Cowley 2-1 in season opening tournament

No. 2-ranked Lady Tiger softball team goes 2-1 in season opening tourney

Opening its season at the Weatherford College Roundrobin in Weatherford, TX on Saturday, the No. 2-ranked Cowley College softball team won two of three games.

The Lady Tigers opened with a wild, 8-7 win over Trinity Valley (TX) before losing to Weatherford (TX) by a score of 10-2. Cowley finished the tourney on a high note, run-ruling Jayhawk Conference foe Neosho County 10-0 in five innings.

In the first game, Cowley trailed Trinity Valley by a score of 7-2 heading into its final at bat. The first two batters of the bottom of the seventh inning reached base safely on errors by the Cardinals. Jordan Haya, Stephanie Couser, and Caitlyn Cosme then drove in runs in the inning as Cowley rallied to tie the game at 7-7. Tiffany Isam's one out single scored freshman Katie Holmes with the winning run as the Lady Tigers scored six runs in the inning.

Freshman Taya Haney, making her first collegiate appearance, retired the side in order in the top of the seventh inning as she earned the win in relief.

Jessica Seay, who went 28-1 as a freshman, struggled in her season debut, allowing 10 hits and seven runs in six innings pitched.

Holmes went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the win, while freshmen Morgan Swisher and Sarah Glass added two hits a piece.

In the game vs. Weatherford, Cowley led 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning. However an error to start the fourth inning seemed to open the floodgates as Weatherford scored eight runs off Haya, who was pulled with two outs in the inning. Haya (1-1) allowed 10 hits, but only two of the eight runs she allowed were earned.

Seay came on in relief of Haya and allowed two runs, one earned, in 2 2/3 innings pitched.

Cowley was out-hit 12-5 and committed four errors in the defeat.

The Lady Tigers bounced back in its final game of the tourney as sophomore Brooke Benge tossed a one-hit shutout in a 10-0 victory over Neosho County.

The defining moment of the game came after Benge had walked the bases loaded in the top of the second inning. After a visit to the mound by Cowley head coach Ed Hargrove, Benge (1-0) worked out of the jam and allowed only one of the last 12 batters she faced to reach base.

Cosme had a big game in the win, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Four other Lady Tigers had two hits a piece as Cowley finished with 15 hits.

"Going down there I figured if we could win two out of three I would be thrilled," Hargrove said. "It was good to get started on the right track and come back and win a game like that."

The Lady Tigers had five players record four hits at the tourney.

Cowley's game in Lawrence on Thursday vs. the University of Kansas Club Team has been postponed. The Lady Tigers will play its first home doubleheader next Tuesday vs. Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa at 2 p.m.

"Obviously, our No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers have to get better and I am confident they will," Hargrove said. "It was good to win two of three and still find out what we need to work on."

Score by inning:

Game one R H E

Trinity Valley 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 - 7 10 2

Cowley 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 - 8 11 1

Game two R H E

Cowley 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 4

Weatherford 0 0 0 8 1 1 - 10 12 1

Game three R H E

Neosho 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 2

Cowley 1 0 4 1 4 - 10 15 0

Sat. Feb. 8

Independence def Kilgore TX 3-2

Independence lost to McLennan TX 6-4 (9)

Independence def Cisco TX 2-1

Neosho County lost to Trinity Valley TX 15-0

Neosho County lost to Cowley 10-0

Neosho County at Wetherford TX 7:00

D2#3 Cowley def Trinity Valley TX 8-7

D2#3 Cowley lost to Weatherford TX 10-2 (5)

D2#3 Cowley def Neosho County 10-0 (5)