HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State Tiger baseball team claimed an 11-8 victory against the Cardinals of William Jewell on Tuesday (April 16) at Larks Park. With the win, Fort Hays State improved to 22-20, while the Cardinals fell to 21-16.
 
Tiger starter Spencer Maley encountered a bit of a rough start, surrendering a leadoff home run, but swiftly recovered to record three straight outs. Andrew Hansen took over the mound in the third inning, striking out the first batter but yielded a home run to Evan Jilbert. Despite this setback, the Cardinals only managed one run in the frame, thanks to a remarkable diving play and throw by shortstop Sebastian Burgos to cut down the lead runner at third base.
 
Fort Hays State found their rhythm in the bottom of the fourth when Brady Kreutzer reached base on an error, followed by a single from Zane Knox. Jose Cintron's sacrifice fly brought Kreutzer home, initiating the Tiger scoring. The Tigers did not close the gap entirely, with the score sitting at 2-1 in favor of the Cardinals going into the fifth.
 
Brandon Chavez took over pitching duties from Hansen and faced some challenges, conceding back-to-back hits which led to a three-run homer by Dawson Tweet, extending the Cardinal lead to 5-1. However, Chavez managed to limit the damage, retiring the next two batters.
 
The Tigers roared back in the bottom of the fifth as Cesar Saavedra's double paved the way for an Isaiah Ural explosive home run, bringing the Tigers within two runs. Fort Hays capitalized on a fielder's choice, walk, and single, then Trey DeGarmo delivered his third hit of the game with the bases loaded, reducing the deficit to just one run.
 
The Tigers equalized the game at 5-5 in the sixth when a Kreutzer sacrifice fly with the bases loaded brought in a run. In the seventh, the Cardinals regained the lead with an RBI double, but Fort Hays quickly responded, scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a Saavedra two-run homer.
 
William Jewell's Evan Jilbert added another solo home run in the eighth inning, but Sebastian Burgos answered for the Tigers with a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the inning.
 
In the ninth, with two outs and the bases loaded, reliever Brett Jacobs handed the ball to Landyn Sterling, who successfully closed out the game by getting a groundout against Jilbert, WJC's most dangerous hitter.
 
The Tigers utilized a total of six pitchers, conceding eight earned runs with nine strikeouts. Jacobs (1-1) earned the win, pitching 2.1 innings and striking out three, while Sterling secured his first save of the season.
 
Offensively, the Tigers amassed 16 hits, with Saavedra, Ural, Herrmann, and DeGarmo leading the charge with multiple hits each. DeGarmo stood out with four hits. Nearly every Tiger in the lineup contributed an RBI, with Saavedra, Ural, Kreutzer, and Burgos each producing two.
 
Fort Hays State now looks ahead to a series against MIAA opponent Emporia State at Larks Park from Friday to Sunday (April 19-21). Following the weekend series in Hays, the team will travel to Liberty, Mo. to take on William Jewell in the Tigers' final non-conference game of the season.