Tigers run win-streak to nine with sweep of Panthers

Getting stellar pitching and timely hitting, the Cowley College baseball team continued its winning ways with a pair of victories at Neosho County on Saturday. The Tigers needed 14 innings to win Saturday's opener 5-4 before completing the sweep of the four-game series with an 8-2 win of the nightcap.

Cowley, winners of nine games in a row, is now 23-11 overall and 17-3 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Tigers remain one game behind conference-leading Johnson County (18-2) with 12 conference games remaining.

Making his first start since tossing a five-inning no-hitter against Highland the previous Saturday, sophomore Brigden Parker tossed four more hitless innings before being relieved on the mound. Parker left with Cowley trailing 1-0 as he walked five and struck out three.

Cowley would tie the game at 1-1 on an RBI single by Ty Hammack in the top of the fifth inning.

Freshman Cole Abbott followed Parker on the mound and took a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning before allowing the Panthers' first hit of the game. Abbott would strand the runner as he tossed four scoreless innings to go along with six strikeouts.

Sophomore Carlton Perkins followed with three additional scoreless innings as the game remained 1-1 into the 13^th inning. Cowley appeared to gain control as Cole Martin doubled in a run and scored on a two-run homer by Cooper Schwindt to put the Tigers ahead 4-1.

However, the Panthers got to Perkins for three runs in the bottom half of the inning as the game went to the 14^th inning tied 4-4.

Tiger sophomore Haden O'Toole hit a one-out single in the top of the 14^th, advanced to second on an error, and scored the go-ahead run on the second error of the inning by the Panthers.

Tanner Vaughn (3-1) pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning to earn the victory.

O'Toole led Cowley's 12-hit attack by going 2-for-3, while the homer for Schwindt was his first of the season.

Trailing 2-0 in game two, the Tigers scored seven runs on six hits in the top of the third inning.

Freshman Danny Satterlee (2-2) gave Cowley another solid start on the mound, allowing five hits and two runs in five innings pitched. Chance Condit came on to pitch the final two innings and retired all six batters he faced to go along with three strikeouts.

Freshman shortstop Jadyn McNealy went 3-for-3 with two runs scored while also stealing one of the Tigers' four bases in the nightcap. McNealy is now batting .355 with 13 stolen bases on the season.

Neosho County falls to 24-11 overall and 9-7 in the Jayhawk East.

Cowley will look to make it 10 wins in a row when they play at Jayhawk West foe Butler Community College Tuesday at 2 p.m. in El Dorado, KS. The Grizzlies are 23-14 on the season and in second place in the Jayhawk West.

Score by inning:

Game one                                         R H E

Cowley 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 – 5 12 0

Neosho 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 – 4 5 3

Game two                    R H E

Cowley 0 0 7 0 0 1 0 – 8 9 0

Neosho 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 2 5 3