Mar 19, 2022

⚾ Tigers fall in series opener against UCO

Posted Mar 19, 2022 3:59 AM

FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State baseball team fell behind early and couldn't quite complete the comeback, falling to Central Oklahoma 10-6 in the series opener Friday.

Both sides went down in order in the first inning before Central Oklahoma plated five runs with two outs in the second inning. The Tigers got one run back in the home half when Ty Campbell plated Kate Wallace with a single to center. An RBI double off the bat of Grant Schmidt brought Brady Kreutzer in to score in the third before the Bronchos went back up by five with two runs in the fourth.

Central Oklahoma then scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before the Tigers scored four runs down the stretch to close the gap. Schmidt picked up another RBI in the sixth inning when he crushed a solo home run over the fence in left center, his team-high sixth long ball of the season. Traelon Yarbough kept the inning going with a two-out infield single before coming in to score on a base hit from Campbell.

Jenner Kehe then led the seventh inning with a single, later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Ed Scott. The Tigers closed within four in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run from Kate Wallace, his first home run of the season. The Tigers later had the tying run on deck in the inning, but UCO got out of the jam with two strikeouts. Schmidt picked up his third hit on the day with a single in the ninth, before the Bronchos closed things out with a nice catch on the final out.

Sammy Sanchez (2-3) tossed 2.0 innings as the starter, giving up five runs on five hits and one walk. Dustin Menard struck out a pair in 3.0 innings of relief while allowing three runs on five hits. Tanner Lukowski gave up two runs on one hit and two walks over 2.0 innings of work, while Jacob Douglas tossed two scoreless innings in the final frames on two hits and two strikeouts.

Schmidt finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run. Campbell also drove in a pair on a 2-for-3 day. Kreutzer, Wallace and Yarbrough also picked up two hits each.

The Tigers and Bronchos will continue their conference series Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. at Larks Park.