EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State fell to Missouri Western in the opening round of the 2026 MIAA Baseball Tournament, held on Wednesday (May 6). The No. 10 seeded Tigers fell to the No. 7 seeded Griffons by a score of 7-5, finishing their season at 17-33 overall. The Griffons improved to 27-23 for the season.
The Tigers held an early 1-0 lead after scoring in the top of the first, but they would never get it back after the Griffons scored twice in the bottom half of the inning. The Tigers pulled back even at 2-2 with a run in the third, but once again fell behind 4-2 when the Griffons put two on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Single runs in the sixth and seventh allowed the Tigers to pull even for a second time, but the Griffons had the response again in the bottom of the inning with the decisive three runs in the game. The Tigers mounted a bit of a rally in the ninth with a run, but the game ended on a ground out with two runners on base.
Garretson Cook had the biggest day at the plate for FHSU, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs. He plated FHSU's first run with an RBI single in the first and their last run with an RBI single in the ninth.
Mac Bowie added two hits for the Tigers, while four other players recorded one hit.
Gehrig Heckathorn crossed the plate twice for FHSU, both on the singles by Cook.
Cooper Howell had FHSU's only other RBI in the game with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Derek Woolwine scored on a balk in the sixth and
Antonio Avila stole third and scored on a throwing error by the MWSU catcher in the seventh.
The heart of the MWSU lineup did the majority of offensive damage with six RBIs combined. Miguel Cantu, Seth Winkler, and Luke Shannahan all had two RBIs, while Cantu led the Griffons with three hits.
Brandon Chavez pitched the first 6.2 innings for FHSU and took the loss, surrendering all seven runs. However, he struck out six.
Cody Bruss relieved for the final 1.1 innings and retired all four batters he faced.
Cam Saleh picked up the win for MWSU, going 6.0 innings in his start. He struck out seven and scattered six hits with three runs allowed. Cole Evans recorded his second save of the season by pitching the final 3.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts.
Fort Hays State qualified for the MIAA Tournament for a third-straight year under the guidance of fourth-year head coach
Justin Wichert.
