FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (21-20)
vs. William Jewell (21-15)
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 • 3 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Larks Park
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The Fort Hays State baseball team is back at home to begin their last non-conference series of the season, going against the Cardinals of William Jewell on Tuesday. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Larks Park, with the second and final game of the series coming next Tuesday (April 23) in Liberty, Mo. at 4 p.m.
The Tigers were swept in a three-game series this past weekend against Washburn. The bats were swinging in the series, scoring a combined 19 runs in three games. Tiger pitching currently ranks fifth in the MIAA with an ERA of 5.90 on the season. The Tiger pitchers have been effective in keeping the ball in the park, giving up the fewest home runs in the MIAA at 35.
Brady Kreutzer leads the Tigers with a slugging percentage of .707, ranking ninth in the MIAA and tied for 20th nationally with 111 total bases. His seven triples are the most in the MIAA and tied for second in the nation. The power-hitting duo of Kreutzer and Elliott Herrmann makes the team one of three schools in the MIAA to have multiple players with ten or more home runs this season. Herrmann has driven in a team-high 41 RBI while also crushing 12 home runs, tied for the fourth most in the conference. Isaiah Ural had himself a weekend, going 6-for-13 with four extra base hits and three RBI. Herrmann also had a commendable weekend in Topeka, having back-to-back games with three hits while only striking out once the whole series.
Ty Riley sits second among the MIAA in ERA, allowing 3.10 runs per nine innings. Espinoza ranks sixth among qualified pitchers in the MIAA with an ERA of 4.20, going eight innings along with a trio of strikeouts in his last outing. Dylan Rinker has an ERA of 4.66, coming in at ninth overall. Riley is seventh in the conference with 53 strikeouts on the year, with three other Tigers also striking out more than 40 batters (Tanner Vaughn 51K, Cade Flaherty 42K, Rinker 40K).
The Tigers are 0-2 all-time against William Jewell after the Cardinals took both games played in 2018. Evan Jilbert leads the Cardinals in batting average, hitting .403 with a team-high 58 RBI. Alex Epp leads the team in total hits, notching 50 hits while scoring 52 runs. Breven Yarbro has made seven starts for the Cardinals, posting a 6.08 ERA over 40 innings of work. Yarbro has thrown two complete games this season and has a record of 6-1. William Jewell sits in sixth in the GLVC, while the Tigers sit in eighth place, tied with three other MIAA teams.