March 12, 2010

Tigers’ bats remain hot in 12-5 win over Butler

Scoring more than 10 runs for the sixth time in 11 games, the No. 18-ranked Cowley College baseball team defeated Butler Community College 12-5 Thursday in El Dorado.

The victory was Cowley’s third in a row and improved the Tigers’ record to 6-5 on the season. Butler drops to 7-7 on the year.

Cowley has outscored its opponents 31-16 over the past three games and is averaging nearly nine runs per game on the season.

“I think it shows the talent we have, our guys can really swing it,” Cowley head coach Dave Burroughs said.

Cowley got off to a quick start by scoring five times in the top of the first inning. Freshman Grant Glasser hit a two-run homer in the five-run first, while Derik Grimes came through with a two-run single. Ruben Marrero’s RBI groundout scored Robbie Rea with the final run of the inning.

“That was a good sign, our guys came out of the dugout ready to swing the bat,” Burroughs said.

The Tigers’ lead would grow to 6-0 in the top of the third inning as Robbie Rea led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, and eventually came around to score on a two-out double by Connor Duckhorn.

Sophomore Quinton Bane (1-0), who started on the mound for the Tigers, did not allow a hit in his first two innings of work before running into trouble in the third inning. After Butler’s leadoff batter reached on an error, the next two batters singled to load the bases. Groundouts by the next two batters would score a pair of runs, and a two-run homer capped the four-run third inning for the Grizzlies.

Only one of the four runs in the inning were earned.

“He really made only one bad pitch all inning and has pitched pretty well for us each of his last two times out,” Burroughs said.

A.J. Green and Andrew Polly held Butler scoreless over the next two innings before a solo home run off Polly in the bottom of the sixth cut Cowley’s lead to 6-5.

Matt Garcia relieved Polly on the mound and recorded the final out of the sixth inning and followed that up by tossing two more scoreless innings of relief.

“Matt did a great job,” Burroughs said. “He’s a strike thrower, and had a couple of pitches working for him.
With Garcia allowing only one base runner over 2 1/3 innings, Cowley regained a comfortable lead by scoring three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth. Robbie Rea and Marrero each had run scoring singles in the seventh, while Ray Otero followed three straight walks with a two-run single in the eighth.

Sophomore Eric Faust retired the side in order in the ninth, while striking out the final two batters to finish off the win.

Tyler Hancock led Cowley’s 15-hit attack by going 3-for-4 at the plate. Robbie Rea added a pair of hits, while Aaron Rea went 2-for-3 with a triple.

Cowley, winners of the last three Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division titles, will open conference play by hosting Fort Scott in a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m. Fort Scott is 5-6 on the season.

“It all starts tomorrow, it should be a fun day,” Burroughs said. “I hope the guys play like there is something on the line, we have got a title to defend.”