Lady Tiger softball team slips past Connors State in home doubleheader

The Cowley College softball team got a pair of solid starts on the mound and did enough damage at the plate to sweep a doubleheader against Connors State Friday in Arkansas City. The Lady Tigers won the first game 5-3 before Paige Hughes scored the game-winning run in an 8-7 win of game two thanks to a RBI double by Christian Wind.

Hughes came up to bat in the nightcap with the game tied at 7-7 and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. She doubled for her fourth hit of the game and scored on the fourth run driven in by Wind. Wind went 3-for-4 with a homer, while Hughes scored three runs.

"Christian and Paige really came up big in the clutch for us in the second game," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.

Cowley is now 5-3 overall, while the Cowgirls fall to 2-6.

In game one, Cowley scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and got solid pitching from Brooke Mason and Ashlynn Mercer to hold on for the 5-3 win. Mason (2-1) allowed six hits and two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings before Mercer tossed 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Freshman Tye North hit her second home run of the season and Cowley got two hits apiece from Dezmen Duncan, Alivia Lange, and Sydni Williams.

The Lady Tigers had leads of 5-0 and 7-3 in game two, before the Cowgirls rallied to tie the game at 7-7 by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth inning and four more in the sixth. Five Cowley errors aided the Connors State comeback.

"We have to be better defensively," Hoyt said. "We need to adjust and finish games out strong and focused."

Makenzie Bechtold went the distance on the mound for the Cowgirls in game two and allowed nine hits and eight runs in 6 2/3 innings pitched. She helped her cause at the plate by belting a two-run homer, but it was not enough to lead her team to victory.

Mercer started game two for the Lady Tigers and allowed only three hits and one earned run in four innings of work. Sydni Williams (2-1) went the final three innings and allowed five runs, only two of which were earned.

The Lady Tigers will play a doubleheader at Seminole State College Wednesday at 2 and 4 p.m. in Seminole, OK. The Lady Trojans are ranked No. 10 in the latest NJCAA Division I poll and defeated Cowley 8-7 in Weatherford, TX back on February 21.

Game one                      R H E

Connors 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 – 3 8 3

Cowley   3 1 0 1 0 0 x – 5 8 0

Game two                      R H E

Connors 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 – 7 5 4

Cowley   0 0 2 3 2 0 1 – 8 12 5