FHSU Athletics
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Fort Hays State baseball team suffered an 8-2 loss in their series opener with Northeastern State on Thursday. The Tigers struggled to get their bats going early and a four-run sixth inning by the RiverHawks put the game out of reach. FHSU moved to 15-23 overall and 5-16 in the MIAA while NSU improved to 15-18 overall and 9-12 in conference action.
The RiverHawks took the early lead manufacturing a run in the opening frame before scoring a pair of unearned runs in the third to take a 3-0 lead. The Tigers put a runner on first in the first two innings but were unable to find a rhythm. Tiger starter Zach Berg retired the RiverHawks in order in the fourth before the Tigers got on the board in the fifth. Back-to-back singled from Jenner Kehe and Mikey Felton opened the inning for the Tigers before Joel Nieves reached on a sacrifice bunt plating Kehe. Later, Trey DeGarmo singled to center to bring home Felton before Berg set down Northeastern State in the home half narrowing the deficit to 3-2 entering the sixth.
The RiverHawks rallied in the sixth scoring four runs on five hits before adding another in the seventh. In the ninth, Kehe reached on another single but the NSU bullpen collected the final out of the contest to secure the opener.
Kehe picked up his second multi-hit game of the season while Nieves and DeGarmo each batted in a run. Berg (3-4) gave up seven runs (five earned) on ten hits over 5.1 innings of work while striking out a pair of batters. Andrew Hansen took over in the sixth and gave up one run on two hits over 1.2 frames before Jacob Shope tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth.
The series will resume Saturday at 2 p.m.