Tigers still alive in rain-suspended MIAA tourney
By The Hays Daily News
The Fort Hays State University baseball team went 1-1 in the first two days of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association postseason conference baseball tournament. The Tigers were scheduled to play their third game Saturday in the four-team, double-elimination pool, but rain moved the event to today.
On Friday night, the Tigers, the fourth seed, nearly pulled off an upset against Emporia State University, the No. 4 team in the country. The Tigers were ahead 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth when junior Eric Gilliland came in to close out the game.
Gilliland, moved to the bullpen for the series, walked the first batter of the inning, then allowed four straight singles. After an intentional walk to load the bases with none out, Kevin Wempe drove a single up the middle for the win.
In an elimination game Saturday, the Tigers withstood a late rally and beat Missouri Western State University, 4-3. Tiger junior first baseman Dusty Washburn hit a pair of homers, sophomore Matt Augustine pitched 7Ôªø2âÑ3 innings for the win and Gilliland came back to pick up the save.
Fort Hays was supposed to play the loser of Emporia and the University of Central Missouri Saturday night, but the ESU-UCM contest was halted with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Emporia was leading 11-4.
The game is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. today, with the loser taking on Fort Hays 30 minutes after the conclusion of the suspended game in the elimination bracket final.
The championship will now be a one-game, loser eliminated contest, and will start 30 minutes after the elimination bracket final.
The Tigers (28-29) will be on KJLS Radio (103.3 FM) when they resume play in the tournament.
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