Rogers State (38-9, 15-7 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (29-20, 11-11 MIAA)
Saturday, April 29 - 12 PM (DH)
Hays, Kan. - Fleharty Family Field

Northeastern State (27-20, 9-13 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State
Sunday, April 30 - 12 PM (DH)
Hays, Kan. - Fleharty Family Field

Fort Hays State Softball will battle for a spot in the MIAA Tournament this weekend as it hosts Rogers State and Northeastern State in a pair of doubleheaders in Hays on Saturday and Sunday (Apr. 29-30) to close out the 2023 regular season. The Tigers are among a cluster of teams fighting for the final four spots in the conference tournament, which begins on Wednesday (May 3). FHSU enters the week at 29-20 overall and 11-11 in the MIAA.
 
Four teams have punched their tickets to the MIAA Tournament going into the final week of regular season play. Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern are tied for the MIAA lead at 19-3, while Rogers State and Central Missouri are tied for third at 15-7. All four are mathematically clear of current ninth-place holder Missouri Western at 10-12.
 
Fort Hays State enters the week in a tie for sixth in the MIAA standings with Emporia State and Pittsburg State. Emporia State has two more conference games played than both FHSU and PSU, sitting at 12-12 in the conference. ESU has just one doubleheader this week, wrapping its season with current fifth-place resident Washburn. FHSU and PSU each have four games to play this week, sitting at 11-11. An FHSU doubleheader sweep of Pittsburg State earlier this year may loom large in the chase for the final spots in the conference tournament. However, lurking behind FHSU and PSU is Missouri Western, just one game back at 10-12. Northeastern State (9-13) and Nebraska-Kearney (7-15) enter the week barely alive in the conference tournament picture and play each other on Saturday.
 
The Tigers face 2022 national champion Rogers State on Saturday (Apr. 29), which enters the week at 38-9 overall and 15-7 in the MIAA. Then on Sunday (Apr. 30) the Tigers will close out the regular season facing Northeastern State, which enters the week at 27-20 overall and 9-13 in the MIAA. Live stream and stats will be available for both doubleheaders.
 
The Opponents
Rogers State (38-9, 15-7 MIAA)
-Rogers State won the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship, finishing with a record of 58-10. The Hillcats won 10 consecutive games to claim the national title, fighting off elimination in the regional they hosted by winning three straight, sweeping the super regional series with Central Oklahoma, then going a perfect 5-0 at the Division II Championship site.
-FHSU lost a pair of close battles with a No. 6 Rogers State team in Claremore last year by scores of 1-0 and 2-0.
-Rogers State leads the all-time series with FHSU 9-1. The only year the teams met in Hays previously was in 2021, when FHSU split with RSU falling 2-0 in game one before taking game two 3-1. The Hillcats have won the four games played since, sweeping a best-of-3 opening round matchup in the MIAA Tournament in 2021 and then the regular season conference doubleheader in Claremore during the 2022 season. The 2021 season was the only year the MIAA experimented with having opening round best-of-3 series before having the four winners play a tournament format the following week.
-Rogers State is ranked No. 8 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll. Rogers State and Central Oklahoma (No. 5) are the two representatives from the MIAA inside the Top 25, while Missouri Southern received the most votes of teams outside the Top 25.
-Bridgett Morales leads the Hillcats in batting average (.373), RBIs (41), and extra-base hits (17).
-Sara Llamas-Howell leads RSU pitchers in ERA (1.05), wins (19), and shutouts (7), while Jade Sanders leads in strikeouts with 108.
 
Northeastern State (27-20, 9-13 MIAA)
-The all-time series between FHSU and Northeastern State is tied 11-11. The home team has swept each of the last two conference doubleheaders between the teams. FHSU won 5-3 and 2-0 in 2021, while NSU won 4-3 and 5-1 in Tahlequah last year.
-The RiverHawks lead the MIAA in home runs with 68. Chloe Bohuslavicky and Addy Wolfe lead NSU with 15 each, while Savannah Evans has 13. Evans leads NSU in batting average at .414.
-Savannah Evans leads NSU in batting average at .414. She is also the team leader among pitchers in ERA (3.13), shutouts (3), and innings pitched (143.0).
-Madison Heinle leads NSU pitchers in wins (11) and strikeouts with 104.
 
Tiger Notes
History Facing a Defending National Champion
This will be the third time in the history of FHSU's NCAA Division II era of softball they face the national champion from the season before. Central Oklahoma was national champion in 2013 and FHSU split a doubleheader with UCO in 2014 in Edmond. Minnesota State was the national champion in 2017 and FHSU lost in a neutral site game to MSU in 2018.
 
Big Wins Against the Top 10 on Home Turf
Rogers State is ranked No. 8 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll. The last time FHSU knocked off an NFCA Top 10 team was in 2019 when it defeated a No. 2 ranked Central Oklahoma team in Hays by a score of 7-6. The Tigers have also knocked off Emporia State when it was ranked in the Top 10 three times in Hays, sweeping a No. 9 ranked Hornets squad in 2010 and winning one of two against a No. 1 ranked Hornets squad in 2006.
 
