Complete Notes (.pdf)
Live Stats
Game 1 Box Score (Fort Hays St. 8, Truman 3)
Game 2 Box Score (Fort Hays St. 5, Truman 3)
Fort Hays State University (Kan.) 15-15; 12-12 MIAA
Truman State University (Mo.) 11-19; 10-16 MIAA
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Fort Hays State University Tigers completed a doubleheader sweep and picked up a series win over the Truman baseball team on Saturday by scores of 8-3 and 5-3. The Bulldog defense committed 10 errors on the day which led to nine unearned runs in the losses.
The Tigers scored their first five runs in the first game all with two outs. In the first, Sloan Soulia singled in Brandon Hoefler to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the second on a single by Kenny Swanson scoring Daniel Jewett. Pitcher Tyler Stefan got the first two out in the fourth but a costly error by Scott Doggett at third led to three straight hits including a two-run homer by Nash Smith.
Fort Hays would add one more in the sixth on a failed pickoff attempt and two more in the seventh.
Dan Plecki had an RBI single for the Bulldogs in the sixth and Jordan Howe picked up an RBI in the bottom of the seventh as Connor Beer got the win for the Tigers.
Plecki doubled to lead off the bottom of the second in game two and came in to score on a fielding error by the first baseman. Tim Lee followed with a sac fly to score Jewett and staked Bulldog pitcher Kyle Veazey to a 2-0 lead.
That lead didn't last long as a couple of errors in the top of the third and a double by JC Ochoa lead to three runs and a Tiger lead.
The Bulldogs would tie the game in the sixth as Jewett singled in Devon Myers but Plecki was thrown out at third for the final out of the inning.
A bad throw in the top of the eight led to the winning run crossing the plate. Sheldon Howell drew a one-out walk from Veazey and Ochoa hit one down the third base line that Lee bobbled they threw away at first allowing Howell circle around and score the decisive run. Brett Macari got the win for Fort Hays pitching the complete game. He had a save in the Tigers win on Friday.
Just four of the 13 Tiger runs to cross the plate on Saturday were earned.
The Bulldogs will wrap up their series with Lincoln University on Tuesday at home. The doubleheader will get underway at 1:00 p.m.
Inside The Series: Daniel Jewett led the Bulldogs with a .429 average in the four games while Dan Plecki hit .417…as a team, Truman hit .259 while the Tigers hit .279…The Bulldog pitching staff struck out 25 FHSU hitters while walking just four in 32 innings…nine of the 23 runs scored by the Tigers were earned runs and the Bulldogs had a 2.53 ERA…Truman committed 13 errors in the four-game series…Brandon Hoefler led Fort Hays with a .444 batting average and had five runs batted in…all 12 of the Tigers runs allowed were earned runs.
Friday Recap
Game 1 Box Score (Truman 4, Fort Hays St. 2)
Game 2 Box Score (Fort Hays St. 8, Truman 2)
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Ryan Trimble tossed his third straight complete game victory but the Bulldogs stranded nine runners in the final five innings to split their MIAA series opener with Fort Hays State on Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs took game one 4-2 but dropped the nightcap 8-2 as the teams will return to action for another double dip on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs scored all their runs in the third inning with two outs. After a double-play, Devon Myers singled, Dan Plecki walked, Daniel Jewett brought in one run with a single, Kenny Swanson followed with an RBI single and Jordan Howe delivered the clutch two-run base hit to put the Bulldogs up 4-0.
From their, the two-time MIAA pitcher of the week was dominate as he fanned seven Tiger hitters, four looking as he extended his consecutive shutout innings streak to 36 innings before a one-out two run homer by Kyle Stacken in the seventh broke it. Trimble would strikeout the next hitter and got a flyout to notch his fourth win.
Tigers' Chris Santoscoy was the difference maker in the night cap as he drove in four runs in the 8-2 victory. Santoscoy got a key two-out single in the second inning that brought in two of the four runs scored while then breaking open the game in the ninth with a bases clearing triple after the 'Dogs have closed to within two.
The Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot in the second game as they left two runners on in the fifth, one in the sixth and the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Truman scored their first run in the sixth after Steven Rose and Myers singled to start the inning and were sacrificed up a bag by Plecki. Jewett grounded out to bring home Rose but Swanson left Myers standing on third with a groundball out to end the inning.
With two out in the seventh, David Geiger got unnerved a bit when he hit Kody Stricklin in the helmet with a pitch, then walked Michael Reese and hit Rose to load the bases. Myers drove the first pitch he saw to deep center but the park contained the ball as it fell into the glove of Brandon Hoefler for the out.
Truman loaded them up again in the eight as Plecki started the inning with a single. A fielder's choice brought in Swanson, who walked followed by Luke Crader's base hit. Jewett was forced out at the plate on a sharply hit ball to first for the second out but Stricklin drew a bases loaded walk to make the score 4-2. Will Nader ground out to the pitcher to end the threat.
The Bulldogs were retired in order in the ninth after the Tigers plated their four insurance runs.
