May 5, 2009

Tiger baseball wins sub-regional, advances to Wichita

Playing as the top-seed in the lower bracket of the Region VI sub-regional, the No. 15-ranked Cowley College baseball team defeated eighth-seeded Dodge City 6-3 and 8-3 Monday at City Ball Park as they earned an opportunity to compete at Wichita’s Lawrence Dumont Stadium.

“We played good enough to win, but you could tell we hadn’t been on the field in a while,” Cowley assistant coach Darren Burroughs said.

The Tigers (41-12) will face Fort Scott (27-24) Saturday in Wichita. The time of the game has yet to be determined. Cowley defeated Fort Scott in all four regular season matchups. However, the Greyhounds are coming off wins of 10-4 and 13-0 over Butler Community College in its sub-regional.

“I expect them to be tough games,” Burroughs said. “We have got a bunch a guys ready for this.”

On Monday, Cowley got strong outings on the mound from its starting pitchers and did enough offensively to advance. In game one, Stephen Kohlscheen allowed two runs in six innings as he improved to 8-1 on the season. Calvin Drinnen recorded the save by pitching the final three innings.

Ronald Melendez led the Tigers at the plate by going 2-for-5 with a home run. Ryan Hege added two hits as Cowley finished with seven hits for the game.

In game two, Cowley scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed in the 8-3 win. After allowing a run in each of the first two innings, Alex Schell (6-2) settled down to hold Dodge City scoreless over his final five innings pitched. Chase Webb pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth for the Tigers.

Melendez had two more hits in the nightcap, while B.J. Misialek and Mac Gordon finished with two hits apiece. Colt Loehrs chipped in with a two-run single in Cowley’s three-run first inning.

Along with Cowley and Fort Scott, other teams that will be competing at the Region VI Tournament are, Garden City (43-15), Barton County (30-22), Johnson County (43-12), Colby (37-20), Hutchinson (29-22), and Seward County (33-20).

“We prepared them for this by playing good teams early in the season,” Burroughs said. “If we can get on the same page offensively we will be tough to beat.”