Lady Tigers' ride pitching to shutout wins at No. 11-ranked Johnson County

In a matchup of ranked squads, the No. 18-ranked Cowley College softball team got a pair of pitching gems as they shutout No. 11-ranked Johnson County 2-0 in both games of Thursday's doubleheader played in Overland Park, KS.

The victories keep Cowley (30-10) just behind conference leading Highland (17-3 in conference) as the Lady Tigers are now 18-4 in conference play. Johnson County falls to 22-12.

In Thursday's opener, Cowley got three hits and a run batted in from Alivia Lange, while Maci Cole and Maggie Musson added two hits apiece. The trio helped provide more than enough run support for Ashlynn Mercer as the right-hander struck out six in the four-hit shutout. Mercer improved her record to 17-5 on the season.

In game two, Cowley strung together three straight hits to start the fourth inning and scored both of their runs in the inning. Lange added two more hits in the victory as did sophomore Tatyana Curry.

However, the star of the game was freshman pitcher Sydney Price. The right-hander struck out five in the two-hit, complete-game shutout. Price is now 10-2 on the season.

"Both Ashlynn and Sydney were sharp in all areas," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said. "I am proud of how we played defensively as well, we made some big time plays."

Cowley, winners of nine of its past 10 games, will attempt to continue its winning ways when they host Allen Community College (12-22) in a doubleheader Sunday at 1 p.m.

"Our biggest focus moving forward is executing. When we have a tight game again adjusting offensively so we can give more comfort to our pitcher and defense," Hoyt said.

Score by inning:

Game one                    R H E

Cowley  0 0 1 1 0 0 0 – 2 8 2

Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 4 0

Game two                    R H E

Cowley  0 0 0 2 0 0 0 – 2 7 1

Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 2 0