FHSU Athletics
PITTSBURG, Kan. - A trio of Brady Kreutzer home runs helped the 27th-ranked Fort Hays State baseball team rally to defeat Pittsburg State in extra innings on Friday at Al Ortolani Field, with the Tigers winning 9-8 in 10 innings. The MIAA-leading Tigers improved to 18-5 overall and 13-1 in league play after their sixth-straight win, while the Gorillas dip to 17-6 on the year and 7-6 in conference action.
Fort Hays State had an uphill climb all afternoon after the Gorillas jumped in front with five runs in the first two innings. The Tigers broke through with two runs in the top of the third after Jamison Armstrong led off with a single. Derek Woolwine later worked a two-out walk, extending the inning for Elliott Herrmann who plated a run with a single down the right-field line. Trey DeGarmo followed with an RBI double to right center, helping FHSU close within 5-2.
Kreutzer drilled his first home run of the day in the next inning to pull the Tigers within 5-3 before Pittsburg State plated another run in the home half of the fifth. Kreutzer answered right back with his second home run in as many at bats, crushing a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left to make the score 6-4.
Ty Riley completed his outing with a scoreless sixth inning before Kaleb Carpenter came on to record a pair of scoreless innings of relief, stranding runners in scoring position each time. Woolwine added another Tiger home run in the top of the seventh, closing the gap to one run, 6-5.
A pair of free bases opened the top of the eighth before Tony Moore delivered a pinch-hit double into the right-field corner, giving Fort Hays State its first lead of the day at 7-6. It was Moore's first at bat in three weeks after suffering an injury in the series against Missouri Western. Zane Knox later added another run with a two-out single to right, giving FHSU an 8-6 advantage.
Brandon Chavez opened the ninth inning with a strikeout before the Gorillas rattled off a single, a triple and a sacrifice fly to even the score 8-8, sending things to extra innings. Kreutzer clubbed his third home run of the game with one out in the 10th, sending an 0-1 pitch soaring over the wall in left center. Chavez (4-0) then locked down the win with a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the inning.
Kreutzer's three home run performance is the most in a game for the Tigers since 2012 when Ryan Busboom hit three against Bethany (4/24/12) and is the most by a Tiger against a Division II team since Kyle Stacken did so against Metro State in 2010 (3/23/2010). It is the 12th time a Division II player has accumulated three home runs in a game this season and just the second-such performance by an MIAA player on the year.
Kreutzer was 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs, while DeGarmo also collected three of FHSU's 16 base hits. Knox, Woolwine and Cesar Saavedra all had two hits on the day, with Woolwine scoring twice and Moore plating two RBI.
Riley ate up six innings on the mound, allowing six runs on nine hits and six walks while striking out six batters. Carpenter retired six of the eight batters he faced over two scoreless frames, allowing a pair of doubles while striking out one batter. Chavez struck out three batters in 2.0 innings of work while allowing two runs on three hits.
Fort Hays State is now 2-0 in extra inning matchups this season.
The Tigers will look to secure the series victory on Saturday (March 22) when the teams face off again in Pittsburg beginning at 2 p.m.