FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (22-20, 6-12 MIAA) vs.
#6 Central Oklahoma (37-7, 17-1 MIAA)
Friday, April 19 • 1 PM (DH)
Hays, Kan. • Fleharty Family Field
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Fort Hays State vs.
Newman (18-28, 4-14 MIAA)
Saturday, April 20 • 12 PM (DH)
Hays, Kan. • Fleharty Family Field
Senior Day • Recognition between Games 1 and 2.
Fort Hays State Softball continues MIAA play this weekend (April 19-20) in Hays with a pair of doubleheaders at Fleharty Family Field. The Tigers (22-20, 6-12 MIAA) will take on No. 6 ranked Central Oklahoma (37-7, 17-1 MIAA) on Friday at 1 p.m., then play host to Newman (18-28, 4-14 MIAA) on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Saturday will be Senior Day at Fleharty Family Field. FHSU has three seniors (Emma Montoya, Sarah Tiffany, and Loren Beggs) who will be recognized between games one and two.
Fort Hays State comes into the weekend on a four-game win streak after a sweep of Central Missouri in MIAA play last Saturday and then a sweep of Northwestern Oklahoma State in non-conference play on Tuesday. The four-game win streak matches the Tigers' longest of the season, accomplished three times before.
Central Oklahoma rides into Friday on a seven-game win streak. The Bronchos' last loss was their only blemish in MIAA play so far this season, a 4-2 loss at Central Missouri back on April 5. Since then, they have doubleheader sweeps of Lincoln, Rogers State, and Northeastern State. The matchup with Rogers State last week was a matchup of top-10 nationally ranked teams when UCO was ranked No. 8 and RSU was ranked No. 4. UCO leads the MIAA by one game over Pittsburg State entering this weekend of conference play.
Newman enters the weekend on a two-game win streak after a non-conference sweep of William Jewell in Liberty, Mo. on Tuesday. The Jets went 1-3 in MIAA play last week, splitting with Northeastern State and falling twice to No. 4 ranked Rogers State. Newman has gone 1-3 each weekend this season when it has played two MIAA doubleheaders. Newman will play at Nebraska-Kearney on Friday before coming to Hays on Saturday.
Central Oklahoma Series Notes
Series Record: UCO leads 24-7
• UCO owns a 7-game win streak against FHSU, which goes back to the 2021 season.
• FHSU's last win over UCO was in 2019 in Hays, a 7-6 (8 inn.) win in game two of a conference doubleheader.
• UCO has won 14 of the last 16 meetings between the teams. Each of the last two times FHSU has won, UCO followed with a 7-game win streak.-UCO swept last year's doubleheader between the teams in Edmond by scores of 5-1 and 4-1. UCO also defeated FHSU last year in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament in Topeka by a score of 8-2.
• Regan Curry and Loren Beggs were the only Tigers to record RBIs against UCO over the three games played between the teams last year.
• Friday will mark the eighth and ninth consecutive games FHSU has played a nationally ranked Central Oklahoma team. The last time FHSU defeated UCO in 2019, the Bronchos were ranked No. 2 in the nation. UCO was ranked No. 13 in the 2021 meeting, No. 4 in the 2022 meeting, No. 5 in the 2023 regular season meeting and No. 4 in the 2023 MIAA Tournament meeting. UCO enters this doubleheader ranked No. 6.
Newman Series Notes
Series Record: FHSU leads 31-8
• FHSU has won five of the last six games against Newman.
• FHSU swept the MIAA doubleheader between the teams in Wichita last year by scores of 7-0 and 3-0.
• Morgan Schmidt threw one of her two no-hitters last year in the 3-0 win against Newman. She recorded five strikeouts in that game and a hit batter was her only runner allowed in the game.
• FHSU won game one between the teams last year with a 7-run seventh inning after the teams played to a scoreless tie through six innings.
• Newman's last win against FHSU occurred in 2022 in game two of an MIAA doubleheader in Hays by a score of 6-5.
• FHSU owns a 14-2 record against Newman in Hays during FHSU's NCAA Division II history.
• FHSU won its first 20 games against Newman during its NCAA Division II history, a streak that ran from 2004 to 2015 when Newman picked up its first win. FHSU is 11-8 against Newman since Newman's first win in 2015.
• Madison Pierce had 3 RBIs for FHSU in the doubleheader with Newman last year, while Sarah Tiffany, Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson and Lexi Mohr all had two.
• Bailey Carlson threw a complete game shutout against Newman in the 7-0 win last year, striking out three with five hits and one walk allowed.
Tiger Notes
• Savanah Egger ranks 18th nationally in complete games with 17. She went the distance in 17 of her 21 starts this season. She is tied for the MIAA lead in complete games with Washburn's Sadie Walker.
• Loren Beggs has 47 doubles for her career at FHSU, which is second-most in program history. She is only two behind the record of 49 set by Hallie McMillen in 2009.
• Peyton Shepard has 37 career stolen bases, which is third-most in program history. She is only six shy of second-place on the list.
• Peyton Shepard leads FHSU with a .406 batting average. She has a team-high 58 hits on the season and leads the team in stolen bases with 18. Shepard leads the team in multi-hit games this season with 19.
• Carly Stuke leads the team in extra-base hits with 11, followed by Loren Begges with nine. Beggs leads the team in RBIs with 24, followed by Stuke with 20. Beggs is the team leader in home runs with three, while Stuke, Shepard, and Audrey Gillespie all have two.
• FHSU has has 18 sacrifice flies for the season, which ranks second in the MIAA and 13th in NCAA Division II. Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson has four this season, which is second-most in the MIAA.
• FHSU reached at least 20 wins in a season for the fourth-straight year. The streak could have been six-straight years had it not been for the COVID-shortened 2020 season when FHSU went 15-13 through mid-March. The Tigers also won at least 20 in 2019.