HAYS, Kan. - No. 11 Rogers State softball (30-11, 12-8 MIAA) took care of business against Fort Hays State (22-12, 7-7 MIAA) with a doubleheader sweep to close out the road trip on Monday.
GAME 1 - RSU 12, FHSU 5
The first game of the day looked to be a pitchers' duel with two scoreless innings to start, but the Hillcats broke the seal in the third inning with four runs. Saylor Brown drew a nine-pitch walk to lead off the frame with Karlee Smith coming in as a courtesy runner. Brooke Nauman laced a one-out single to right field, with Nauman and Smith then moving into scoring position on a passed ball. Kaylee Lyon drove in Smith with a sacrifice fly and reached safely on a fielding error by the right fielder. Both Nauman and Lyon later scored on a throwing error by the second baseman with McKayla Carney safe at second. Abbey Rogers plated Carney with a single up the middle.
In the sixth inning, RSU added two more runs to go up 6-0. Callie Yellin blasted a first-pitch solo shot to center field. Bridgett Morales later brought in Mariah Belzer with a single up the middle after Belzer drew a four-pitch walk.
The Tigers came alive in the home half of the frame with four runs to cut the deficit to 6-4. An RBI single up the middle scored the first run with a three-run blast driving in the other runs.
The Hillcats responded by exploding for six runs in the seventh to push back out to a 12-4 advantage. Rogers plated Lyon with a double to left center. Yellin brought in Carney with a double down the right field line. Chloe Bohuslavicky cleared the bases as she launched a massive three-run round-tripper to right that scored Halle Hance and Yellin. Lyon capped off the big inning by driving in Morales with a single to short.
FHSU added one final run in the bottom half to set the final score at 12-5.
Harley Culie (14-4) earned the win after allowing four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Jade Sanders (2) picked up the save only giving up one run on three hits in the final 1.1 innings. Morgan Schmidt (10-5) took the loss.
GAME 2 - RSU 13, FHSU 3 (5 innings)
RSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game. Kaylee Lyon led off with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a fielding error by the center fielder. Abby Rogers traded places with her, lacing an RBI double to center.
The Tigers responded in the home half with an RBI groundout to short to tie things at 1-1.
After two scoreless frames, the Hillcats put up six runs in the fourth to go back up 7-1. Bridgett Morales got things started as she drove in Mariah Belzer with a single through the left side of the infield. Halle Hance scored on an RBI double from Lyon. McKayla Carney scored Lyon with a single up the middle. Chloe Bohuslavicky plated Carney and Rogers with a single to center. Callie Yellin capped off the big inning as she stole home on a double steal.
They tacked on six more runs in the fifth to extend the advantage to 13-1. Both Savannah Evans and Morales scored on a double from Lyon. Yellin brought in Mattie Richardson with a double to center. Rogers scored on a Bohuslavicky RBI groundout to third. Yellin later scored on a wild pitch.
FHSU scratched across two runs in the bottom of the fifth to set the final score at 13-3.
Jade Sanders (11-6) earned the win after allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts in a 4.1-inning start. Torie Sandoval was also solid in relief, only allowing one earned run on three hits in the final 0.2 innings. Savannah Egger (10-7) took the loss.
The Hillcats return home to the RCB Bank Sports Complex on Saturday, April 12 as they host Missouri Southern on Senior Day. First pitch for the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m.