Series Preview:
The Bulldog baseball team will open up an important six-game home stand on Friday as Fort Hays State comes to Kirksville for doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday followed by the return trip from Lincoln University on Tuesday afternoon.
Truman is mixed in a group of seven schools vying for roughly three spots into the MIAA postseason tournament in Kansas City. The Bulldogs are 9-13 in the league while the Tigers are 9-11 and sit in the sixth spot in the standings as teams begin the second half of the conference season. Emporia St., Central Missouri (19-3) and Nebraska Omaha (15-5) hold down the top three spots in the conference while Missouri Western (13-8), Missouri Southern (10-12), Fort Hays, Washburn (8-11), Truman, Pittsburg St. (8-14) and Lincoln (7-15) will be battling for those final tournament berths.
The Bulldogs come in just two conference wins shy of tying the school record of 11 league victories set back in 1999 and have won seven of their last 11 games. Truman has had the last three MIAA pitchers of the week with Ryan Trimble taking the honors for the second time this past week following a one-hit, complete game shutout over SBU last Friday. Truman's team ERA of 4.89 is the lowest it has been since the conclusion of the 1992 season and the four shutouts are the most since six in 1976.
Trimble leads the conference in ERA with a 1.80 and has allowed just one earned run in the past 30 innings of work. Jarrett Eiskina was the other MIAA pitcher of the week and is also riding a 16-inning shutout streak in his last two starts, both wins.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are led by junior catcher Devon Myers. With a .371 batting average and a season-high seven game hitting streak, Myers also is tied for the team lead with 14 runs batted in. Senior Michael Reese is hitting .329 after hitting .563 in last weekend's series with Southwest Baptist. The lead off hitter has a .436 on-base percentage and has swiped a team-leading 10 of 12 bases this season.
Fort Hays State took three of four from Pittsburg on the road last weekend but lost four straight to Emporia St and three of four from Northwest Missouri. The Tigers are hitting .286 as a team with Sloan Soulia leading the club with a .348 average and five home runs. Fort Hays' pitching staff has a team ERA of 6.99 with Andy Lewton leading the squad with a 4.47 ERA and a 3-3 record.
Series Schedule:
The four-game series is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Friday with a seven-inning game to be followed by a nine-inning game. The teams will play the same format on Saturday also starting at 1:00 p.m.
Current Weather Forecast:
The National Weather Service is calling for partly sunny and a high of 73 on Friday with a light north wind while Saturday the high will jump to 83 degrees with a 30% chance of thunderstorms.
Bulldog Bites:
· The Bulldogs are hitting .250 with 46 extra base hits. The team has 32 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs to go with 35 stolen bases.
· As a team, the Bulldogs are 68% successful in stolen base attempts (35-of-51).
· The pitching staff has a 4.89 earned run average through 26 games. Opponents are hitting .276 with 60 extra base hits (70 doubles, seven triples and 13 home runs.).
· Truman is fourth in the MIAA in ERA with their 4.89, while the starters have a 3.76 ERA.
· The hurlers have over a two-to-one strikeout to walk ratio as the Bulldogs have fanned 159 opposing hitters while issuing just 60 walks. On average, the staff is averaging 6.1 Ks per game.
· The Bulldog pitchers have a 1.34 WHIP while the Bulldog hitters have a 1.33 WHIP.
Free Runs:
The Bulldogs have scored 32 of 120 times when reaching base via a walk, hit by pitch or reaching by error (26%). Opponents have scored 40 of 106 times (37%) when reaching by those means.
Inside Last Week's Series w/Southwest Baptist
- Michael Reese has nine multi-hit games after going 9-for-16 (.563) in the series with five RBIs and had an on-base percentage of .632
- Four Bulldogs hit over .400 for the set with Reese, Jewett (.500), Devon Myers (.462) and Dan Plecki (.417)
- As a team Truman hit .323
- Steven Rose had a series-high six runs batted in.
- Three Truman starters put up a 0.00 ERA while SBU hit just .218 for the series
- The Bulldog pitching staff recorded 25 strikeouts to seven walks with Jarrett Eiskina leading the way with 10Ks.
Last Year vs. Fort Hays State:
After the Bulldogs took the opener 4-3 behind Ryan Trimble's complete game victory, the Tigers exploded for a 12-1 and 11-1 wins on the Saturday before wrapping up the series with a rain-shortened 4-0 win in the season finale in Kirksville last year.
Truman hit just .198 with the Tigers pounded out 51 hits and hit .370 as a team. Kenny Swanson was 4-of-8 for Truman while Sloan Loulia was 10-of-15 (.667) with a home run and seven runs batted in.
Up Next:
Truman will wrap up their four-game slate with Lincoln by hosting the Blue Tigers in a doubleheader on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. The Blue Tigers held serve and won both games last Tuesday in Jefferson City. Following that, Truman will then face Missouri Western in a four-game set from April 15-17. The next notes will appear Thursday, April 14th.
