Softball remains tied with Johnson County after teams split a doubleheader

In a battle of unbeaten teams in the conference, the No. 19-ranked Cowley College softball team split a doubleheader at No. 17-ranked Johnson County Thursday in Overland Park. The Lady Tigers won the opener 12-2 before dropping the nightcap by a score of 4-2.

Trailing 2-0 in the opener, Cowley would score 12 straight runs to win 12-2. Maci Cole's grand slam in the top of the seventh capped the win. Cole finished 3-for-5 with five runs batted in, while Kyla Bonnarens went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.

"After a bad first inning, McKinzi (Sowles) really helped set the tone with a triple, with Emily Louderback scoring her," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said. "Kyla continues to be a huge RBI producer for us, and Maci had a big at-bat in the seventh that gave us some insurance runs."

Saige Smith (18-5) struck out nine and did not walk a batter in the complete game victory.

The Lady Tigers got to Johnson County starting pitcher Jordan Harrison for 11 hits and seven runs in only 3 2/3 innings.

Cowley would have its 16-game winning streak come to an end in the nightcap as the Cavaliers scored two runs off Cowley starting pitcher Jaala Nowlin (8-3) in the third inning and two more in the fifth as they held on for the 4-2 win.

After Johnson County starting pitcher Maggie McNally lasted just 1 2/3 innings, Harrison came in to toss 5 1/3 innings of relief and allowed just one run on six hits.

"Offensively, we just couldn't string anything together and left some runners in scoring position when we needed a big hit to get a rally going," Hoyt said.

Both teams have six conference games remaining and are tied with a record of 15-1 in the conference. Cowley is now 31-13 overall, while Johnson County moves to 26-6.

Cowley will return home to play a doubleheader against Fort Scott Saturday at 1 p.m. The Lady Greyhounds are 28-11 overall and 11-5 in the conference. Johnson County will travel to play at Labette, which is third in the conference with a record of 13-3.

Score by inning:

Game one                      R H E

Cowley  0 1 2 5 0 0 4 – 12 13 1

Johnson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 2 6 2

Game two                     R H E

Cowley  1 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 2 8 0

Johnson 0 0 2 0 2 0 x – 4 6 1