Softball sweeps Neosho, moves into first place in the conference

Two days after sweeping a doubleheader at nationally ranked Kansas City Kansas Community College, the No. 20-ranked Cowley College softball team completed a 4-0 road trip with a pair of wins at 16th-ranked Neosho County on Monday in Chanute, KS. The victories moved the Lady Tigers to one game in front of Neosho County for first place in the Jayhawk East, with only two conference games remaining.

After going 13-1 in its past 14 games, Cowley is now 36-12 overall and 18-2 in the Jayhawk East. Neosho County (29-13) falls to 17-3 in conference play.

In Monday's opener, sophomore Mikah Vann tossed another gem, allowing only one hit in five innings in a 10-0 win in game one. Vann is now 20-5 on the season.

"Mikah was a leader for us. She brought the ease for the defense and allowed our offense to come through for the team," Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt said.

Cowley scored six runs in the third inning and cruised to the run-rule win.

"The team really put pressure on them at the front of the game, which allowed us to take advantage of their mistakes," Hoyt said.

Cowley trailed Neosho 3-2 in game two before scoring five runs in the third inning and two more in the fifth to lead 9-3. The Panthers pulled within 9-6 when Annsleigh Morris hit a three-run homer off Lady Tiger reliever Aubrey Williams, but Williams regrouped to finish off the win.

"I was proud of how, when Neosho responded with some pressure, we responded right back," Hoyt said. "Raelynn Sandlin and Ezra Arredondo both had a big day for us at the plate, coming up big with some runs. Aubrey Williams also came in to relieve Ezra (14-3), and I liked how she competed out there and showed a lot of fight in her innings."

Cowley can win the conference title outright if it sweeps its final regular-season doubleheader against Cloud County on Thursday at 2 p.m. in Arkansas City. The T-Birds are 16-26 overall and 7-13 in the conference.

Score by inning:

Game one              R H E

Cowley 1 0 6 3 0 – 10 9 1

Neosho 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 1 3

Game two                    R H E

Cowley 0 2 5 0 2 0 0 – 9 9 1

Neosho 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 – 6 10 2