Cowley softball eager to contend for conference and region titles
With a nice mix of returning players and talented freshmen, the Cowley College softball team hopes to capture conference and region titles for the first time since the 2018 season.
The Lady Tigers are coming off a 2021 season in which they placed second in the conference and finished with a record of 34-19 overall. Cowley has been picked to finish fourth out of 12 teams in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division entering the 2022 season.
The team returns nine players from last season's team, including all-conference outfielder Tatyanna Curry (.366 average) and Kayla McClellan, who batted .375 with a team-leading 16 doubles, eight home runs and 59 runs batted in.
Also returning is Cierah Jones, who batted .261 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. Jones will again start in the middle of the infield, while outfielder Ty North also returns after batting .303 with six home runs as a freshman.
Along with Mya Chapman, Maggie Musson, and Shelby Winfield, Alivia Lange (.412 average) rounds out the returning position players for the Tigers.
"Everyone needs to know what their role is and has to be willing to do the work to get better," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.
Lange returns to the team after having last season cut short due to injury.
"Having Alivia return will provide us with another solid bat in the lineup," Hoyt said.
Ashlynn Mercer returns for an unprecedented third season and will once again lead the pitching rotation. Mercer was named an all-conference and all-district selection a season ago as she went 15-7 with a 3.46 earned run average.
"Ashlynn will provide us with leadership in the circle as we have some young pitchers that will each bring different things to the team," Hoyt said.
Other pitchers on the team are freshmen Sydney Price from Bartlesville, OK, Kennedy Toothman from Prue, OK, and Taylor Mercer, the sister of Ashlynn.
"We will have to pitch it well in order to be successful," Hoyt said.
Helping handle the pitching staff will be Coffeyville Community College transfer Aaliyah Ahmed, who batted .293 as a freshman. Freshmen Maci Cole and Kenedee Sullins will also battle for time behind the plate.
Other freshmen on the team are, Laramie Neff and Merik Edgar. Edgar is a lefty that will bring speed to the lineup and compete for one of the three starting outfield spots.
"We recruited some athletic freshmen that will help in a lot of areas," Hoyt said.
Cowley will open its season by playing four games against Seminole State College (OK) before taking part in the always challenging Weatherford College Tournament in Texas.
"We start with some tough games early which will help prepare us for conference play," Hoyt said. "We will look to compete and get better every day. I am excited about the season and think we can do great things. It will all depend on how well we mesh together."