Lady Tiger softball team run-rules Coffeyville, places second in conference

The No. 14-ranked Cowley College softball team closed out the regular season on a strong note as they run-ruled Coffeyville Community College 15-5 and 10-2 in a doubleheader played Saturday at Ed Hargrove Field.

The Lady Tigers (38-12), winners of 13 of its past 15 games, finished two games behind conference champion Highland Community College (28-4) with a record of 26-6 in the conference.

"I am proud of our players for pushing through a challenging conference season," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said. "Having five other teams in our conference in national rankings weekly tells you how tough our conference is."

In game one, Cowley scored 11 runs in the first inning and cruised to the 15-5 win. Aaliyah Ahmed led Cowley at the plate by going 3-for-3 with a double and two runs batted in, while Tye North and Tatyana Curry drove in three runs apiece.

Ashlynn Mercer notched another win as the right-hander improved her record to 22-5 on the season. Mercer struck out five in three scoreless innings on the mound.

In game two, Cowley's Sydney Price and Mercer combined to no-hit the Red Ravens in the five-inning run-rule win. Price (13-4) allowed just one walk in four innings before Mercer closed out the no-hitter by pitching a scoreless fifth inning.

North continued her big doubleheader by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs.

"Our players bounced back well after suffering the loss to Highland last week," Hoyt said. "It was good to see those sophomores moving on next year get their last two wins on their home field."

Coffeyville (8-37) finished in last place in the conference with a record of 4-28.

Cowley will be the second-seed at the District A Tournament held Saturday and Sunday at Topeka's Hummer Sports Park. The Lady Tigers will await to see who they will play as the seventh seed in the opening game of the tournament. The winner of the District A Tourney will advance to the NJCAA Division II Softball Championships in Oxford, AL.

"We have to go in focused and putting our best round of softball games together," Hoyt said. "This tournament is huge for everyone in the conference as everyone wants to win. Our focus is take one game at a time and be the best in that moment. Win at being who Cowley softball is, tough competitors who give everything they have."  

Score by inning:

Game one                   R H E

Coffeyville 0 0 0 4 1 – 5 5 1

Cowley  (11) 4 0 0 x – 15 11 2

Game two                   R H E

Coffeyville 0 0 0 2 0 – 2 0 1

Cowley      1 0 0 6 3 – 10 12 1