Fort Hays State Baseball (2-5)
vs. Colorado School of Mines (0-8)
Saturday-Sunday, February 14-15, 2026
Hays, Kan. • Larks Park
Saturday - Noon (DH) • Sunday - Noon
 
The Fort Hays State baseball team will host Colorado School of Mines for its 2026 home opener this weekend (Feb. 14-15) inside Larks Park. The Tigers (2-5) and Orediggers (0-8) are scheduled to battle in a doubleheader Saturday and a single game on Sunday, with first pitch set for noon each day.
 
Admission is free once again this season at Larks Park, while live video will be available on The MIAA Network. Subscriptions cost $15 per game, $35 for a monthly subscription or $140 for an all-access pass. Live stats will be available online here.
 
The Tiger bats have racked up seven home runs on the season, second-most in the conference. Derek Woolwine has four of those long balls, tops in the league and fourth-most in Division II. The senior also leads the league and ranks inside the top five nationally with five doubles. Tyson Jimenez has already scored 10 runs this season, ranking inside the top 10 in the conference. Freshman Garretson Cook has a base hit in all six of his games played this season, while Antonio Avila ranks second on the squad with 12 base knocks.
 
Tiger pitchers are striking out 9.5 batters per nine innings, second-most in the MIAA. Preseason All-American Brandon Chavez leads the way with 17 punchouts in 12.0 innings of work, tops in the league and fourth-most in Division II. Luke Berry and Brett Jacobs are both seventh in the conference with 10 strikeouts on the year.
 
Mines is 0-8 this season after being swept in a pair of four-game series against Cal State San Marcos and Regis. The Orediggers are hitting .339 as a team with eight home runs, led by Evan Bilter who has three home runs and a team-high .765 slugging percentage. Will Niles carries an ERA of 5.59 through two starts, while Matthew Turner has a team-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.
 
Fort Hays State leads the all-time series with the Orediggers, 70-20. The teams split a doubleheader last season in Golden, with Mines taking the opener 6-3 and FHSU winning the nightcap 14-12. Colorado School of Mines last traveled to Hays in 2022 when the Orediggers swept a season-opening four-game series.
 
Looking ahead, the Tigers will jump into conference play next weekend (Feb. 20-22) when they travel to Maryville, Mo. to take on Northwest Missouri State.