Emporia State (18-18, 7-5 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State
Saturday, Apr. 9 - 12 & 2 pm
Hays, Kan. - Tiger Stadium
Radio: KFIX (96.9-FM)
LISTEN LIVE
Fort Hays State will play 12 of its next 14 games at home, starting with a pair of doubleheaders against Washburn and Emporia State this weekend (Apr. 8-9). The Tigers face the Ichabods at 2 pm on Friday, then face the Hornets at 12 pm on Saturday. FHSU enters the weekend at 16-19-1 overall, 2-6 in the MIAA. Washburn comes in at 28-11, 10-2 in the MIAA, while Emporia State enters the weekend at 18-18, 7-5 in the MIAA.
Both doubleheaders will be streamed live on The MIAA Network and live stats will be available for all games. The games against Emporia State on Saturday will be broadcast on local radio (96.9 FM KFIX), but can still be streamed through a device at the link provided above and will be used as the audio for the live streams on Saturday.
Fort Hays State went 2-2 in conference play on the road last weekend, sweeping a doubleheader at Pittsburg State before falling twice in a doubleheader at Missouri Southern. The Tigers scored a combined 14 runs in the pair of wins at Pittsburg State, but generated just one run the next day at Missouri Southern. The Tigers scored at least five runs in both of their conference wins so far this season, but three or less in their six MIAA losses. All eight conference games the Tigers played so far this season were on the road.
Fort Hays State is 3-1 so far at home this season, all in non-conference play. The Tigers split a doubleheader with Oklahoma Baptist on March 16 and then swept a doubleheader with Bethany College on March 20. The Tigers scored 10 or more runs in two of those wins and averaged 8.5 runs per game in those four contests.
At .344 for the season, Sarah Tiffany leads a group of five regular starters that enter the weekend hitting north of .300. Sara Breckbill is one of those five at .305 for the season, while leading the team in extra-base hits (12), home runs (6), and RBIs (24). Breckbill is the national leader in sacrifice flies with seven for the season. Regan Curry has been hot in run-scoring situations for the Tigers with nine RBIs in the last nine games and she has 23 for the season.
Savanah Egger leads the Tiger pitching staff in ERA (2.97), complete games (11), saves (3), innings pitched (101.1), and strikeouts (97). She ranks second in the MIAA in saves, fourth in strikeouts and fifth for innings pitched. Bailey Carlson holds a 3.85 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched, while Morgan Schmidt has 57 strikeouts in 55.1 innings of action.
The Tigers have played Washburn 55 times in their NCAA Division II history. Washburn holds a 32-23 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers and Ichabods split their doubleheader last year in Topeka. Both games were shutouts with Washburn winning 2-0 in Game 1 and FHSU winning 4-0 in Game 2. The Tigers scored all four runs in one inning of that game as Tiffany, Breckbill, and Loren Beggs all had hits in that contest. Jaycee Ginter, the current MIAA leader in strikeouts, threw a no-hitter in Game 1 with just two strikeouts and one walk in seven complete innings.
The Tigers have played Emporia State 53 times in their NCAA Division II history. The Hornets hold a 33-20 advantage. The Tigers and Hornets also split their doubleheader last year in Emporia. Emporia State won 5-0 in Game 1 before FHSU held on for a 7-5 win in Game 2. FHSU led 7-0 through three and a half innings of their win before seeing ESU score five over their final four frames at the plate. Breckbill had three hits over the two games, while Elise Capra notched two.