Fort Hays State (9-5) at
William Jewell (2-9)
Saturday, Mar. 4 – 1 PM (DH)
Liberty, Mo. – Cardinal Field
 
Fort Hays State Softball returns to action on Saturday (Mar. 4) at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. A doubleheader with the Cardinals begins at 1 p.m. The Tigers enter with a six-game win streak and sit at 9-5 overall on the season. Live video and stats will be available.
 
The Opponent
-William Jewell enters this doubleheader at 2-9 overall on the season.
-The Cardinals snapped a five-game losing skid with a win over Winona State on February 26.
-The Cardinals have lost to two teams that have seen time in the national rankings this season, which includes Southern Arkansas and Grand Valley State. They scored five against Southern Arkansas but lost by run rule, and they lost a tight 2-1 battle to Grand Valley State.
-This will be the first time FHSU and William Jewell meet in softball.
 
Tiger Notes
Six-Game Win Streak
FHSU's six-game win streak is its longest since a six-game win streak last season from April 12-22. FHSU started that streak with a win over Northwest Missouri State, swept doubleheaders with Central Missouri and Lincoln, then won the first game of a doubleheader with Newman.
 
Washburn Invite Sweep
FHSU won all six of its games at the Washburn Invitational last weekend to create its six-game win streak.
 
Shutout Frenzy
The Tigers won five of their six games at the Washburn Invitational by shutout. They outscored the opposition 46-2 in the tournament. Wayne State was the only team the Tigers did not shutout, even though they shut out the Wildcats for the first six innings of that contest that resulted in a 6-2 win. The five shutouts were the most over a six-game span in the program's NCAA Division II history.
 
Long Streaks
The Tigers are seeking their first-ever seven-or-more game win streak under Adrian Pilkington's guidance. Last year's six-game win streak from April 12-22 was the longest during Pilkington's tenure as head coach until this year's squad matched it.
 
2-3-4 Punch
For the last 12 games, Adrian Pilkington has slotted Sarah Tiffany, Loren Beggs, and Madison Pierce 2-3-4 in the batting lineup. All three players have at least 11 RBIs on the season and account for almost half of FHSU's RBIs this season (35 of 71 total).
 
Shepard of Speed
Peyton Shepard leads the Tigers in batting average, stolen bases, runs, and on-base percentage so far this season. She is hitting .476 for the season and is a perfect 8-of-8 on stolen base attempts. She has crossed the plate 15 times. As the Tiger leadoff hitter, last weekend she got on base and scored in the first inning in three of the five shutouts. So far, Shepard ranks seventh in the MIAA in batting average and runs scored and fourth in stolen bases and on-base percentage.
 
Efficient Running
Peyton Shepard and Sarah Tiffany have combined for 15 stolen bases so far this season. They are both perfect in their attempts, Shepard with eight and Tiffany with seven. Sydnee Hoffman and Carly Stuke are also 1-of-1 on the season and make the Tigers a perfect 17-of-17 overall for the season.
 
19-Inning Scoreless Streak
Savanah Egger turned in a dominating performance at the Washburn Invitational last weekend. She pitched three consecutive complete-game shutouts, striking out 20 batters over 19 scoreless innings of work. She threw seven-inning complete games in a pair of 2-0 wins against Southwest Minnesota State and Rockhurst, then threw a five-inning complete game in a run-rule 9-0 win over Mary. Egger currently ranks fifth in the MIAA in strikeouts with 48 for the season, averaging 8.1 per seven innings. She is tied for the MIAA lead in complete game shutouts with three and ranks second in complete games with five.
 
Shutdown Effort from Tiger Pitching
Fort Hays State pitching allowed runs in only one of 36 total innings last weekend at the Washburn Invitational. FHSU posted a miniscule 0.39 ERA as a team at the event. Savanah Egger had three complete-game shutouts, while Emma Montoya and Bailey Carlson each had one. Wayne State scoring two runs in the seventh inning of a 6-2 win by FHSU was the only blemish in a frame for the Tiger pitchers this past weekend.