May 2, 2010
(KIRKSVILLE, Mo.) – Junior Kenny Swanson and freshman Brett Budd recorded multi-hit games, but the Truman baseball offense struggled as a whole at the plate in its final doubleheader of the season, as the Fort Hays (Kan.) State Tigers handed the Bulldogs a pair of 11-1 and 4-0 defeats at Bulldog Park on Sunday afternoon.
Truman (12-41, 7-33 MIAA) had its season come to an end with the rain-shortened game two on Sunday. The Bulldogs had nine hits in the two games and left 16 men on base against a Fort Hays (30-20, 22-18 MIAA) team that locked up the No. 4 seed in next weekend’s MIAA tournament with the series win.
For the season, the Bulldogs surpassed last year’s win total by one and set a new program-high for single-season doubles with 78, breaking the old record of 77 set both in 1999 and 2009.
Senior Keaton Jones finished his career five hits shy of the all-time program mark, coming in tied for second in Truman history with 186. He also recorded the most at-bats in program history (631) and ranked in the top-15 in runs, doubles, total bases and RBIs.
Game 1 Recap – FHSU 11-1 (Box Score)
A pair of big innings midway through the game helped propel Fort Hays to the 11-1 win in game one, as the Bulldogs trailed just 2-0 through two innings. FHSU though scored five in the fifth and three more in the sixth, sandwiched around Truman’s lone run of the day that came across in the bottom of the fifth inning. After the Bulldogs had two outs against them, junior 2B Luke Crader drew a walk and advanced to third on freshman OF Brett Budd’s single to right field. Sophomore C Devon Myers followed with an RBI single – his team-leading 37th RBI of the season – to plate Crader and get Truman on the board.
Budd had two hits for Truman in the game, while sophomore RHP Tyler Stefan started and took the loss. Stefan threw 4.2 innings, giving up six earned runs, before junior RHP Michael Staihr (1.1 IP, 2 ER) and senior RHP Jake Smith (1.0 IP, 1 ER) closed out the game.
Game 2 Recap – FHSU 4-0 (7 innings/rain) (Box Score)
The Bulldogs and Tigers got seven of game two’s nine scheduled innings in before the skies opened and a heavy rain drenched an already damp field at Bulldog Park. The two teams played to a 1-0 Hays lead through five innings before the Tigers scored two in the sixth and one more in the seventh. Truman struggled against Hays starter Chase Schippers, who allowed just two hits to junior OF Kenny Swanson in the game.
Junior RHP Jordan McLaughlin went 5.2 innings and gave up just two earned runs before freshman RHP Logan Siegler entered in relief, throwing another 1.1 innings and giving up one run.