WICHITA, Kan. - In the final game of the three-game season series against Newman University on Tuesday evening (April 9), the Fort Hays State baseball team fell 12-5. The Tigers (21-17, 9-15 MIAA) found themselves in an early deficit after a three-run first inning from the Jets (10-29, 6-18 MIAA).
 
However, the Tigers wasted no time in responding. In the top half of the second, Luis Ayala's single drove in a run. Tiger starter Tanner Vaughn retired the side in order in the second but faced challenges in the third, leading to his replacement by Spencer Maley. Vaughn's outing lasted 2.2 innings, where he surrendered seven hits and struck out a batter.
 
A hit-by-pitch of Brady Kreutzer followed by Zane Knox's double put two Tigers on base with no outs in the fourth. Trey DeGarmo's ground out scored Kreutzer, then an Ayala ground out RBI made the score to 5-3. The fifth inning mirrored the fourth in runs scored, with Isaiah Ural's walk setting the stage for an Elliott Herrmann RBI double. An error later allowed Herrmann to score, tying the game through five innings at 5-5.
 
Unfortunately, the sixth inning proved challenging for the Tigers, with the Jets scoring five runs on three hits. The Jets added two more runs in the seventh, solidifying their lead at 12-5.
 
The Tigers ended with six hits, two extra base hits and walked three times. The two extra base hits came from Herrmann and Knox.

Fort Hays State baseball will head to Topeka, Kan. to face off against Washburn this weekend. The first contest is set for 5 p.m. on Friday (April 12).