February 11, 2009

Tiger baseball falls to No. 18-ranked Seminole State, 7-3

Going up against perennial power Seminole State College Tuesday in Seminole, Okla., the Cowley College baseball team fell by a score of 7-3.

Cowley fell behind 3-0 after four innings of play, before rallying to tie the game with three runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Freshman Ryan Hege led off the fifth with a double and came around to score on a two-out double by Matt Garcia. Colt Loehrs followed with a run scoring double to cut Seminole’s lead to 3-2. Ronald Melendez then reached on an error, which allowed Loehrs to score the tying run.

However, the Trojans answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning off Tiger reliever Stephen Spirlock (0-1). After retiring the first batter he faced, Spirlock surrendered three straight hits.

“Before we knew it, it was 6-3,” Cowley head coach Dave Burroughs said.

Seminole would add a run in the seventh innings off Tiger reliever Chase Webb as they out-hit the Tigers 13-7. Trojan leadoff hitter, Travis Jackson, led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run and finished the game with three hits.

Despite the defeat, Burroughs felt encouraged by the Tigers’ effort.

“I felt better about the team than I did after the first game we won against Butler,” Burroughs said. “There were a lot of bright spots, but we have also got some things we need to work on.”

Calvin Drinnen started on the mound for the Tigers and allowed two earned runs in two innings pitched. Stephen Kohlscheen followed Drinnen and allowed one earned run in his two innings of work. Along with Spirlock and Webb, Alex Schell also saw time on the mound for Cowley as he pitched the final 1 1/3 innings.

“Early in the season everybody gets a chance to play as we try to develop our club,” Burroughs said.

Jordan Underwood pitched the first 4 2/3 innings for the Trojans and allowed three earned runs. Jordan Clark (1-0) picked up the win as he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Loehrs led Cowley at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored. The Tigers are now 1-2 on the season.

Cowley will host Jefferson Community College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday at City Ball Park. Burroughs considers Jefferson to be one of the better junior college teams in the state of Missouri.

“We want to set our team up for conference play and toughen them up for the end of the season,” Burroughs said.