Fort Hays State (27-18, 9-9 MIAA) at
Newman (15-33, 3-15 MIAA)
Friday, April 21 - 2 PM (DH)
Wichita, Kan. - NU Softball Field

Fort Hays State at
Central Oklahoma (35-6, 15-3 MIAA)
Saturday, April 22 - 12 PM (DH)
Edmond, Okla. - Gerry Pinkston Stadium

Fort Hays State Softball travels to Newman and Central Oklahoma this week for a pair of MIAA doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday (Apr. 21-22). The Tigers face Newman in Wichita on Friday at 2 p.m., then Central Oklahoma in Edmond on Saturday at 12 p.m. Live stream and stats will be available for each doubleheader.
 
Fort Hays State enters the weekend at 27-18 overall and 9-9 in the MIAA. Newman holds a record of 15-33 overall and 3-15 in the MIAA. Central Oklahoma goes into the week as the No. 5 ranked team in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll, sitting at 35-6 overall and 15-3 in the MIAA. UCO will face Nebraska-Kearney on Friday before hosting FHSU on Saturday.
 
The Opponents
Newman (15-33, 3-15 MIAA)
-Fort Hays State leads the all-time series with Newman 29-8. The teams split their MIAA doubleheader last year in Hays with FHSU winning 10-2 before Newman won the second contest 6-5.
-FHSU won the last two games against Newman in Wichita, sweeping a doubleheader in 2021.
-Newman dropped its last six games, getting swept in doubleheaders against Rogers State, Northeastern State, and Emporia State.
-Gianna Navarro leads the Jets with a .373 batting average. Gianna De Luca-Paape is the Newman team leader in home runs (4) and RBIs (26).
-Jackie Gold leads the Jets pitchers in ERA (5.17), wins (7), complete games (11), innings pitched (108.1), and strikeouts (65).
 
Central Oklahoma (35-6, 15-3 MIAA)
-Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series with FHSU 21-7. The Bronchos have won the last four meetings, sweeping doubleheaders in 2021 and 2022.
-FHSU's last win over UCO was in 2019 by a score of 7-6 in Hays. The Tigers had a walk-off two-out RBI single to win that contest in eight innings.
-The Bronchos are the highest nationally ranked team of three from the MIAA, holding the No. 5 ranking. Rogers State is No. 8 and Missouri Southern jumped into the rankings this week at No. 24. Washburn is receiving votes.
-Shayla Harper leads the Bronchos in batting average (.431), home runs (10), and RBIs (43). Emily Deramus leads UCO in extra-base hits with 27.
-Jordyn Pipkin leads UCO pitchers in ERA (1.98), wins (15), complete games (10), innings pitched (113.1), and strikeouts (71).
 
Tiger Notes
Tigers Coming Off Sweep of Lincoln
Fort Hays State is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Lincoln University on Monday in Jefferson City, Mo. The Tigers have now swept MIAA doubleheaders this season against Nebraska-Kearney, Pittsburg State, and Lincoln. They were swept by Missouri Southern, Emporia State, and Central Missouri. They have split their three other doubleheaders in conference play.
 
Most Wins Under Pilkington
Fort Hays State reached its most wins in a season under Adrian Pilkington with its 7-6 win in game two against Lincoln on Monday. The Tigers now have 27, passing the 26 produced by her 2015 squad. The Tigers have won at least 23 four of the last five years, with the only year they didn't being the COVID season of 2020 when they won 15. The Tigers are now seeking their first 30-win season under Pilkington.
 
When the Tigers Score Four
Fort Hays State is 15-4 this season when scoring at least four runs in a game. Three of the four losses when scoring four or more were on walk-off home runs, including a 7-6 loss to Southern Nazarene, 13-11 loss to MSU Denver, and 6-4 loss to Central Missouri. FHSU is 12-14 when scoring three or less runs this season. FHSU has scored four or more in each of the last four games after scoring three or less in the nine games prior to their current run.
 
13 Shutouts
Thirteen of Fort Hays State's 27 wins this season have been by shutout. The 13 shutouts ranks 2nd in the MIAA behind Rogers State's 15 and 12^th in NCAA Division II. The national lead is 21 by Saint Leo and Concordia University-Irvine. Saint Leo is led by former FHSU head coach Erin Kinberger. The 13 shutouts are already the most by a Tiger team during Adrian Pilkington's tenure as a head coach, and now the second-most for a team in program history. The 2013 team, led by Kinberger, set the record for most shutouts by a Tiger team with 19. The 2002 (10) and 2009 (11) squads were the only other teams 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 stolen bases (T-6^th), and hits (3^rd). She has 18 stolen bases and 55 hits. She leads the Tigers in batting average (.369) and runs scored (31) and is tied with Carly Stuke for the team lead in on-base percentage (.434). Her 18 stolen bases already ranks fourth-best for a season at FHSU. She is four back of Rilee Krier on the list, who stole 22 in 2016. Bianca Adame produced the two best marks in FHSU history, swiping 40 in 2013 and 32 in 2014.
 
Efficient Running
Peyton Shepard and Sarah Tiffany have combined for 28 stolen bases so far this season. Shepard leads the team with 18 and Tiffany ranks second with 10, both caught just one time this season. Carly Stuke is 2-of-2, while Sydnee Hoffman is 1-of-3. The Tigers are 31-of-35 as a team.
 
