May 5, 2006                    

Cowley baseball team hoping to pull off some Tiger magic

The Cowley College baseball team is hoping to carry over its momentum from its come from behind win over Cloud County in the first-round of the Region VI Tournament when they begin second-round play Saturday morning at Wichita’s Lawrence Dumont Stadium.

The Tigers (36-20) will battle Butler Community College (34-17) at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in a game that features two red-hot squads. Butler is 16-4 in its last 20 games, while Cowley is 18-5 in its last 23 games, not counting its three wins it had to forfeit.

Butler beat Allen County 4-1 and 5-1 in its sub-regional, while Cowley used a thrilling come from behind victory over Cloud County in the third and final game of its sub-regional to advance to Wichita.

“Hopefully, if we get down they have the confidence to know they can come back,” Cowley assistant coach Brock Buckingham said. “We have some confidence coming in and are ready to go.”

Cowley is led by a strong pitching staff that has posted a team earned run average of 3.11. Sophomore Jeremy Sheehan leads the staff in wins with six, and has an earned run average of 1.81. Sheehan has not allowed an earned run over his last 18 innings pitched.

Freshmen Kent Williamson (4-0, 2.92 ERA), Lance Hoge (5-3, 2.77 ERA), and Matt Peck (5-1, 4.06 ERA) have also been solid starting on the mound. Kendall Cogan (2-3, 2.00 ERA) and Bryce Bartelson (1-0, 1.14 ERA) have excelled in middle relief, while Kyle Thornton (1-0, 1.05 ERA) has been stellar in establishing a school-record 16 saves.

The Tigers are led at the plate by freshman first baseman Jason Sowers, who is batting .414 with 14 doubles and 33 runs batted in. Sophomore catcher Patrick D’Aoust is batting .390 with eight home runs and 52 RBI’s, while Michael Dabbs leads the team with 17 doubles and 55 RBI’s.

Butler is led at the plate by Ryan Hudgins, who is batting .362 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI’s. Dustin Koca has also had a strong year as he is batting .401 with eight home runs and 56 RBI’s. 

Along with Cowley and Butler, other teams at the tournament are, Neosho County (41-13), Coffeyville (27-22), Colby (30-27), Barton County (34-21), Seward County (31-25), and Hutchinson (43-11).

“Every good team in the conference is in there,” Buckingham said. “We need to win the first game, if we can do that then we like our chances.”

Easg Tiger baseball game at the tournament can be heard on KACY 102.5 FM, or by logging on to kacy.fm.