Tigers run-rule Highland, gain sole possession of first place in Jayhawk East

Pounding out five home runs and 13 extra-base hits, the No. 3-ranked Cowley College baseball team run-ruled Highland Community College 12-4 and 15-4 in a doubleheader played Thursday in Arkansas City.

With the wins, Cowley (33-8) moves ahead of Johnson County (20-4) for first place in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division with a record of 22-4. Highland (7-38), losers of 13 games in a row, falls to 3-19 in the conference.  

In game one, Cowley starting pitcher Kyler Zagar bounced back from a rough first inning to strike out 10 and walk none while going all seven innings on the mound. After allowing four hits and three runs in the first inning, Zagar (7-1) allowed only two baserunners the rest of the way and retired the final 14 batters he faced.

"It was good to see Kyler overcome that adversity," Cowley head coach Darren Burroughs said. "He made some great adjustments."

After falling behind 3-0, Cowley scored eight unanswered runs and cruised to the 12-4 win. The Tigers got home runs from Weston Thomas and Logan Smith, while Thomas and Seth Dandridge drove in three runs apiece.

Game two was similar, with Cowley trailing 3-1 before scoring 14 straight runs en route to the 15-4 win.

Freshman Russ Smith allowed four hits and three runs in four innings, while striking out seven to improve his record to 5-1. Mitchell Johnson followed Smith with two scoreless innings of relief before Lucas Weaver pitched the seventh.

Sophomore leadoff batter, Cade Baldridge, went 3-for-4 with a home run, four runs scored, and four runs batted in. In his past six games, Baldridge has gone 11-for-24 with three home runs, eight runs batted in, and 13 runs scored.

"It is good to see Cade be the consistent hitter he is capable of being," Burroughs said.

Freshman Quinn Groebl, who had only five at-bats in April, took advantage of the opportunity to start at first base in game two by going 3-of-4 with a pair of two-run homers.

"Quinn had some good at-bats, which should be good for his confidence," Burroughs said.

Thomas added three more RBIs in game two.

Highland used five pitchers in the doubleheader, combining to allow 23 hits and 14 runs.

The teams will wrap up their four-game series by playing a doubleheader at Highland on Saturday at 1 p.m.

"We will leave early in the morning for a long travel day, so we will need to be mentally and physically strong," Burroughs said.

Score by inning:

Game one                       R H E

Highland 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 4 6 0

Cowley    4 4 0 2 1 1 x – 12 12 0

Game two                       R H E

Highland 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 – 4 8 3

Cowley    1 4 2 0 2 6 x – 15 11 0