OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Fort Hays State Softball fell twice on Friday at Tom Heath Field in Oklahoma City. FHSU fell 14-9 to Southern Nazarene in their first contest before No. 15 ranked Oklahoma Christian claimed a 9-1 victory over the Tigers on its home turf.
Southern Nazarene 14, Fort Hays State 9
The Tigers fell in a 5-0 hole right away and never could catch up to the Crimson Storm. Even though the Tigers scored in every inning but the seventh, the Crimson Storm had three innings in which they scored three or more runs. FHSU held SNU scoreless in two of the seven innings.
Four of the five runs Southern Nazarene scored in the first inning were unearned, caused by an early Tiger error. Sara Breckbill was able to get one of the runs back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single. The Crimson Storm tacked on three more runs in the second to take an 8-1 lead, but the Tigers kept chipping away and scored twice in the second on a 2-RBI single by Sarah Tiffany.
The Tigers kept charging back into the game in the third when they scored three. A pair of doubles by Madison Pierce and Regan Curry and a single by Elise Capra set up a bases loaded situation for the Tigers. SNU helped the Tiger cause by allowing one run to score on a passed ball and another on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Jessica Espinoza knocked home a run with an RBI groundout. FHSU trailed by just two, 8-6, going into the fourth.
The teams traded runs in the fourth. Capra generated the Tiger run in the frame with an RBI single, making the score 9-7. The Tigers looked to have the momentum to potentially charge back to even with the Crimson Storm, but three RBI singles (one a 2-RBI single) in the top of the fifth spoiled the Tiger climb and added four more runs to the SNU side. Tiffany provided a sacrifice fly RBI in the bottom of the fifth to get one of the four runs back, but SNU had its lead back to five with two innings to go. The teams traded runs once more in the sixth, the Tigers' run coming on Madison Pierce's first collegiate home run. That would make the final tally of 14-9 in favor of SNU.
Morgan Schmidt took the loss in the circle for the Tigers, even though half of her eight runs allowed were earned. She struck out three in 1.2 innings of work. Erika Flynn allowed five runs (four earned) in 2.2 innings of action and Savanah Egger allowed one (no earned) in 2.2 innings. Hannah Sattler picked up the win in relief for SNU since starter Jennifer Romero came up an out short of qualifying for the win. Romero surrendered the first seven runs to the Tigers (four earned) before Sattler allowed the final two.
Oklahoma Christian 9, Fort Hays State 1
Fort Hays State fell down 3-0 through three innings before putting its only tally on the board in the fourth inning. Madison Pierce plated the run on a sacrifice bunt, getting the Tigers back within two. Loren Beggs set up the opportunity for the Tigers with a double to open the inning. However, the Eagles went back up by three with a run in the bottom half of the inning, and then rallied for five more runs without making an out in the fifth inning to force the run-rule.
Savanah Egger pitched the first 3.2 innings for the Tigers and allowed four runs. Bailey Carlson picked up the final out of the fourth inning but still allowed three runs after facing three batters in the fifth. Morgan Schmidt came on in relief and allowed the final two runs to the Eagles over the three batters she faced.
Kali Crandall picked up the win for Oklahoma Christian in 4.1 innings of work, recording four strikeouts. Grace Anderson picked up a save in just 0.2 innings of work by entering with the Eagles ahead by just three and benefitted from the Eagle rally in the fifth.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday at Gerry Pinkston Stadium, the home of Central Oklahoma Softball in Edmond, Oklahoma. The Tigers will face Cameron at 10:30 am, then Midwestern State at 3 pm.
Feb 12, 2022
🥎 Tigers drop two games in Oklahoma
Posted Feb 12, 2022 12:45 AM