Bats carry the Lady Tigers to a pair of run-rule victories

The No. 20-ranked Cowley College softball team pounded out 29 hits and scored 26 runs in a pair of run-rule victories over Hesston College on Thursday at Ed Hargrove Field. The Lady Tigers needed just five innings to win each game by scores of 14-5 and 12-2.

Cowley (27-10), winners of six games in a row, is now alone atop the Jayhawk East standings with a record of 4-0. Hesston (8-12) has dropped five in a row and is now 1-3 in the conference.

In Thursday's opener, Cowley scored a run in the first inning before blowing the game open with a seven-run second. Shayne Roberts had a three-run triple, and Paige Scanlin capped the inning with a two-run homer, which was her third of the season.

After Hesston scored three runs off Tiger starting pitcher Mikah Vann in the top of the third inning, Cowley answered with a two-run double by Jamie Molina in the bottom of the third and capped the victory by getting a two-run homer by Emily Louderback in a four-run fourth inning.

Vann struck out nine in four innings, improving her record to 13-3. Kaitlyn Anderson struck out the side in the fifth to finish off the victory.

Molina and Roberts drove in four runs apiece for the Lady Tigers, who finished with 15 hits off Hesston starter Emma Killingsworth.

After scoring in each inning they batted in game one, the Lady Tigers did so again in the 12-2 win of the nightcap.

After watching Hesston score two runs in the top of the first inning, Cowley rattled off 12 straight runs to run-rule the Lady Larks.

Molina doubled twice and drove in three more runs as she drove in seven in the doubleheader and leads Cowley with 46 runs batted in on the season.

"Jamie Molina had a great day," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said. "It was good to see her compete every at-bat."

Karleigh Bell also doubled twice and drove in three, while Raelynn Sandlin went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

"I really thought offensively we did a great job of staying in control of the game and applying pressure every inning of the doubleheader," Hoyt said.

Jaiden Swanson improved her record to 12-6 after allowing four hits and two runs in four innings pitched. Alissa Nuno worked a scoreless fifth inning to finish off the win.

Cowley will play a doubleheader at Highland on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Scotties are 16-12 overall and 2-2 in the Jayhawk East following a pair of wins at Cloud County on Thursday.

"Highland will be a tough road test for us," Hoyt said. "We will have to do the same as we did against Hesston and look to apply pressure and count on our circle for a couple of good outings."

Score by inning:

Game one               R H E

Hesston 0 0 3 2 0 – 3 10 2

Cowley  1 7 2 4 x – 14 15 2

Game two              R H E

Hesston 2 0 0 0 0 – 2 6 4

Cowley   3 5 2 2 x – 12 14 0