From RAMA PEROO/Cowley College
On Tuesday, the Cowley College baseball team opened spring break with a wild 23-22 road win over Hutchinson Community College before sweeping a four-game series against Allen Community College. The Tigers won a pair of games over Allen on Thursday in Ark City by scores of 7-5 and 10-0 before winning the series’ final two games by scores of 14-3 and 7-4 on Saturday in Iola.
On Tuesday at Hutchinson, Cowley led 14-2 and 23-14 before holding on for the one-run win.
Tiger third baseman Keaton Campbell led Cowley’s 20-hit attack by going 5-for-7 with two doubles and six runs batted in. Leadoff batter Cade Baldridge homered and scored four times, while Jadyn McNealy also scored four runs.
“We have some guys that are starting to show signs of being more consistent at the plate,” Cowley head coach Darren Burroughs said.
Cole Abbott, the second of nine pitchers used by the Tigers, earned the win by tossing two scoreless innings of relief. Hutchinson’s Cody Gunderson homered and drove in five runs in the defeat.
On Thursday in Ark City, Cowley scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally and defeat Allen County 7-5 in the opener. Baldridge homered for the second straight game and drove in four runs. Cowley managed only five hits in the win but took advantage of eight walks.
Alex Conover (1-1), the fourth Tiger pitcher used against Allen, earned the win by retiring all four batters he faced.
In Thursday’s second game, Cowley starting pitcher Cody Airington (2-1) did not allow a hit in six scoreless innings on the mound. Airington struck out four and walked one before Cade Perkins came on to finish off the one-hit shutout.
Tiger left-fielder Ian Luce had three of Cowley’s 12 hits as he finished 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Campbell and Seth Dandridge also played well and drove in two runs apiece.
Wrapping up the four-game series against Allen by playing a doubleheader Saturday in Iola, Baldridge homered for the third time in four games and drove in four runs, while Campbell drove in another four runs in the 14-3 win. Campbell now leads the Tigers with 25 runs batted in.
Luke Singleton allowed four hits and two runs in four innings pitched, while Cole Abbott (2-0) allowed one run in the fifth inning before Barrett Morgan struck out three batters in two scoreless innings of relief.
With the final game of the series tied at 2-2, Cowley scored four runs without the benefit of a hit in the top of the fifth inning. Allen County pitching walked six batters and hit a batter in the four-run fifth inning.
Dawson Williams and Seth Dandridge each went 2-for-4, and Mitchell Johnson (2-0) allowed only two hits and two runs in five innings pitched.
“Mitchell and Cody (Airington) pitched really well,” Burroughs said.
Allen is now 15-12 overall and 3-5 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. Cowley is now 16-7 overall and tied for first in the Jayhawk East with Kansas City and Johnson County at 7-1.
The Tigers will host Barton (18-6) in a single game Tuesday at 2 pm.
“Barton has got a good club and will be another test for us,” Burroughs said.
The Tigers are receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Top 25 poll.
Score by inning: R H E
Cowley 2 0 5 0 7 2 7 0 0 – 23 20 0
Hutch 2 0 0 0 2 10 8 0 0 – 22 21 6
Game one R H E
Allen 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 – 5 6 1
Cowley 0 3 0 0 1 3 x – 7 5 0
Game two R H E
Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 1 5
Cowley 1 0 1 0 0 5 0 3 – 10 12 0
Game three R H E
Cowley 2 1 0 0 0 5 6 – 14 14 0-
Allen 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 – 3 9 2
Game four R H E
Cowley 0 0 2 0 4 1 0 0 0 – 7 8 2
Allen 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 – 4 6 0
Tigers softball picks up a pair of run-rule wins over Pratt
The No. 19-ranked Cowley College softball team remains tough to beat at home as the Lady Tigers improved its home record to 13-1 with a pair of run-rule victories over Pratt Community College on Monday at the Ed Hargrove Softball Field. Cowley defeated Pratt 10-2 in game one before taking the nightcap by a score of 12-4.
Cowley improves its record to 23-10 on the season, while Pratt falls to 6-18.
In game one, Cowley led 1-0 before scoring a pair of runs in the third inning to increase its lead to 3-0. However, Pratt’s Naveya Gardner hit a two-run homer off Cowley starting pitcher Mikah Vann in the top of the fifth inning to pull the Beavers within 3-2.
Cowley answered with three runs in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Lyric Perry and an RBI single by Kanon Goji. The home run by Perry was her fifth of the season.
The Lady Tigers were not done there as Perry forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk, Andrea Kaffure followed with a two-run double, and Kaitlynn Anderson followed with a run-scoring single to complete the 10-2 run-rule victory.
Vann allowed only two runs in six innings to improve her record to 11-3 on the season. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two.
Harper Hancock and Goji had three hits as Cowley out-hit Pratt 15-6.
“I really thought the back side of our lineup really came in and competed well,” Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said. “We have needed some scoring production from them, and they had a total of nine runs scored in the doubleheader, so it was good to see they made an adjustment and executed when needed.”
In game two, Cowley got a two-run bloop double from Paige Scanlin in a three-run first inning before Kaylee Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning to pull Pratt within 3-1.
In the bottom of the second, Cowley got a run-scoring ground-rule double by Jamie Molina while scoring twice in the inning. Molina would finish 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs batted in.
“Jamie Molina continues to be a tough out for us in that four-hole and had a really good day,” Hoyt said.
In the third inning, Pratt’s Elysia Marquez and Jaxin Logue would hit back-to-back home runs to cut the Tigers’ lead to 5-3. Two batters later, Smith hit her second home run of the game to chase Cowley starting pitcher Jaiden Swanson from the game.
Swanson lasted only 2 2/3 innings on the mound before being relieved by Alissa Nuno, with Cowley clinging to a 5-4 lead. Nuno (2-1) would toss 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to stabilize the game for the Tigers.
Karleigh Bell hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fourth inning and give Cowley a commanding 11-4 advantage. Bell drove in four, while Shayne Roberts scored three times.
Molina went on to hit a ground-rule double to score Roberts and end the game due to run rule.
Cowley will play a doubleheader at Coffeyville on Thursday at 1 p.m. The Red Ravens are 1-13 on the season with 13 losses in a row.
Score by inning:
Game one R H E
Pratt 0 0 0 0 2 0 – 2 6 1
Cowley 1 0 0 2 3 4 – 10 15 0
Game two R H E
Pratt 0 1 3 0 0 – 4 7 0
Cowley 3 2 6 0 1 – 12 8 0
