March 17, 2009

Tiger baseball beats NOC, splits with Labette

Two days after winning at Northern Oklahoma College by a score of 3-2, the Cowley College baseball team split a pair of conference games against Labette in Arkansas City on Sunday.

On Friday at NOC, Cowley got four no-hit innings from starting pitcher Alex Schell and used solid relief pitching to defeat the Mavericks by a score of 3-2. Three Tiger relievers combined to allow just two runs over the final five innings as Chase Webb (2-0) earned the win in relief.

Sophomore Luke Zeller went 3-for-5 and scored the tying run in the top of the eighth inning on Mac Gordon’s two-out double. Chance Ross followed with a single that scored Andy Petz with what would turn out to be the winning run.

Trevor Rosenthal pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record the save.

On Sunday vs. Labette, Cowley got a dominating start on the mound from sophomore Alex Schell. The right-hander allowed just one hit and no earned runs in his six innings pitched. Schell struck out five and walked two.

A pair of errors by the Tigers allowed Labette to score two runs in the top of the sixth inning and tie the game at 2-2. Cowley would commit six errors in the game.

However, the Tigers’ Robert Thomas doubled with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, stole third, and scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

Thomas reached base three times, stole two bases and scored a pair of runs in the win. Caleb Bass added a two-run double in the first inning.

In the nightcap, Tiger sophomore Calvin Drinnen allowed three runs in the first inning before settling down and working 5 1/3 innings. The score was tied 3-3 before Labette scored a pair of runs off Drinnen in the top of the sixth inning. Drinnen (4-1) was charged with seven hits and five runs.

The Cardinals would tack on a run in the top of the seventh inning off Tiger reliever Chase Webb to increase its lead to 6-3. The Tigers would score two runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded with only one out.

However, Gordon hit into a double play to end the game. Cowley is now 12-6 overall and 3-1 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. Labette is now 8-6 overall and 1-5 in the Jayhawk East.
Ronald Melendez led Cowley in defeat as he went 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Gordon had a pair of hits.

The Tigers will be back in action Tuesday when they play a doubleheader at Highland at 2 p.m.