Fort Hays State (19-28, 5-17 MIAA) at
Nebraska-Kearney (14-37, 3-19 MIAA)
Saturday, May 2 – 1 p.m.
Kearney, Neb. – Dryden Park
 
Fort Hays State Softball will close out the 2026 season on Saturday (May 2) with a doubleheader at Nebraska-Kearney. Games are set to get underway at 1 p.m. in Kearney at Dryden Park. The Tigers enter at 19-28 overall and 5-17 in the MIAA, while the Lopers are 14-37 overall and 3-19 in the MIAA.
 
Fort Hays State owns a 45-39 overall mark in the all-time series with Nebraska-Kearney. The teams split a doubleheader in Hays last year with UNK winning the first game 4-1 before FHSU took the second game 6-3. The results last year allowed both teams to qualify for the MIAA Tournament, but unfortunately this season both will fall short of qualifying for the conference tournament.
 
FHSU went 1-3 in MIAA play back on April 17-18 at home, splitting with Newman before falling in both contests to nationally ranked Central Oklahoma. UNK went 0-4 in MIAA play last weekend and has been struggling to score runs of late. The Lopers scored two or fewer runs in their last five contests.
 
Hannah Green continues to lead the Tigers offensively with a .443 batting average, 49 runs scored, 74 hits, and a .463 on-base percentage.
 
Peyton Shepard, who hit right behind Green at the top of the Tiger lineup, broke the career stolen bases record at FHSU last week and now has 75 for her career. She is four swipes shy of matching the single-season record of 40, held by Bianca Adame who she passed on the career list. Shepard is hitting .371 for the season with 35 runs scored, 56 hits, 21 RBIs, and a .424 on-base percentage.
 
Lilly Mohr (.343), Abbey Duarte (.311), and Audrey Gillespie (.303) are all north of .300 in batting average this season. Occupying the 3-5 spots in the lineup on the regular, the trio has combined for 108 of the team's RBIs for the season. Duarte leads the way with 43 RBIs, while Mohr has a team-best 12 home runs.
 
Solana Carpenter leads Tiger pitchers with a 4.67 ERA and nine wins for the season. She has struck out 68 batters in 132 innings of work.