Box Score (html)
HAYS, Kan. – After relinquishing their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, SWOSU scored two runs in the top of the ninth to defeat Fort Hays State 12-10 on Wednesday afternoon at Larks Park.
A pair of SWOSU errors and a three-run home run by the Tigers got Fort Hays State out to an early 3-0 lead but
Jacob Spring and
Greg Bruno responded with homers of their own in the top of the second inning as the Bulldogs tied the game after two frames.
After a scoreless third inning, the scoring resumed as Spring again stepped to the dish and led off an inning with a solo home run, this time to dead center to put the Bulldogs on top 4-3. SWOSU then broke the game open with five runs in the top of the fifth that include a two-run double from
Haden Houska and a two-run inside the park home run by
Tyler Rapp that gave the Bulldogs a 9-3 lead.
Fort Hays State got a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth before loading the bases with no outs. After entering the game,
Brett McNaughton forced a 6-4-3 double play that allowed one run to score and got a foul out to end the inning with a 9-5 advantage.
SWOSU added to their lead in the seventh inning after Spring walked and came all the way around to score as Houska again came through with an RBI double, making it 10-5. The lead was safe in the seventh inning but the Tigers came roaring back, scoring five runs on three hits, including two home runs, to tie the game at 10-10 heading into the ninth.
The resilient Bulldogs dug deep in the ninth inning, loading the bases with one out before Houska reached on a fielder's choice that was following by an FHSU error that allowed Barton to score from second to take the lead. Rapp then drew a two-out walk that was followed by a passed ball, allowing Spring to score and extend the lead to 12-10 as the Tigers came to their final at-bat.
Ethan Davis recorded the first two outs of the ninth before back-to-back singles and a wild pitch put runners on second and third when SWOSU got a groundout to
CJ Faddis at third base to end the game.
Spring, Houska and Rapp led the offense with two hits apiece while Houska had a four RBI while Spring, Rapp and Bruno added two apiece. SWOSU recorded 10 hits for the game and worked around three errors to earn the victory.
Davis was one of five pitchers to see action for SWOSU and he earned the victory, improving to 3-2 on the year, with 1.1 innings of work, allowing four hits and two earned runs. Starter
Chris Joiner and
Brett McNaughton had 3.0 innings apiece while
Dillon Freie and
Taylor Weifenbach also contributed in the effort.
"Coming in, we knew it was going to be a tough day for pitchers with the wind blowing out, but our guys persevered and were able to pick up another good midweek victory," SWOSU's
Zack Saunders said following the victory. "Fort Hays has some real good hitters and they jumped all over us early, but I'm proud of the way our guys came back and got the bats going, which really picked us up all around."
The win improves the Bulldogs to 14-15 on the year heading into a weekend series at Henderson State, beginning Friday afternoon in Arkadelphia.
