Tiger baseball team snaps skid with wins over Labette

The Cowley College baseball team snapped its five-game losing streak with a pair of wins over Labette Community College Thursday in Arkansas City. The Tigers won the opener 4-0 before erupting for 17 runs in a 17-4 victory in game two.

Cowley improves its record to 29-17 overall and 19-7 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Tigers are five games behind conference-leading Johnson County, with only six games remaining.

"This was a good response for us," Cowley head coach Darren Burroughs said.

Labette is now 19-25 overall and 11-15 in the conference.

Game one starter, Chance Cox, battled back from a pair of ineffective outings to throw his first complete game of the season. After allowing 13 runs in his previous two starts, Cox (4-1) scattered five hits and did not allow a run in the 4-0 shutout of the Cardinals.

Cowley gave Cox all the runs he would need by scoring four times in the bottom of the third inning. Cooper Schwindt got the scoring started by belting a two-run homer, and Keaton Campbell followed with a solo shot. After Cole Martin walked, Logan Vaughan doubled home Martin with the Tigers' fourth run.

Schwindt and Vaughan had two hits apiece, as did sophomore left-fielder Trayson Miller.

The Tigers got to Labette starting pitcher Jaxon James for nine hits and four runs in four innings pitched.

Labette would jump on Tiger starting pitcher Brigden Parker for three runs in the first inning of game two. However, Parker would settle down and give the Tigers six innings on the mound.

Cowley would get a leadoff triple from Jadyn McNealy, who would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Miller to cut the Tigers' deficit to 3-1.

Ty Hammack tripled in a two-run third for the Tigers and added a two-run double in an eight-run fourth inning.

Schwindt added a run-scoring double in a three-run fourth inning and got a two-run triple from Trayson Miller in a three-run fifth to cruise to the 17-4 win. Schwindt drove in four runs in the nightcap, while Hammack, Miller, and Holt drove in three runs apiece.

Parker (5-1) allowed 10 hits and four runs while striking out seven and walking two. Andrew Talburt struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

"It was good for us to get a couple better starts and put some good swings together at the plate," Burroughs said.

The teams will wrap up their four-game series by playing a pair of games in Labette Saturday at 1 p.m.

"We need to keep responding in a positive manner," Burroughs said.

Score by inning:

Game one                   R H E

Labette 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 5 0

Cowley 0 0 4 0 0 0 x – 4 9 0

Game two                    R H E

Labette 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 4 10 3

Cowley 1 0 2 8 3 3 x – 17 14 0