ADA, Okla. - The Fort Hays State baseball team picked up a doubleheader sweep of East Central Friday afternoon (Feb. 9), winning 7-2 in the opener before taking the nightcap 6-2.
 
Fort Hays State moves to 4-2 on the year, while East Central dips to 1-6 on the year. FHSU will look to complete the series sweep Saturday when another doubleheader begins at 11 a.m.
 
Game 1 - Fort Hays State 7, East Central 2
A pair of solid defensive plays helped FHSU to a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first, with Isaiah Ural making a diving catch in center field and Jamison Armstrong making a leaping catch at short.
 
FHSU starter Cade Flaherty (1-0) posted five more zeros on the scoreboard, retiring the side in order three times in 6.0 scoreless innings of work. The righty picked up the win after striking out six batters and allowing four hits, all singles, and just one walk.
 
FHSU left a pair of runners on base in the second before scoring the first runs of the game in the third when a pitch hit Armstrong to lead things off. Jose Cintron followed with a single before the pair moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt. The first two runs crossed the plate on a passed ball and a wild pitch before Elliott Herrmann made it a 3-0 lead with a home run to right center.
 
Fort Hays State added an unearned run in the fourth when Luis Ayala reached on an error. The catcher moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch before scoring on a two-out base hit from Cintron, giving the visitors a 4-0 lead.
 
A three-run home run from designated hitter Shaun Gomez plated Brady Kreutzer and Reid Baty in the fifth inning, putting FHSU in front 7-0.
 
East Central managed a pair of runs on three hits off the FHSU bullpen, but Andrew Hansen came on to pick up a pair of strikeouts to slam the door.
 
Cintron and Kreutzer each had two hits in the win, with Gomez driving in a team-high three RBI.
 
Game 2 - Fort Hays State 6, East Central 2
Fort Hays State struck first in the top of the first after two walks and a beaned batter loaded the bases with one out. Kreutzer plated the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to deep center. East Central responded with an unearned run in the home half of the inning before both teams left runners in scoring position in the second.
 
The black and gold Tigers manufactured a pair of runs in the fourth after Kreutzer led off with a double off the wall in left. Gomez put runners at the corners with a single before Zane Knox put FHSU on top 2-1 with an RBI groundout. Two walks loaded the bases for Cintron who added another run with an RBI fielder's choice.

East Central tried to mount a two-out rally in the fourth thanks to a single and two walks, but Tanner Vaughn came out of the pen to shut things down, recording the final out with a strikeout on three pitches.
 
The orange Tigers closed within 3-2 after scoring a run in the fifth before Fort Hays State tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth. Knox worked a leadoff walk before Armstrong lifted a two-run home run over the fence in right. Cintron followed with a double to center before coming around to score when Ural beat out an infield single, giving FHSU a 6-2 edge.
 
Fort Hays State had multiple scoring chances in the late innings, leaving the bases loaded in the seventh and ninth. But the Fort Hays State defense sealed the deal, turning double plays in the eighth and ninth before Vaughn secured the win with his eighth strikeout of the game.
 
Vaughn (2-0) picked up his second win of the season after allowing one run on three hits across 5.1 innings of relief. Gomez collected three hits in the win while Knox and Armstrong both worked a trio of walks.