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FHSU softball falls to red-hot Griffons
4/5/2009
Griffons run
winning streak to 26
By RANDY GONZALES
rgonzales@dailynews.net
During a long winning streak, a team needs to be both good and lucky.
Much to the Tigers' dismay, the Missouri Western State University softball team was both during Saturday's doubleheader against Fort Hays State University at Tiger Stadium.
Missouri Western looked good in winning the opener of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association doubleheader, 6-1.
The 21st-ranked Griffons were lucky to take the second game 7-5, and extend their winning streak to 26 games.
"For us, it's very disappointing," first-year Tiger coach Julie LeMaire said. "It would have been a huge win to beat them.
"It wouldn't have been an upset; we could have easily won the second game," she added.
A pivotal call in the home half of the fifth didn't go the Tigers' way in Game 2.
Fort Hays had two runs in to tie the game at 5, and sophomore Erin Kinsey delivered a single to center field that appeared to score freshman Rachel Gemmill from second base with the go-ahead run.
But on the play, senior Alex Eaton, who had been on first base, rounded the bag too far at second, and was thrown out by the cutoff man for the third out of the inning.
The home plate umpire also ruled that Gemmill hadn't crossed home plate with the go-ahead run before Eaton was tagged out, and her run didn't count.
LeMaire argued the play, to no avail. She thought the umpires missed the calls both at second and at home.
"I thought they were bad calls," LeMaire said. "Definitely a changing point.
"It changes everything. It gives them momentum," she added.
Tiger mistakes were the difference, both on defense and on the base paths.
"Pretty much gave them the game, as far as I'm concerned," LeMaire said.
After Fort Hays (21-22 overall, 3-5 MIAA) was denied the go-ahead run in the fifth, Missouri Western (31-4, 6-0) scored two in the seventh off Tiger sophomore starter Kayla Rupa (11-14).
The Griffons loaded the bases with nobody out on two singles and a walk, and junior Samantha Buchanan followed with a two-run single.
Griffon sophomore Allison Jones, who pitched a complete-game victory in the opener, came on the bottom of the seventh to retire the Tigers in order to earn her first save of the season.
Freshman Carla Anderson (5-1) got the win in relief.
After Fort Hays took a 3-1 lead with three runs in the third, Missouri Western got two runs in the fourth, one unearned.
The Griffons got back-to-back doubles to start the inning to get within a run. Tiger junior left fielder Adrian Mohr dropped a line drive which would have been the third out, instead letting the runner from second to score. Mohr atoned for her error when she made a diving catch with her back to the infield on the next batter to end the inning.
With the game tied at 3 in the top of the fifth, the Tigers got two quick outs on grounders to senior third baseman Hallie McMillen.
McMillen got another grounder by the next batter, but made an error, keeping the inning alive.
After a walk, Buchanan tripled to score both runners and make it 5-3.
The Tigers tied it in the home half, but didn't take the lead after the calls by the umpires didn't go their way.
Fort Hays had another baserunning mistake in the three-run third. Mohr was on third with one out when she left the bag too early and was called out.
"We made a lot of mistakes on our baserunning, which didn't help matters," LeMaire said.
The Tigers' mistake in the first game was hitting too many easy popups against Jones, who tossed a one-hitter. Of the Tigers' 21 outs, 11 were on balls hit into the air.
"I don't think (Jones) was doing a lot to us," LeMaire said. "The kids have been popping the ball up.
"Pitch selection -- we were popping everything up," she added.
Jones (17-1) struck out five and didn't issue a walk. After McMillen doubled to lead off the second, Jones retired 17 straight batters until her error with two outs in the seventh allowed the Tigers their second baserunner.
Mohr (9-6) pitched a complete game for the Tigers, allowing six runs on 10 hits. She gave up two runs in the second, one on Buchanan's RBI single, and a solo homer in the fourth by sophomore Ashley Hudson to make it 3-0. Missouri Western broke the game open on junior Becky Diehl's three-run homer in the fifth.
Fort Hays will play a 5 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against Newman University on Wednesday in Wichita.
Friday
Fort Hays 6, Truman 5
Fort Hays 1, Truman 0
In Friday's wind-blown action at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers posted a pair of wins over the only team yet to win a game in the MIAA, Truman State (Mo.) University.
Both games were won in the Tigers' last at-bat.
In Game 1, Fort Hays trailed 5-2. Suffering through three scoreless innings, the Tigers extended their scoreless inning streak to 23 and had been shut out in three straight games. The streak came to an end in the fourth inning Friday when senior Alex Eaton drove an RBI single to left field to make it 3-1. Fort Hays pulled to within 3-2 in the fifth, but left the bases loaded. Truman State tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth and looked to have the game well in hand for its first conference win, but the Tigers answered in the seventh.
Again, it was Eaton providing the big hit. The senior capped a four-hit Tiger inning with a two-run single to right field, bringing in both Gemmill and McMillen. Lauren Duran, who also scored in the inning, led off reaching on an error by Truman's third baseman. Gemmill also had two RBIs in the inning, a single to left field. Eaton, the Tigers' leading hitter coming into the weekend (.364) finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs. With her 1-for-4 effort in Game 2, Eaton extended her hitting streak to 16 games heading into Saturday.
The nightcap was just as wild, turning into a pitchers' duel for 10 innings.
Tiger sophomore starter Kayla Rupa (11-13) matched Truman's Stephanie Johnson and Richelle vanGennip. Rupa pitched 10 scoreless innings, giving up five hits with three strikeouts. But the Tigers had three errors. Truman State's only error of the game, though, cost the Bulldogs in the 10th.
The teams went to the international tiebreaker, and the Bulldogs left their runner stranded at third with a groundout, a strikeout by Rupa and a pop-up to third base.
Both Tiger sophomore Sara Tani and Lauren Duran struck out to start their 10th. But with Rupa at second on the tiebreaker rule, junior Adrian Mohr reached on a throwing error by vanGennip that brought Rupa home all the way from second for the winning run.
Friday's games were the 13th and 14th decided by one run this season for the Tigers. They were 10-4 in those contests heading into Saturday. In extra-inning games, Fort Hays moved to 4-1.
Of the Tigers' eight hits in the nightcap, Tani recorded two and Rupa also had two. The only run of the game was unearned. Tani had hit safely in 17 straight games heading into Saturday's action.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |