Lady Tiger softball team wins a pair of road games

Taking advantage of 11 errors in its doubleheader at Cloud County on Thursday, the No. 14-ranked Cowley College softball team extended the T-Birds' losing streak to 15 games in a row by sweeping a doubleheader 11-5 and 9-2.

"It wasn't our best hitting day and we left a lot of runners in scoring position, but we did capitalize on their defensive errors," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.

Cowley, winners of five games in a row, improves its record to 26-8 overall and 14-2 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

With game one tied 5-5 after four innings of play, Lady Tiger sophomore Payton Schoenfeld broke the tie with a two-run single in the top of the fifth inning. Cowley would bust the game open with four runs in the seventh. A pair of T-Bird errors and a two-run single by sophomore Taylor Anglen highlighted the four-run seventh.

Schoenfeld led Cowley's 12-hit attack by going 2-for-4 with two runs batted in, while Sydni Williams added two hits and two runs scored.

Sophomore pitcher Brooke Mason struck out nine in the complete game win. Mason allowed nine hits and four earned runs as she improved her record to 12-3 on the season.

Due to seven T-Bird errors, only four of the 11 runs scored off Cloud County starting pitcher Delaney Miller (3-9) were earned.

Game two would also be tied until the fifth inning, this time at 2-2. Freshman Tobie Bellow broke the tie with a single that scored Shelby Winfield, who led off the inning by reaching on an error. Tatyanna Curry followed with an RBI single and sophomore Brylea Teufel capped the four-run inning by delivering a two-run single.

Bellow and Paige Hughes added RBI singles in a three-run sixth inning that capped the Lady Tigers' 9-2 win.

Cowley sophomore Elizabeth Luttrell went 4-for-4 with two runs scored as the Lady Tigers pounded out 16 hits in the nightcap.

Sophomore pitcher Ashlynn Mercer improved her record to 11-2 on the season as she struck out six in the complete game victory. Mercer allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings and Cowley did not commit an error after having two miscues in the opener.

"Defensively we were much more solid the second game and had a better outing behind our pitcher," Hoyt said.  "That was a huge focus for us going into game two."

Kyra Meyer (3-6) took the loss for Cloud after surrendering 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The T-Birds (6-16) remain in last place in the conference with a record of 1-15.

Cowley will remain on the road to play a doubleheader at Neosho County Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The Panthers are 16-19 overall and 6-8 in the Jayhawk East.

"Moving forward against Neosho we have to be a better team," Hoyt said. "We need to play good softball as their team has tons of energy and will take advantage of any momentum you give them."

Score by inning:

Game one                    R H E

Cowley 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 – 11 12 2

Cloud   2 1 0 2 0 0 0 – 5 9 7

Game two                    R H E

Cowley 2 0 0 0 4 3 0 – 9 16 0

Cloud   1 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 2 6 4