Fort Hays State Softball hits the road for a pair of mid-week doubleheaders in Colorado, set to face MSU Denver on Tuesday (Mar. 14) and CSU-Pueblo on Wednesday (Mar. 15). The Tuesday doubleheader in Denver begins at 12 p.m. (1 p.m. CT), while the doubleheader on Wednesday in Pueblo begins at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. CT). FHSU takes a 13-9 overall record into the week, while MSU Denver is 18-7 and CSU-Pueblo is 8-15.
 
Live stream and stats will be available for both doubleheaders at the links provided above.
 
The Opponents
MSU Denver (18-7)
-MSU Denver leads the all-time series with FHSU 14-9. FHSU last win over MSU Denver was in 2021 by a score of 4-0 during a doubleheader split between the teams in Denver.
-Twenty of the 23 meetings all-time between the teams have been in Denver.
-MSU Denver had a 15-game win streak snapped on Sunday by Chadron State. The streak lasted from February 17 to March 12, all in conference play for the Roadrunners. RMAC teams play four-game conference series and MSU Denver swept Adams State, UC-Colorado Springs, and CSU-Pueblo, then won the first three games of a series with Chadron State before taking its first conference loss.
-The Roadrunners are just 3-6 in non-conference play so far this season. Their last non-conference doubleheader was on February 9 when they dropped a pair of games at St. Mary's (Texas).
-Jenna Medhus leads MSU Denver pitchers in ERA (2.34), wins (9), complete games (8), innings pitched and (71.2). Audrey Burt leads the Roadrunner pitchers in strikeouts with 54.
-Shelby Robb and Hannah DiFabio lead the Roadrunners in RBIs, each with 18. Robb is hitting .408 for the season and has a team-leading 13 extra-base hits. Alexia Boring leads the Roadrunners in home runs with 5.
 
CSU-Pueblo (8-15)
-The all-time series between FHSU and CSU-Pueblo is tied 20-20.
-FHSU and CSU-Pueblo last met in 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. FHSU won that meeting 5-3. FHSU has won the last two meetings between the teams, which goes back to 2008.
-CSU-Pueblo has played 16 straight conference games, going 3-13 in that stretch. The Thunderwolves split a four-game series with Fort Lewis and won one game out of four against Regis for their only conference wins. They were swept in four games by Colorado Christian and MSU Denver.
-CSU-Pueblo is 5-2 in non-conference games this season. The Thunderwolves' last non-conference series was on Feb. 11-12 when they took two of three games from Western New Mexico at home.
-Lucy Carney lead CSU-Pueblo pitchers in ERA (4.67), wins (5), complete games (6), and innings pitched (48.0). Jacelynn Trujillo leads their pitchers in strikeouts with 30.
-Marissa Robertson leads CSU-Pueblo offensively in extra-base hits (11) and RBIs (17), while hitting .291. Caitlyn Cole leads the Thunderwolves in batting average at .358.


Tiger Notes
Tigers Split First Two Conference Doubleheaders
Fort Hays State split a pair of MIAA doubleheaders in Hays last weekend in Hays. The Tigers won their first contest with Northwest Missouri State on Saturday 2-1 before falling in game two 4-0. Missouri Western took game one on Sunday 8-2 before FHSU bounced back for a 3-2 win in game two.
 
When the Tigers Score Four
Fort Hays State is 8-1 this season when scoring at least four runs in a game. The only loss was by a score of 7-6 at Southern Nazarene back on February 17. FHSU is 5-8 when scoring three or less runs this season. FHSU has not scored more than four runs in a game since a 14-0 win over Sioux Falls back on February 26.
 
Seven Shutouts
Over half of Fort Hays State's 13 wins this season have been by shutout. The Tigers have 7 shutouts this season, which ranks second in the MIAA – only one behind defending national champion and No. 1 nationally ranked Rogers State which has 8. It ranks 10^th in NCAA Division II. The seven shutouts are already the most by a Tiger team during Adrian Pilkington's tenure as a head coach. The 2013 team set the record for most shutouts by a team with 19. The 2002 (10) and 2009 (11) squads were the only others in the program's NCAA Division II history to reach double figures in shutouts for a season.
 
Shepard of Speed
Peyton Shepard ranks among the top 10 players in the MIAA in batting average (8^th), stolen bases (3^rd), on-base percentage (6^th), hits (T-3^rd), and hit-by-pitch (T-5^th). She has a .456 batting average with 31 hits, a .543 on-base percentage, and 13 stolen bases, while getting hit by a pitch five times. She is a perfect 13-of-13 on stolen base attempts this season.
 
Efficient Running
Peyton Shepard and Sarah Tiffany have combined for 21 stolen bases so far this season. They are both perfect in their attempts, Shepard with 13 and Tiffany with eight. Carly Stuke is 2-of-2, while Sydnee Hoffman is the only Tiger to be caught stealing this season at 1-of-2. The Tigers are 24-of-25 as a team.
 
Put the Ball in Play
Fort Hays State ranks third in the MIAA for fewest strikeouts as a team with 77 for the season. Nebraska-Kearney leads the MIAA with 154, at least double the total of three teams in the MIAA, which also includes Central Oklahoma (74) and Lincoln (76).
 
Moving Your Teammate Up
Fort Hays State ranks second in the MIAA in sacrifice bunts/hits with 17, only behind Washburn's 22. FHSU is tied for second in the conference in total sacrifices with 21 when adding on their four sacrifice flies. Washburn leads the MIAA in total sacrifices with 30, while Central Oklahoma is tied with FHSU in second with 21. UCO leads the sacrifice fly category with 15 for the season.
 
Solid Pitching
Fort Hays State has a team pitching ERA of 2.64, which ranks fourth in the MIAA. All four Tiger pitchers have ERAs lower than 4.00 for the season, led by Savanah Egger at 1.83. The Tiger pitchers rank second in the MIAA in strikeouts with 163, only behind Washburn (226). All four Tiger pitchers have at least 20 strikeouts on the season, led by Egger with 73. FHSU is allowing just a .250 batting average to opponents, which is fifth in the MIAA.
 
K Machine
Morgan Schmidt has the fourth-best strikeouts per seven innings average in NCAA Division II. She averages 12.3 strikeouts per seven innings with 44 in 25.0 innings of work. Lindsey Hibbs of Adelphi leads the nation, averaging a whopping 15.5 per seven innings (88 in 39.2 innings). Schmidt reached double figures in strikeouts in all three games she pitched at least five innings. She matched her career high for strikeouts in a game with 12 against William Jewell this season.
 
Strong in the Circle
Savanah Egger has allowed two or less earned runs in eight of her 11 starts in the pitching circle this season. She had four consecutive shutouts from February 24 to March 4, which accounts for all of her shutouts this season. She ranks 9^th in NCAA Division II for individual shutouts. She had a 32-inning scoreless streak snapped on March 6 against Northwestern Oklahoma State, but threw 38 shutout innings in a 41-inning stretch from February 24 to March 11.