Fort Hays State (15-16, 3-5 MIAA) at
Northwest Missouri State (22-7, 2-2 MIAA)
Friday, March 27 – 1 p.m. (DH)
Maryville, Mo. – Bearcat Softball Field
 
Fort Hays State Softball dips back into MIAA play on Friday (Mar. 27) with a doubleheader at Northwest Missouri State. Games are set to begin at 1 p.m. in Maryville. The Tigers enter at 15-16 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats are 22-7 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA.
 
The Tigers are coming off a doubleheader split in non-conference play at Northwestern Oklahoma State back on Tuesday. The Tigers took the first contest 12-9 in extra innings before falling 6-2 in the second contest.
 
The Bearcats split a pair of MIAA doubleheaders last weekend on the road at Rogers State and Northeastern State. Those games marked their start of MIAA play this season, sitting at 2-2 going into this weekend.
 
This will be just the second home doubleheader for the Bearcats so far this season. They swept MSU Moorhead in their first home contests back on March 13.
 
Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State are tied 20-20 in the all-time series between the teams. FHSU swept a doubleheader with NWMSU last year in Hays by scores of 11-3 and 4-3. However, the last time the teams met in Maryville (2024), the Bearcats swept a doubleheader. FHSU seeks its first win in Maryville since 2022.
 
Hannah Green and Peyton Shepard are the table setters for the Tiger offense, hitting .434 and .400 respectively for the season. Shepard has 23 stolen bases, while Green has 21. They have combined to score 55 runs this season, which is just over 32 percent of the team's runs overall. Lilly Mohr is tied for the MIAA lead in home runs with 11 after blasting a pair in the Tigers' win over Northwestern Oklahoma State back on Tuesday. She leads the team in extra-base hits with 14, followed closely by Audrey Gillespie with 13. Abbey Duarte is the team leader in RBIs with 31.
 
In the pitching circle, Solana Carpenter has a team-best 82.1 innings pitched with 59 strikeouts, six wins, and two saves. She has thrown six complete games this season. All seven pitchers for FHSU have thrown at least 12 innings this season.