Young blasts four home runs, Cowley goes 5-1 at Classic

Kashilia Young is now one home run away from tying Lacey Pendry's single-season school record for home runs, and the Cowley College softball team is less than halfway through the season.

Young added four more home runs over the weekend, increasing her total to 13, in leading the Cowley College softball team, ranked eighth nationally, to a 5-1 showing at the Mid-West Juco Classic in Broken Arrow, Okla.

Cowley defeated Barton County 10-1, Rose State 5-1, Allen County 8-1, Hutchinson 9-1 and Fort Scott 13-1. Iowa Western was the only obstacle that stood in the way from the Lady Tigers recording a perfect weekend at the Classic, as they fell to the Lady Reevers 8-4.

"I was pleased with the way we played," Cowley coach Ed Hargrove said.

Pendry hit 14 home runs in the 2005-06 season. With the torrid pace Young is on, there is a possibility she could break Ashly Bright's career record of 25 this season.

Young quickly added to her totals in the Classic, hitting two home runs in the Classic opener against Barton County.

After Danielle Saylor-Perkins gave Cowley a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-base error, Young hit a solo home run as part of a three-run fifth. In the sixth, Young hit a two-run home run for an 8-0 lead -- the start a four-run inning for the Lady Tigers.

Cowley pounded out 14 hits in the win, and received a stellar outing from Heather Davis, who allowed only one hit and struck out 12, including five of the last six batters she faced.

Davis suffered her first loss on the season, though, allowing five runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings of work in Cowley's 8-4 loss to Iowa Western in the Lady Tigers' third and final game on Saturday.

Jacey Juden gave Cowley a 1-0 lead on an RBI double in the first inning. Iowa Western responded, scoring two runs in the third, one in the fourth and three in the fifth to chase Davis.

"They're as probably as powerful a team as we've ever played," Hargrove said. "They hit eight home runs in the game before against Barton County."

But Davis bounced back in a big way on Sunday, allowing only one run and six hits -- all to Fort Scott -- in starts against Allen County and Fort Scott to improve her record to 10-1. She threw a perfect, five-inning game against Allen County, striking out 10 batters in the Lady Tigers' run-rule win.

Davis received plenty of run support, including a grand slam by Young as part of a six-run second inning. Jessica Sanchez and Emily Zimmerman also had run-scoring hits in the inning.

Zimmerman, who entered the Classic with only six hits on the season, went 4-for-9 with six RBI. Whitney Foust was also struggling, but went 6-for-11 on the weekend with three RBI.

In keeping with the theme of improving, Juden won both of her starts at the Classic -- allowing four hits and one run to Rose State on Saturday and three hits and one run to Hutchinson on Sunday. After starting the season 0-2, Juden improved to 6-3 with her performance over the weekend.

"She's just getting closer to her dominant self," Hargrove said. "She just had to get in and make adjustments to the college hitters."

At 16-4, Hargrove likes where his team is sitting heading into spring break.

"I told them that we're at where I expected us to be," he said.