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Tigers earns sweep
4/14/2009
By NICK McQUEEN
nmcqueen@dailynews.net
One-run games this season have become something of a specialty for the Fort Hays State University softball team.
A 12-8 record in tight contests is a stat that goes hand-in-hand with the Tigers' ability to provide late-inning drama.
Over the weekend at No. 22 ranked University of Nebraska-Omaha, both trends almost held true leading the Tigers to a pair of big wins, but in Monday's non-conference make-up doubleheader with Oklahoma-Panhandle State University, records might show a little bit of a surprise that the Tigers needed the international tiebreaker yet again.
Fort Hays (26-25) rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the opener to take a 10-9 win in the opener in nine innings, but bucked the trend in a 9-0, 5-inning blowout in the nightcap.
"We started out a little bit slow with both our bats and weren't really top of our pitching game," first-year Tiger coach Julie LeMaire said of Monday's opener.
"As we got further into the game, the girls livened up the bats some, then (junior starter Adrian Mohr) got on top of her game on the mound."
With four walks allowed by Mohr in the first four innings (three in the fourth), Panhandle jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Tigers didn't get a baserunner through three, finally putting three runs across in the fourth.
Once Mohr (11-8) settled into a better performance, it "made a huge difference, you could tell," LeMaire said.
The Tigers eventually took a 7-5 lead on a two-run home run for freshman catcher Cortney Brown, but it seemed as though the close-call bug caught the Tigers at least for one game.
"We made a few mistakes that held us from getting a big lead, and really Panhandle played a great game against us."
The two losses dropped the Heartland Conference Aggies to 9-34, and 0-4 against the Tigers this season. The nine Aggie runs in the opener Monday, though, tied the most Fort Hays had given up in a win. "It ended up being good for us, but a tough game," LeMaire said.
Panhandle put up two runs off Mohr in the seventh to tie the game, one run coming after Mohr put the potential third out on base, hitting her with an inside pitch, questioned by both the Tiger bench and Tiger fans.
"We've been having those slow starts, but we've had a lot of comebacks in the seventh inning, but this was more of a slow start on both ends we haven't typically seen," LeMaire said.
Fort Hays was retired in order in the seventh and gave up leads in both innings of the tiebreaker before snagging two runs in the ninth for the victory.
"We've seen it done quite a few times, so we know they're capable," LeMaire said of the comeback. "Our girls have the ability to come alive with the bats late. That international tiebreaker is always a little scary, though."
It was the second time this season the Tigers had used the rule at home. The other was a 1-0 win over Truman State (Mo.) University.
In the nightcap, the Tigers released their Game 1 tension with four runs in the first and five in the third, backing up a six-hit, four strikeout performance for sophomore Kayla Rupa.
Brown blasted out two doubles, going 2-for-2 with an RBI against Panhandle starter Arlene Soto. Sophomore Erin Kinsey also went 2-for-2, driving in four runs, three on a bases-clearing triple.
"We're not playing as well as we could be," LeMaire said. "We've been splitting with some teams, but we are actually giving up some games that we could get."
At 4-8 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play after the losses at Nebrsaka-Omaha, the Tigers sit in eighth place, one game ahead of Northwest Missouri State University. The position sets up a critical pair of doubleheaders this weekend at Tiger Stadium as the Tigers look to stay alive in a bid for the MIAA postseason conference tournament.
"We've given up some games I feel like we definitely could have taken," LeMaire said. "As long as we can get into the tournament, I am excited to see what we can do once we get there."
Fort Hays plays host to Missouri Southern in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday, and Pittsburg State in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Sunday. Southern sits just in front of the Tigers in the standings at 4-6, and Pittsburg State is in fifth at 6-4.
"It we come out and play like we did in the second game today, we should be able to take a few games this weekend," LeMaire said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 03/17 | Missouri S&T | W 2-1 (10) |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 6-1 |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 8-1 |
| BB | 03/16 | Misosuri S&T | L 13-4 |
| MB | 03/14 | Central Missouri | L 80-73 |
| BB | 3/13 | NW Missouri | W 13-10 |
| BB | 03/13 | NW Missouri | W 4-3 |
| MB | 03/13 | Central Oklahoma | W 80-64 |
| SB | 03/08 | Fort Lewis | W 5-4 |
| BB | 03/07 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 13-7 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 16-4 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | W 3-0 |
| MB | 03/05 | Emporia State | L 65-61 |
| BB | 03/05 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 10-3 |
| WB | 03/04 | No. 15 Emporia | L 72-66 |
| WB | 02/28 | No. 12 Emporia State | L 87-80 |
| MB | 02/28 | Emporia State | W 94-47 |
| SB | 02/28 | Quincy | L 6-0 |
| SB | 02/27 | Mo Southern | W 9-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Missouri S&T | L 8-3 |