Tigers Coming 2-2 Week on the Road
Fort Hays State is coming off a 2-2 week on the road. The Tigers swept a doubleheader with Newman in Wichita before falling twice at No. 5 ranked Central Oklahoma. The Tigers have now swept MIAA doubleheaders this season against Nebraska-Kearney, Pittsburg State, Lincoln, and Newman. They were swept by Missouri Southern, Emporia State, Central Missouri, and Central Oklahoma. They have split their three other doubleheaders in conference play.
 
Most Wins Under Pilkington
Fort Hays State has its most wins in a season under Adrian Pilkington. The Tigers now have 29 this season, topping 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 16-4 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 13-16 when scoring three or less runs this season.
 
15 Shutouts
Fifteen of Fort Hays State's 29 wins this season have been by shutout. The 15 shutouts ranks 2nd in the MIAA behind Rogers State's 16 and 12^th in NCAA Division II. Rogers State is tied for 8^th most in NCAA Division II. The national lead is 23 by Concordia University-Irvine. The 15 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 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 (8^th), and hits (4^th). She has 18 stolen bases and 61 hits. She leads the Tigers in batting average (.372), runs scored (32), and on-base percentage (.431). She has a team-best 17 multi-hit games this season. 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 hot at the plate since April 2. In her last 13 games, Burghart is hitting .406 (13-for-32) with three doubles and one triple. She has a .563 slugging percentage and .475 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 .275.
 
Strong April for Stuke
Carly Stuke has a .340 batting average (16-of-47) in the month of April. She hit six of her 11 doubles for the season this month, while driving in five runs. Stuke is hitting .324 for the season, which ranks second on the team.
 
14 Multi-Hit Games for Tiffany
Sarah Tiffany has 14 multi-hit games this season and is tied with Peyton Shepard for the most three-hit games this season with five. She had a string of five straight multi-hit games from April 16 to April 21. She leads the team in RBIs with 32 for the season.
 
Pierce Grabs Share of FHSU Single-Season Doubles Record
Madison Pierce leads the FHSU in doubles with 18, which matches the most in a season by a Tiger. She joins Emily Herl (2006) and Jessika Anastos (2008) at the top of the list. She ranks second in the MIAA in doubles and 9^th in NCAA Division II. Sydni Hawkins of Missouri Western leads the MIAA with 20. The national lead is 23 by Aleese Angelo of Millersville.
 
Beggs Leads Tigers in Extra-Base Hits
Loren Beggs leads FHSU in extra-base hits this season with 21. Beggs ranks second in the MIAA for triples with 5, just one behind Abbey Fischer of Central Missouri with six. Her 5 triples is tied 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 14 doubles this season, which ranks 5^th in the MIAA, and 2 home runs.
 
Moving Your Teammate Up
Fort Hays State ranks second in the MIAA in sacrifice bunts/hits with 34, only behind Washburn's 42. The Tigers are also second in sacrifice flies with 15, only behind Central Oklahoma's 22. FHSU ranks second in the MIAA in sacrifices overall with 49, five behind Washburn's 54.
 
Solid Pitching
Fort Hays State has a team pitching ERA of 2.62, which ranks fifth 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 287, only behind Washburn (372). Three of the four Tiger pitchers have at least 47 strikeouts on the season, led by Egger with 135. FHSU is allowing just a .245 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 8^th in NCAA Division II for individual shutouts and leads the MIAA. She ranks second in the MIAA for complete games with 16. She ranks 3^rd in the MIAA in strikeouts. 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. Egger is the leader in wins among Tiger pitchers with 12 for the season.
 
Carlson Steady in the Circle
Bailey Carlson holds a 2.60 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 11-7 on the season and ranks second among Tiger pitchers in wins. She has nine complete games and three shutouts to her credit for the season. She has shown big improvement this season in her ERA, down 2 runs per game from last year (4.62).
 
Schmidt Throws Another No-Hitter, Becomes Just Second Tiger with Multiple No-Hitters
After throwing a no-hitter at Southwestern Oklahoma State on March 28, Morgan Schmidt did it once again in a 3-0 win at Newman University last week. She now owns the 14^th and 15^th no-hitters in FHSU's NCAA Division II history. Despite hitting the first batter she faced at Newman, Schmidt was perfect the rest of the way recording 21 straight outs. She had five strikeouts, five groundouts, and 11 flyouts with several being weak pop ups on the infield. Schmidt became just the second Tiger pitcher to throw multiple no-hitters in the program's NCAA Division II era, joining Maddie Holub who threw seven in her career, including six in just one season (2013). Schmidt's no-hitter at Newman was the 14^th individual no-hitter in program history, as Holub and head coach Adrian (Mohr) Pilkington share the only combined no-hitter in program history. Aside from a pair of no-hitters this season, Schmidt has the highest strikeouts per seven innings rate in the MIAA at 9.0 and ranks 14^th in NCAA Division II. She has 73 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched.
 
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 is 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 seven teams with at least 30 wins, which is the most 30-win teams in the conference since it expanded to 14 schools. 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.