Central Missouri (8-6, 0-0 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (8-4, 0-0 MIAA)
Saturday, March 8 - 1 PM (DH)
Hays, Kan. - Fleharty Family Field

Missouri Western (11-6, 0-0 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (8-4, 0-0 MIAA)
Sunday, March 9 - 12 PM (DH)
Hays, Kan. - Fleharty Family Field

Fort Hays State Softball will open conference play this weekend in Hays when it plays host to Central Missouri and Missouri Western. The Tigers will face UCM in a doubleheader Saturday (Mar. 8) at 1 p.m. and then MWSU in a doubleheader on Sunday (Mar. 9) at 12 p.m. Live stream (by subscription) and live stats will be available for both doubleheaders at the links provided above.
 
The Tigers enter conference play at 8-4 overall. They won five of six games at the Washburn Invitational to improve to four games over .500 and enter the weekend on a four-game win streak.
 
Central Missouri enters Saturday's doubleheader with an overall record of 8-6. The Jennies went 2-2 at the Washburn Invitational and 2-2 again this past weekend at the Midwest Classic in Shawnee, Kan.
 
Missouri Western holds an 11-6 overall record going into the weekend. The Griffons are on a five-game win streak to get to five games over .500. They went 4-0 last weekend at the Midwest College Classic in Shawnee.
 
Fort Hays State swept its doubleheader with Central Missouri last year in Hays by scores of 3-2 and 2-1. Savanah Egger and Morgan Schmidt each had complete-game wins in the matchup. Both allowed four hits, while Schmidt struck out seven and Egger struck out six.
 
The Tigers dropped both games of the conference doubleheader with Missouri Western last year in St. Joseph, but bounced back to knock off the Griffons in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament in Edmond by a score of 2-1. Egger threw a complete game in the MIAA Tournament win, allowing just three hits with five strikeouts.
 
Madison Pierce leads the Tigers in batting average (.441), extra-base hits (4), and runs scored (10) so far this season. She has also drawn a team-best seven walks. Lexi Mohr is the team leader in RBIs with 10.
 
In the circle, Egger and Schmidt have been sharp this season. Egger (1.82) and Schmidt (2.16) combine for a 1.99 ERA so far this season. Schmidt has 45 strikeouts, while Egger has 35. Both are 4-2 overall this season.