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Tiger shortstop injured in Game 2 Thursday
3/21/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
Fort Hays State University freshman shortstop Mona Booco was spiked and suffered a left knee injury on a play at second base in the second game of the Tigers' doubleheader against West Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
Buffs third baseman Courtney Moore tried to steal second and spiked Booco on her slide. Booco, a 5-foot-6 freshman, also hurt her knee. She was in obvious pain and was carried off the field by head coach Tonja Hadley and student assistant coach Mike Johnson.
Soon after, Booco was taken to Hays Medical Center in a car for treatment and a diagnosis, and Hadley left immediately after the game. Booco, who has started all but one game, is hitting .299 with two homers and 12 RBI.
Junior Alex Eaton, the starting shortstop last season, replaced Booco in the field. Eaton, who had 19 at-bats before Thursday, went 1-for-3 and had six assists at shortstop. She made a shoestring catch on a short flyball in the third inning.
In the fourth, she helped turn an inning-ending double play. With a runner on second and one out, junior third baseman Hallie McMillen fielded a groundball from the Buff's Courtney Moore and threw to first. However, West Texas' Brytany Lemon then took off from second.
Tiger senior first baseman Alyson Garmatz threw across the diamond to Eaton for the out. Eaton also made the last out of the game in a 5-3 Tiger win when she fielded a hotshot grounder in the seventh.
Anastos throws
Sophomore catcher Jessika Anastos can only hit because of a shoulder injury suffered about two weeks ago at the Pittsburg State Tournament. However, Anastos, one of the country's best hitters, may return to catching in the next few days.
On Thursday, she threw with head athletic trainer Brian Razak twice, including between the two games. Anastos made light tosses at 50-80 feet.
"It is getting better and I am hoping to play and get back catching next week," Anastos said. " ... That is kind of the plan to work it a little bit each day, getting stronger each day."
Pitching strong
The Tiger pitching staff lost No. 2 starter Adrian Mohr for possibly the season after Mohr was hit by a pitch and suffered a hand injury in the Pittsburg tournament. The three pitchers, Emily Rockefeller, Kayla Rupa and Jessica Hamilton, have seen their roles change.
However, each pitcher delivered impressive performances in the four-game sweep of West Texas on Wednesday and Thursday.
Overall, Fort Hays outscored West Texas 15-7 and won at least four games for the first time since they had their season-high seven winning streak in mid-February.
"I think all three of them did a decent job," West Texas A&M head coach Kevin Blaskowski said. "We didn't swing the bat real well, but I think they had a lot to do with it."
Rockefeller, a senior and a returning all-conference player, tossed a shutout in the first game Wednesday and threw four innings of relief in the second game Thursday. Rupa, a freshman, also earned two victories, including a complete game on Thursday. Overall, the duo went 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA in 22 innings.
"Rockefeller changes speeds really well," Blaskowski said. "She has gotten a lot better than what we saw her last spring. She changes speeds, she moves the ball around. I thought (Rupa) and Rockefeller had great control, kept us off-balance, hit their spots really well. "
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/11 | Central Missouri | L 4-2 |
| BB | 5/10 | Missouri Western | W 4-3 |
| BB | 5/09 | Emporia State | L 6-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
