Cowley softball team splits a pair of road doubleheaders

Going on the road to play a pair of NJCAA Division I schools, the No. 19-ranked Cowley College softball team split a pair of games against Barton and Butler over spring break.

On Tuesday in Great Bend, the Lady Tigers lost the opening game against Barton by a score of 6-5 before winning the nightcap 9-7. Cowley returned to the diamond on Saturday in El Dorado, where they defeated No. 16-ranked Butler 4-2 before losing game two 14-1.

Against Barton, Jamie Molina and Paige Scanlin hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh inning of the opener, but it was not enough as Cowley lost 6-5. Mikah Vann allowed seven hits and five runs in six innings pitched before turning the ball over to Jaiden Swanson, who allowed the Cougars' Aly Lawrence to single home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

"I thought we started the doubleheader very strong. However, we left way too many runners in scoring position and didn't execute like we needed to throughout game one," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.

In game two, Cowley was down to its final out before Karleigh Bell hit her fifth home run of the season to tie the game at 6-6. Emily Louderback would blast her eighth homer of the season in a three-run eighth inning, and the Lady Tigers held on for the 9-7 win.

"The second game, we got to play an international tiebreaker, which was good to see our players be put into a little pressure to perform, and I thought we responded great," Hoyt said.

Swanson earned the win while going the distance on the mound, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs in eight innings. Molina drove in four runs in the victory, while Louderback went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in.

Barton is now 12-10 on the season.

Cowley then took on Butler and never trailed in the 4-2 win of game one. Vann (10-3) struck out nine and allowed just two hits in the complete game victory.

Shayne Roberts homered, and Louderback went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in.

"I thought in game one, we competed as a team really well," Hoyt said. "Mikah had a great outing with our defense, making some great plays behind her, and our hitting was timely."

In game two, Cowley trailed 4-1 before the Grizzlies pulled away with a 10-run fourth inning. Swanson (9-5) allowed 14 hits and 12 runs in 3 2/3 innings pitched.

Butler's second baseman Claire Lopez led the Grizzlies' 17-hit attack by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Butler is now 19-5 on the season.

"We did not respond well to Butler's pressure; they had a couple of good innings offensively, and we struggled to make plays, which hurt us in the end," Hoyt said.

Cowley (21-10) will return home to play a doubleheader against Pratt Community College on Monday at 2 p.m. The Beavers are 6-16 on the season.

Score by inning:

Game one                    R H E

Cowley 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 – 5 10 2

Barton  1 0 0 0 1 3 1 – 6 9 2

Game two                       R H E

Cowley 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 3 – 9 11 4

Barton  3 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 – 7 11 2

Game one                    R H E

Cowley 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 – 4 7 0

Butler   0 0 0 0 2 0 0 – 2 2 3

Game two                 R H E

Cowley 1 0 0 0 0 –     1 4 2

Butler   1 0 3 10 x – 14 17 2