a seven-run rally for the Tigers as they went on to pick up their 14th shutout of the season.
The Tigers managed just two hits off of Newman starter Madison Dewitt through the first six innings before finally getting runners into scoring position with the rally in the seventh. Shepard led off the seventh with a single up the middle and Sarah Tiffany followed with a single to left field. Loren Beggs then dropped down a nice bunt in front of the plate for a single to load the bases. Madison Pierce battled her way to a full count, fouled off some pitches, and eventually drove a ball into the right field corner for a two-RBI double, scoring Shepard and Tiffany to break the scoreless tie. Regan Curry drew a one-out walk to load the bases once again, and Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson made it 4-0 in favor of FHSU with a two-RBI single up the middle. That brought Dewitt's outing to an end as she lasted 6.1 innings, recording four strikeouts. Four of the six runs she was charged with were earned. Megan Walz took over in the circle the rest of the way.
A Newman error helped load the bases for a third time and Shepard eventually picked up an RBI single to make it 5-0. Tiffany capped the Tiger rally with another two-RBI single up the middle, extending the lead to seven.
Bailey Carlson limited Newman to five hits and walked just one the way to her third shutout of the season. She stranded runners at third base in both the second and third innings with ground ball outs. Carlson struck out three, moving to 11-6 on the season.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 3, Newman 0
Morgan Schmidt became just the second player in FHSU softball program history to throw more than one no-hitter in a career, shutting down Newman to help the Tigers to a doubleheader sweep. The Tigers collected all of their runs and hits in the fourth on their way to a 3-0 win.
Schmidt hit Newman's leadoff batter on just her second pitch of the game, but after that she had electric stuff and dominated her way to 21 consecutive outs. The hit batter was all that kept Schmidt from throwing a perfect game, but she was perfect after the little blip to open the game. Schmidt finished with five strikeouts and induced plenty of weak contact throughout the game as the Tiger defense remained flawless behind her.
Loren Beggs opened the fourth with a single and moved up to second base. Madison Pierce then broke the scoreless tie between the teams, just like she did in game one, with an RBI single up the middle to score Beggs. With two outs and runners at second and third, Lexi Mohr came through with a big two-RBI double to the wall in left field.
Schmidt moved to 4-2 on the season with the win. She threw her other no-hitter this season at Southwestern Oklahoma State back on March 28 in Weatherford, Okla. She walked just one batter and struck out three in that contest.
Fort Hays State looks to keep their momentum rolling in a big doubleheader with nationally ranked Central Oklahoma on Saturday (Apr. 22) in Edmond. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m.