The Fort Hays State baseball team has reached its first-ever MIAA Baseball Tournament Championship as it plays No. 5 ranked Central Missouri at 11 am on Sunday (May 13). Fort Hays State needs to win that game to force a second championship game in the double-elimination format, as Central Missouri has yet to lose in the tournament. The second game would start approximately 30 minutes to an hour following the first game. The Tigers enter at 29-23 overall, while Central Missouri is 43-7.
This will be the first conference tournament championship the Tigers have played in since 2003, when they won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament. The Tigers had a similar scenario that year, as they had to beat Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo) twice in one day to claim the championship after they had lost to the Thunderwolves earlier in the tournament. That tournament was held in Hays.
The Tigers' only loss earlier in the tournament was by a 5-0 score to Central Missouri on Friday. The Tigers outhit the Mules 8-3 in that game, but two key errors led to three Central Missouri runs. The Tigers have had success against Central Missouri this year after winning three of four games from the Mules when they were No. 1 in the nation earlier this year in Hays. The Tigers were responsible for three of the four MIAA losses Central Missouri had this year. The Tigers are 3-2 against the Mules so far this year.
To get to the championship, Fort Hays State defeated No. 3 seed Missouri Southern 9-6 on Thursday in single-elimination play, knocking the Lions from the tournament. No. 5 seed Emporia State was also knocked out on Thursday by No. 4 seed Washburn. On Friday, FHSU lost to No. 1 seed Central Missouri 5-0 before bouncing back later that night eliminated Washburn 11-7 to advance to Saturday. After No. 2 seed Missouri Western lost to Central Missouri on Saturday, the Tigers knocked Missouri Western out of the tournament on Saturday with a 3-2 win, setting up the rematch with the Mules on Sunday.