Burghart Surging at the Plate
Adysen Burghart has been red-hot at the plate since April 2. In her last nine games, Burghart is hitting .500 (11-for-22) with three doubles and one triple. She has a .727 slugging percentage and .536 on-base percentage in that stretch. She also has three sacrifices in the nine-game span with two sacrifice flies and one sacrifice bunt. Burghart has seen her season batting average jump from .179 to .288, hitting safely in eight of the last nine games.
 
Strong April for Stuke
Carly Stuke leads FHSU in batting average for the month of April, hitting .412 (14-for-34) in the 12 games so far this month. She hit six of her 11 doubles for the season this month, while driving in five runs. Stuke is hitting .341 for the season, which ranks second on the team.
 
Four-Straight Two-Hit Games for Tiffany
Sarah Tiffany is coming off a big offensive week in Missouri. She had two hits in both games of each doubleheader at Central Missouri and Lincoln, hitting .500 for the week (8-for-16). She drove in a team-best six runs last week and now leads the team in RBIs with 30 for the season.
 
Pierce Churning Out Doubles
Madison Pierce leads the FHSU in doubles with 17. She ranks second in the MIAA in doubles and 8^th in NCAA Division II. Sydni Hawkins of Missouri Western leads the MIAA with 18. The national lead is 21 by Kenzie Middleton of Colorado Christian. Pierce's 17 doubles is just one shy of the FHSU season record of 18 held by Emily Herl and Jessika Anastos.
 
Beggs Leads Tigers in Extra-Base Hits
Loren Beggs leads FHSU in extra-base hits this season with 20. Beggs ranks second in the MIAA for triples with 5, just one behind Abbey Fischer of Central Missouri with six. Her 5 triples ties for third most in a season at FHSU, now only behind Heather Varnum's school record of 7 set in 2000 and head coach Adrian (Mohr) Pilkington's 6 in 2009. Beggs' 8 career triples ties for fifth most in school history. She also has 13 doubles, which ranks 6^th in the MIAA, and 2 home runs.
 
Moving Your Teammate Up
Fort Hays State is tied for second with Central Missouri in the MIAA in sacrifice bunts/hits with 31, only behind Washburn's 35. The Tigers are also second in sacrifice flies with 15, only behind Central Oklahoma's 22. FHSU is tied for the MIAA lead with Washburn in total sacrifices with 46.
 
Solid Pitching
Fort Hays State has a team pitching ERA of 2.73, which ranks sixth in the MIAA. Savanah Egger leads FHSU pitchers in ERA at 2.05 for the season. The Tiger pitchers rank second in the MIAA in strikeouts with 273, only behind Washburn (342). Three of the four Tiger pitchers have at least 40 strikeouts on the season, led by Egger with 135. FHSU is allowing just a .249 batting average to opponents, which is fifth best in the MIAA.
 
Strong in the Circle
Savanah Egger has allowed two or less earned runs in 15 of her 22 starts in the pitching circle this season. She had four consecutive shutouts from February 24 to March 4, and has since thrown four more for a total of eight for the season. She ranks 5^th in NCAA Division II for individual shutouts and leads the MIAA. She is tied for the MIAA lead and ranks 24^th in NCAA Division II for complete games with 16. She ranks 2^nd in the MIAA in strikeouts and 40^th in NCAA Division II with 135. She had a 32-inning scoreless streak at one point during the season. Her eight shutouts is second most for a single season in FHSU history, only behind Maddie Holub's 13 in 2013.
 
Carlson Steady in the Circle
Bailey Carlson holds a 2.75 ERA for the season. She has allowed three or less earned runs in all of her outings in the pitching circle this season. She is 10-6 on the season and ranks second among Tiger pitchers in wins. She has seven complete games and two shutouts to her credit for the season. She has shown big improvement this season in her ERA, down nearly 2 runs from last year (4.62).
 
Schmidt Tosses 14^th No-Hitter in Program's NCAA Division II History
Morgan Schmidt threw the 14^th no-hitter in FHSU Softball's NCAA Division II history back on March 28 at Southwestern Oklahoma State. She was the first to throw a no-hitter since Michaelanne Nelson's 8-inning no-hitter against Oklahoma Baptist back on February 16, 2020 in Oklahoma City. The last three FHSU no-hitters have been thrown in the state of Oklahoma as Paxton Duran threw a no-no at Northeastern State in Tahlequah back on March 21, 2014. Schmidt is the seventh individual to join the individual no-hitter club at FHSU. Six of the seven have all thrown one, while Maddie Holub threw seven in her career. Head coach Adrian (Mohr) Pilkington joined Holub for the only combined no-hitter in the program's NCAA Division II history. Schmidt owns the highest strikeouts per 7 innings rate on the team, averaging 10 per seven innings. She has 64 Ks in 45.0 innings of work this year.
 
Win Streaks
Fort Hays State put together two big win streaks this season. The Tigers won eight straight games from February 24 and March 4, then topped that with a nine-game win streak from March 14 to March 28. The nine-game win streak matched the second best in program history, produced by the 2013 team. The 2013 squad also owns the top win streak in program history, which lasted 12 games. The eight-game streak by this year's squad ties for fourth best in program history, also produced by the 1999, 2003, and 2005 squads.
 
Deep Conference
The MIAA may be the deepest it has ever been in softball since the conference has had 14 or more teams, starting back in 2013. The conference already has 11 teams with at least 20 wins this season and all 11 still have winning records overall at this point. There are five teams with at least 30 wins, The only other year the conference had at least 11 of 14 teams with 20 or more wins overall was the 2017 season, but four of those 11 finished with records under .500 overall.