Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Fort Hays State softball team played its second doubleheader in as many days on Sunday (Feb. 13). The Tigers split with No. 15 ranked Metro State, taking game one 6-5 in a wild finish, then dropping the nightcap 11-7. Fort Hays State begins the season 3-1 after a sweep at Colorado Mines on Saturday.

Game 1: FHSU 6, Metro State 5

Box Score

 

The Tigers broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh with five runs, then held on for a 6-5 win when Metro State rallied for four runs in the bottom half of the inning.

 

Fort Hays State took advantage of errors to score all six of its runs. The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when a throwing error with two outs allowed Britney Workman to score. Metro State tied the game again in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI double.

 

In the seventh, Adriana Wortley was hit by a pitch to start the inning. With two outs, Danie Brinkmann laced a single to move Wortley to third. Then, a fielding error off the bat of Brittany Schieferecke plated Wortley to give FHSU the lead. They took even more advantage of the error. Kayla Rupa was hit by a pitch, followed by a two-RBI double from Sara Tani and a two-RBI single by Erin Dyok.

 

Metro State would not go quietly in the seventh. A walk to start the inning led to a pair of RBI doubles to cut the lead to 6-3. With two outs, Metro State's pitcher Julia Diehl hit a two-run home run to bring the Roadrunners within one. A double right after the homer gave Metro State a chance to tie or win the game, but FHSU pitcher Kayla Rupa got the next batter to strike out looking.

 

Rupa went the distance in the pitching circle, allowing all five runs on eight hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts. She moved to 2-0 with the win. All six of the runs allowed by Julia Diehl of Metro State were unearned. She gave up five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

 

Game 2: Metro State 11, FHSU 7

Box Score

 

The Tigers looked on their way to their second doubleheader sweep in as many days, leading 6-1 after the top of the fourth. However, the Roadrunner offense went off for nine runs in the bottom of the fourth, which led to the split.

 

Four straight singles and a double in the top of the first led to four runs for the Tigers. Malinee Powell hit a solo homer in the third to push the lead to 5-0.

 

A double with two outs in the bottom of the third plated Metro State's first run, but a sacrifice fly by Powell in the fourth pushed the FHSU lead back to five.

 

FHSU pitcher Maddie Holub looked to be cruising along, but ran into trouble at the start of the fourth when she surrendered a single followed by back-to-back-to-back home runs to make the score 6-5. Kayla Rupa relieved Holub after that burst and got one out, but consecutive errors by Tiger outfielders extended the inning, tied the score, and led to a two-RBI triple and a RBI double to give Metro State the lead. Another error by the Tigers led to the ninth run of the inning for the Roadrunners.

 

Fort Hays State's fourth error of the game in the sixth led to another run to push the score to 11-6 in favor of Metro State. Britney Workmann hit a solo homer in the seventh for Fort Hays State's final run.

 

The team takes a week off before returning to action the last weekend of February at the Missouri Southern/Pittsburg State Border Battle tournament, where they face three Lone Star Conference schools and Rockhurst.