FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State's late-inning magic never materialized on Saturday (April 12) afternoon as the 20th-ranked Tigers (25-10, 19-5 MIAA) dropped a 6-2 decision to Northeastern State (12-26, 9-15 MIAA) at Larks Park. Despite a long ball from Trey DeGarmo, the Tigers couldn't recover from a sixth-inning surge by the RiverHawks.
Fort Hays State opened the scoring in the second inning when Isaiah Ural reached on a single to center and advanced all the way to third on an error. Sebastian Burgos then drove him in with a groundout to short, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. Northeastern State answered with two runs in the top of the third, thanks to a two-RBI double from Diego Murillo with the bases loaded.
DeGarmo briefly brought the Tigers even in the bottom of the third, launching a solo homer to left field for his 12th long ball of the season to make it 2-2.
The stalemate continued until the sixth inning, when Northeastern State capitalized in the sixth inning. Gage Williams delivered a two-run single down the third base line, and the RiverHawks would tack on another run moments later on a wild pitch to extend their lead to 5-2.
The RiverHawks added an insurance run in the eighth, making it 6-2. FHSU had a few opportunities late, including Ural's third hit of the game and his stolen base in the ninth, but couldn't push anything across against Northeastern's Izac Sizemore, who tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts.
Despite the loss, a few Tigers turned in noteworthy performances. Ural led the offense with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, scoring once and adding a stolen base. DeGarmo finished 2-for-4 with the solo homer, and Cooper Howell contributed a pair of singles.
On the mound, Paul Panduro got the start, but was quickly relieved in the third by Kaleb Carpenter. Carpenter battled through 3.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs, while Brandon Chavez threw 3.1 innings in relief without giving up an earned run.
Fort Hays State will look to bounce back in the rubber match Sunday (April 13) at noon.