Box Score Bolivar, Mo. - In the rubber game of a three game set, the Fort Hays State Tigers used a four run 4th inning to carry them over Southwest Baptist 8-3 today and win the series. SBU's record falls to 9-18 (3-12 MIAA) while FHSU goes to 11-18 (3-13 MIAA).

The Bearcats jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st. On the first pitch of the inning, junior shortstop Tyler Mathys singled to left. Redshirt junior catcher Hunter Hisky followed with a single to center that moved Mathys to second. After an out and wild pitch, senior center fielder Clint Jack hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Mathys. 

Fort Hays would respond with five unanswered runs in the 3rd and 4th. The Tigers tied the game with a run in the 3rd and took a 5-1 lead with four more runs in the 4th. SBU closed the Tigers lead to 5-3 with two runs in the bottom of the 4th. On a 1-2 pitch, junior first baseman Trevor Lofstrom hit a single to center field that sent home Patrick Latham. Following an out, redshirt freshman Luke Winfrey drove in Don Roethler with a sacrifice fly.

The SBU offense struggled to get any offensive momentum materialized the rest of the game as Fort Hays tacked on three more runs with one in the 5th and two in the 9th to make the final score 8-3. Junior starting pitcher Blake Deatherage took the loss (0-2) while Cody Rottinghaus got the win (2-0) out of relief for the Tigers. At the plate for SBU, Latham went 3 for 4 on the day with a run scored. Hisky was 2 for 5, and Jack and Lofstrom were both 1 for 4 with RBIs.

SBU will be back in action on Tuesday, March 27th at 6:00 PM when they travel to Central Missouri.