Lady Tigers get back on track with sweep of Frank Phillips College

On a day when numerous former players came back to celebrate the dedication of Ed Hargrove Field, the Cowley College softball team gave the home fans plenty to cheer about in a doubleheader sweep of Frank Phillips College Saturday in Arkansas City. The Lady Tigers run-ruled the Lady Plainsmen 9-1 in the opener before coming back to win the nightcap by a score of 10-7.

In game one, Ashlynn Mercer was in complete control. The right hander struck out 12 and allowed only three hits and one run while improving her record to 5-3 on the season.

"Ashlynn had a really strong performance on the mound," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.

Four Lady Tigers had multiple hits in the win with Tye North and Tatyana Curry driving in two runs apiece. Maci Cole added two hits and a double, while Kayla McClellan went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a run batted in.

Amber Poorbaugh took the loss for Frank Phillips as she was tagged for 10 hits and nine runs in 5 2/3 innings.

In game two, it appeared Cowley may cruise to another easy victory as they led 5-0 after four innings of play. However, Frank Phillips scored seven runs off three Lady Tiger pitchers in the top of the fifth inning to lead 7-5. The big blow in the inning came when Christian Moyers belted a grand slam off Lady Tiger reliever Taylor Mercer.

Kennedy Toothman started on the mound for Cowley and retired the first 12 batters she faced before running into trouble in the fifth.

Trailing 7-5 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Cowley rallied to tie the game at 7-7 and then went ahead 10-7 thanks to a three-run homer by leadoff batter Maci Cole. The homer by Cole was her team-leading fourth of the season.

McClellan also homered in the win, while freshman Shelby Winfield added a pair of hits.

Sydney Price came on in relief of Taylor Mercer and retired the final two batters of the fifth inning. Price (1-0) would go on to retire all eight batters she faced as she earned her first collegiate win.

"Price got the defense out of a jam in that fifth inning and then closed the game for us which was a big performance from her," Hoyt said.

Arianna Zubia, the third pitcher used by the Plainsmen in game two, took the loss as she allowed five hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

Sophomore centerfielder Tatyana Curry, batting ninth in the lineup, went 3-for-3 with two walks, two stolen bases, two runs batted in and a run scored in the doubleheader.

"I really thought Tatyana did a great job of keeping the pressure on the defense from the bottom of the lineup," Hoyt said.

Cowley is now 8-6 on the season, while Frank Phillips falls to 2-16. The Lady Tigers will open conference play on Thursday at 2 p.m. when they play a doubleheader at Cloud County. The Lady T-Birds are 7-4 on the season.

"We need to continue to execute when we have runners on, as we left too many baserunners in both games," Hoyt said.

Score by inning:

Game one                           R H E

Frank Phillips 0 0 1 0 0 0 – 1 3 1

Cowley            0 3 1 0 1 4 – 9 10 1

Game two                              R H E

Frank Phillips 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 – 7 4 0

Cowley           2 3 0 0 5 0 x – 10 11 1