Lady Tiger sophomores shine in sweep of Kansas City

On Sophomore Day, it was only fitting that the Cowley College sophomores made a big impact in a pair of victories over Kansas City on Sunday at the Ed Hargove Field in Arkansas City. The Lady Tigers won game one 6-1 before taking the nightcap 13-4.

The No. 17-ranked Cowley College softball team ran its winning streak to 16 games with a huge home doubleheader against Johnson County looming on Thursday. The Lady Tigers are now 37-10 overall and 14-0 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

In Sunday's opener, Cowley sophomores Shayne Roberts and Andrea Kaffure homered to help aid Lady Tiger pitcher Mikah Vann (18-3), who allowed only three hits and one run while striking out seven in the complete game victory.

Kansas City's Alyssa Droge allowed eight hits and six runs in six innings pitched as she fell to 12-11.

In between games, the Lady Tiger sophomores were honored for their accomplishments.

"Our sophomores each bring value to this program and our team's success, so it was a good day to honor them for all the work they have put into their two years here," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.

In Sunday's second game, Cowley trailed 4-3 before erupting for seven runs in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman Raelynn Sandlin hit a two-run homer before sophomores Jamie Molina and Lyric Perry added two-run singles in the seven-run second.

Kaffure homered for the second time in the doubleheader, and Molina homered and drove in five. Kaffure has six home runs on the season, while the home run for Molina was her seventh.

"I thought our offensive approach to game two was better than game one," Hoyt said. "We put a lot of hard balls in play to put pressure on their defense. It was good to see our team come out with the victory on a day we got to honor our sophomores. 

Jaiden Swanson (16-6) settled down after a rocky start to go all five innings in the run-rule win of game two. Kansas City used four pitches in the loss.

Cowley will host eighth-ranked Johnson County in a doubleheader on Thursday at 2 p.m. The Cavaliers are 31-7 overall and in second place in the conference with a record of 10-2.

"This will be another competitive matchup," Hoyt said. "We will have to step up the level of competition within ourselves and will have to be sharp all the way around to get the win."

Score by inning:

Game one                    R H E

KCK     0 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 1 3 0

Cowley 1 0 2 0 1 2 x – 6 8 0

Game two               R H E

KCK     1 3 0 0 0 – 4 7 1

Cowley 3 7 0 3 x – 13 11 2