Tigers erupt for 43 runs in a doubleheader sweep at Labette

The Cowley College baseball team improved to 9-1 in the Jayhawk Conference with a pair of run-rule victories at Labette on Thursday. The Tigers blasted Labette 22-6 in game one before shutting out the Cardinals 21-0 in the nightcap.

Cowley improves to 18-8 overall and 9-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Labette falls to 9-14 and 1-5 in conference play. The Tigers are now tied with Kansas City for first place in the conference.

In game one, Cowley scored in every inning of the five-inning win. Alex Conover hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run fifth inning and finished the game with seven runs batted in. Leadoff batter Cade Baldridge went 4-for-4 with a double and four runs scored, and every Tiger starter had at least one hit in the victory.

"We had a lot of guys stay within their approach and have big days at the plate," Cowley head coach Darren Burroughs said. "I was proud of the way the guys approached their at-bats."

Conover leads the Tigers with six home runs and 32 runs batted in while batting .375. The top three batters in Cowley's lineup combined to go 10-of-11 with 10 runs scored and 11 runs batted in.

Cowley's Iziah Salinas (3-0) allowed seven hits and six runs in three innings pitched before giving way to Tallen Bagwell, who struck out three in two scoreless innings of relief.

In game two, Jarrett Flaggert homered for the second straight game and now has four home runs on the season. Breck Romero added his first home run of the year, while Dane Harvey went 4-for-5 with a home run and four runs batted in. Harvey's homer was his third round tripper of the season.

Baldridge went 4-for-7 with two runs scored and had eight hits in the doubleheader, raising his batting average to .337 on the season. Seth Dandridge also played well as he doubled and drove in four.

Shortstop Jadyn McNealy went 5-for-6 in the two games and is now batting .432 with an on-base percentage of .543.

Cody Airington (2-1) and Cade Perkins combined on the four-hit shutout, with Airington striking out eight in five innings and Perkins retiring all six batters he faced.

"Those two threw well and did a good job locating and executing their pitches," Burroughs said.

The teams will meet again on Saturday in Arkansas City when they play a doubleheader at 1 p.m.

"Every day is a new day, and it starts with showing respect for your opponent," Burroughs said. "We want to continue to improve and build on what we did on Thursday."

Score by inning:

Game one               R H E

Cowley 5 4 5 1 7 – 22 19 0

Labette 4 0 2 0 0 – 6 8 1

Game two                     R H E

Cowley 0 2 4 5 0 8 2 – 21 18 0

Labette 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 4 2