FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State Baseball (22-20, 9-18 MIAA)
vs. Emporia State (18-25, 8-19 MIAA)
Friday-Sunday, April 19-21, 2024
Hays, Kan. • Larks Park
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The Fort Hays State baseball team plays at home for the final time during the 2024 season this weekend (April 19-21) when the Tigers host in-state rival Emporia State in a pivotal conference series. The weekend slate will open Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday.
The Tigers enter the weekend with an overall record of 22-20 and a 9-18 record in league action, while the Hornets are 18-25 this season and 8-19 in conference play.
With six games remaining on the conference schedule, the Tigers are currently in a four-way tie for eighth place in the league standings. Emporia State is one game back in 12th place. Just two games separate seventh-place Northeastern State and 12th-place ESU.
Fort Hays State looks to continue its good fortune at home this season, with the Tigers recording 14 wins in 20 games at Larks Park so far in 2024. One more win would give FHSU 15 home wins for the first time since 2012 when the Tigers won 17 contests in Hays.
Cesar Saavedra has hit safely in seven-consecutive games, including two games with three base knocks. He's reached base safely in each of the last 15 games, going back nearly a month to March 22.
Brady Kreutzer now has seven triples on the season, one behind the national leader while ranking first in the MIAA. He leads the Tigers with 29 extra-base hits this season, tallying 113 total bases to rank fifth in the conference. Kreutzer enters the weekend riding a 14-game hitting streak, batting 19-of-52 during that span. Nine of his 19 base hits during that run have gone for extra bases.
Elliott Herrmann leads the Tigers with 12 home runs, tied for fourth in the conference, while ranking ninth in the MIAA with 47 RBI. The first baseman's on-base percentage of .429 leads the team while he is tied with Kreutzer with a batting average of .342.
Ty Riley now has 53 strikeouts this season, 22 shy of cracking the top 10 in a single season at Fort Hays State. His punchout total is seventh-best in the conference while he ranks second among qualified pitchers with an ERA of 3.10 and third with an opposing batting average of .220.
Rafael Espinoza is one of just two pitchers in the MIAA with multiple complete games this season. The redshirt-freshman is sixth in the league in ERA (4.20) and is 10th in opposing batting average (.250).
The Tigers are 71-122 all-time against Emporia State. Fort Hays State is 1-2 against the Hornets under head coach Justin Wichert after taking one of three on the road last season. The Hornets are on a one-game winning streak overall while ESU has won two in a row at Larks Park, taking games two and three in the series in 2022 after FHSU won the opener.
The Hornets are last in the league in batting average, hitting .270 as a team, while ESU is 10th in slugging percentage at .444. Hornet batters have struck out 387 times this season, 40 more than any other team in the league. Emporia pitchers rank sixth in the league in ERA (6.50) and ninth in batting average against (.295). Kadyn Williams leads the Hornets with 49 RBI, sixth-most in the conference. Cade Barton ranks third in the league amongst qualified pitchers with an ERA of 3.18 and is tied for seventh with 53 strikeouts.
Fort Hays State vs. Emporia State
Hays, Kan. • Larks Park
Game 1 - Friday, April 19 - 6 p.m.
Game 2 - Saturday, April 20 - 3 p.m.
Game 3 - Sunday, April 21 - 1 p.m.