Burroughs wins second straight Coach of the Year award

Going through tremendous adversity in his personal life, Cowley College baseball coach Dave Burroughs returned to the dugout and helped guide the Tigers to its second straight Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division title and 12th title in its past 14 years.

Burroughs was rewarded for his coaching efforts by being named the Jayhawk East Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Cowley finished the season with a record of 37-19 overall and 28-8 in the Jayhawk East. Recognizing the outstanding season the squad had, nine Tigers received all-conference recognition.

After losing eight of its first 10 games following the death of Burroughs’ son, Derek, who served as the team manager and the Tigers’ biggest supporter, the Tiger baseball team won 35 of its last 46 games.

“The season started out rough on a personal level and I think it affected our play early in the year,” Cowley assistant coach Darren Burroughs said. “It was very rewarding to see the team work through that.”

Sophomore first baseman Tyson Parks (.353 average, six home runs, 39 RBI’s), joined sophomore designated hitter Chase Roten (.435 average, 11 doubles, 17 RBI’s), and sophomore third baseman Tom O’Gorman (.343 average, nine home runs, 54 RBI’s) as first-team all-Jayhawk East selections.

Cowley had three pitchers named to the second-team. Sophomore Curt Simpson (6-1, 2.46 ERA), Roten (6-1, 2.16 ERA), and freshman Calvin Drinnen (5-2, 1.81 ERA), each earned second-team honors.

Freshman second baseman Frank Specht (.346 average, 10 doubles, 28 RBI’s), freshman outfielder Luke Zeller (.331 average, nine doubles, 28 RBI’s), and sophomore pitcher Zack Potter (2-1, 1.09 ERA) received honorable mention recognition.

“Each of those guys were instrumental in a lot of our success,” Burroughs said. “It’s rewarding to see good people get recognized.”

Players were nominated by their coaches and then voted upon by opposing coaches, who did not vote for their own players, in their respective divisions.