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Tigers return to losing ways
3/16/2008
By NICK McQUEEN
Hays Daily News
Coming off a win Friday night in its Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association opener, the Fort Hays State University baseball team was looking to get on a winning track.
After the come-from-behind win over the Griffons behind a complete game from junior left-hander Eric Gilliland, the Tigers didn't respond at all like second-year head coach Rick Sabath exected in Saturday's doubleheader with Missouri Western State University.
The result was a Griffon sweep, 5-0 and 14-4 at Larks Park.
"It's not a good performance -- anytime you get swept at home,"¬ Sabath said. "There were very few positives other than Matt Augustine throwing the ball well, and I thought Jake Nuss did a nice job out of the bullpen (in Game 2)."
Missouri Western (5-9 overall, 2-1 MIAA) took a 2-1 lead in the series, setting up a key game for the Tigers in today's noon series finale at Larks Park.
"Bottom line is I need to do a better job,"¬ Sabath said. "We're not performing to the level we're capable of playing."
The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-11 overall, and 1-2 in conference play.
In Game 1, the Tigers got 6 1/3 innings from Augustine, a sophomore left-hander who gave up four earned runs on 10 hits before being replaced by freshman Matt Patzner in the seventh.
Missouri Western took a 2-0 lead in the second inning of the opener, on two hits and two Fort Hays errors, and took a 3-0 lead in the third.
"It was a great ball game (Friday) night, a one-run game," Sabath said. "The ideal would be to build off that Friday-night win, but we really didn't have a lot of energy today. We didn't swing the bat well with runners in scoring position."
Fort Hays left four runners stranded, collected just two hits and had four errors. Senior Brent Biggs and redshirt freshman Ryan Majercik provided Fort Hays' limited offense in the opener. Missouri Western senior Adam Carolan, who had two home runs Friday, had a solo homer to center field to put the finishing touches on the win.
Griffon junior right-hander Chris Jackson went the distance for Missouri Western, moving to 1-1 on the season. He allowed just two hits with six strikeouts. Augustine fell to 1-3.
Things didn't get much better for the Tigers in the nightcap, but a five-inning relief performance from Nuss calmed down the Griffons' bats.
Missouri Western took a 9-0 lead after its second inning of Game 2, roughing up junior starter Kevin Large in 1 2/3 innings for seven earned runs on four hits and four walks. Patzner made a brief appearance, but didn't record an out in the second, before Nuss took over.
"It's tough to fall down 9-0, too," Sabath said. "That really limits what you can do."
Fort Hays put its first runs of the day on the board in the second inning on an RBI double by junior Brett Becker, then a sacrifice fly to center field by sophomore Tyler Robbins later in the inning. Missouri Western put up one more run in the fifth and sixth, while Fort Hays continued to leave runners on base, stranding eight for the game. Fort Hays did put up its two last runs in the sixth on another RBI for Robbins, a single to left, and a fielder's choice RBI by Biggs.
"We have a lot of good kids on the team, and they're hurting right now, and they understand what needs to be done," Sabath said. "We're 4-11, and there are a lot of concerns to go around, but the bottom line is we just have to get better -- in all phases."
In five innings of relief, Nuss gave up 10 Griffon hits and five runs with two strikeouts and no walks. Sophomore Jordan Randa recorded the final out in the seventh. Junior starter Kevin Large fell to 1-2 on the season. Sophomore starter Blake Thomas went five innings for the Griffons to move to 2-0 on the year.
Fort Hays got a better offensive performance in the second game with nine hits, two each for junior Dusty Washburn, sophomore Greg Bieker, and Becker. Robbins had two RBIs.
The loss was the seventh in the last nine games for the Tigers.
Assistant sports editor Nick McQueen can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 128 or by e-mail at nmcqueen@dailynews.net.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 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 |
| SB | 5/01 | Emporia State | L 11-0 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 14-1 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 12-2 |
