Fort Hays State (20-6, 5-1 MIAA) at
Washburn (22-13, 4-4 MIAA)
Friday, March 28 – 4 p.m. (DH)
Topeka, Kan. – Gahnstrom Field
 
Fort Hays State at
Emporia State (22-12, 3-5 MIAA)
Saturday, March 29 – 12 p.m. (DH)
Emporia, Kan. – Trusler Sports Complex
 
Fort Hays State Softball travels to the eastern half of Kansas this week to face a pair of in-state rivals in MIAA play. Entering the week of play with a record of 20-6 overall and 5-1 in the MIAA, the Tigers will face Washburn on Friday (Mar. 28) and Emporia State on Saturday (Mar. 29). Both the Ichabods and Hornets have at least 20 wins for the season as well. The Ichabods enter Friday at 22-13 overall and 4-4 in the MIAA, while the Hornets go into the weekend 22-12 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA.
 
All games will be streamed on The MIAA Network, while live stats are also available at the links above.
 
Fort Hays State enters their road swing on a nine-game win streak. The run started back on March 11 at UC-Colorado Springs with a win in the second game of a doubleheader. FHSU then swept doubleheaders with Adams State, University of Mary, Northwestern Oklahoma State, and Northwest Missouri State. The nine-game win streak is FHSU's longest since the 2023 season when it rattled off nine straight from March 14 to March 28.
 
Washburn went 1-3 in MIAA play last week on the road, splitting a doubleheader with Missouri Southern before falling twice to Pittsburg State. Friday will mark the first home conference games for Washburn this season after playing their first eight on the road. They swept Northeastern State and split with nationally ranked Rogers State back in early March.
 
Emporia State also went 1-3 in MIAA play last week on the road against the same opponents as Washburn. The Hornets also split with Missouri Southern and lost twice to Pittsburg State. This weekend also marks the first home conference games for the Hornets and they will host Nebraska-Kearney on Friday before facing FHSU on Saturday. Early in March, ESU lost twice to Rogers State but followed with a sweep of Northeastern State.
 
Fort Hays State is looking to snap a four-game losing string to Washburn. The Ichabods swept the regular season doubleheader last year in Hays by scores of 2-0 and 13-6. Back in 2023, the Ichabods took the second game of the regular season doubleheader in Topeka and then defeated the Tigers in the MIAA Tournament at the Lake Shawnee complex in Topeka, which ended FHSU's 2023 season. FHSU's last win against Washburn was a 2-1 result in the first game of the 2023 regular season doubleheader in Topeka.
 
The Tigers split their regular season doubleheader with Emporia State last year in Hays. The Hornets won the first contest before the Tigers won game two 5-4 in eight innings. The win for FHSU snapped a four-game win streak for the Hornets in the overall series history between the teams. FHSU seeks its first win in Emporia since the 2021 season when it split the regular season conference doubleheader between the teams.
 
Lilly Mohr leads the Tigers in batting average (.400), extra-base hits (10), home runs (5), slugging percentage (.800), and on-base percentage (.492). Her sister Lexi Mohr has a team-best 18 RBIs for the season. Madison Pierce is having a big season with the bat as well, hitting .387 with 15 RBIs and a team-high 14 walks. Pierce also leads the team in runs scored with 18. Eight of the nine regular starters in the Tiger lineup are hitting over .300 for the season and the Tigers as a team are hitting .319 for the season, which is fourth-best in the MIAA.
 
Seniors Morgan Schmidt and Savanah Egger have been strong in the circle for the Tigers. Schmidt is 9-2 on the season with a 2.18 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 70.2 innings, while Egger is 9-4 on the season with a 2.87 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 78.0 innings. The duo is tied for eighth in the MIAA in strikeouts and have combined for 18 complete games.
 
Makenzie Sais leads the Ichabods in batting average at .357 for the season, while Ellington Hogle has 27 RBIs. In the circle, Sadie Walker has 103 strikeouts in 109.2 innings of work, but holds a 3.89 ERA.
 
Sydney Wagner leads a group of eight Hornets hitting .300 or better for the season at .350. Brooke Flewelling is ESU's biggest power threat with 19 extra-base hits, including nine home runs, and a team-best 31 RBIs.