FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State improved to 21-26 overall and 14-21 in the MIAA thanks to a stellar pitching performance by Kyle Vogt in a 7-3 win over Northwest Missouri State on Thursday (May 5). Vogt went 8.1 innings in the final start of his collegiate career, earning the win. NWMSU moved to 24-24 overall and 19-18 in the MIAA.
After allowing a two-run double in the second inning that put the Bearcats up 2-0, Vogt settled in to retire 13 straight batters while the Tigers nudged their way into the lead, 4-2, with single runs in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. He allowed a run in the sixth, but then faced the minimum amount of batters in the seventh and eighth to keep the Tigers in front, leading 7-3 heading into the ninth.
Four errors were the demise of the Bearcats as three of FHSU’s first four runs were unearned. The Tigers got on the board in the second when NWMSU third basemen James Holler let a ball through his legs that allowed a run to score. In the third, FHSU evened the score when Austin Unrein led off the inning with a single and moved to second thanks in part to another error on Holler. Three batters later, Caleb Cherryholmes plated Unrein with a missile up the middle for an RBI single. Holler had all three of NWMSU’s errors through the first three innings.
Unrein then put the Tigers in the lead for the first time in the fourth after singles from Alex King and Connor Ross. Unrein got his 46th RBI of the season with a single to left, producing FHSU’s first earned run of the game.
In the fifth inning, the Tigers again took advantage of a Bearcat error, extending the lead to 4-2. After Cherryholmes reached base with his third hit of the day, an errant throw on a pickoff attempt moved Cherryholmes all the way to third. Trevor Hughes singled up the middle allowing Cherryholmes to score easily.
Leading 4-3, the Tigers got two more runs in the sixth with good execution at the plate. Ross led off the inning with his fourth hit of the night and moved to scoring position after a Nick Hammeke sacrifice bunt. Unrein drove a ball to the right-center gap for his first triple of the year, extending the Tiger lead to 5-3. The next batter, Alex Weiss, flew out deep to right field but served a purpose as Unrein scored easily on the sacrifice fly. FHSU made it a 7-3 game when King singled in Cherryholmes in the eighth.
The Bearcats threatened in the top half of the ninth by getting two runners on with one out. Giles Fox entered in relief and recorded a pair of strikeouts to close out the game for his sixth save of the season.
Vogt picked up his fifth win. He limited the Bearcats to just three runs on seven hits, with a pair of strikeouts and walks.
The Tigers and Bearcats play game two of the series on Friday (May 6) at 5 pm at Larks Park.