Lady Tigers split final conference doubleheader at Cloud, finish second in the conference

Cowley (29-21) finished second in the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 15-5. Cloud County (19-17) placed sixth in the conference with a 10-10 record.

In game one, Cowley led 3-0 before Cloud scored three runs in the fourth inning and tied the game at 3-3 on a two-run homer by Maddie Harold.

However, it would be all Cowley from there on as the Tigers would score nine straight runs and got a three-run homer from Hannah Howard in a 6-run sixth inning that capped the 12-3 win. Howard finished 3-for-6 with a career-high six runs batted in.

Dacey Morris went the distance on the mound, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out five and walking one. The victory improves Morris' record to 17-8 on the season. Morris helped her cause at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored. Carsen Carpenter and Taylor Clay also did well, each going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a run batted in as Cowley out-hit Cloud 12-5.

Ava Boden took the loss for Cloud County, falling to 5-5 on the season. Boden pitched five innings, allowing six runs, four earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts. 

In game two, Cowley scored three runs in the first inning and added a run in the top of the second to lead 4-0.

After Cloud cut the Lady Tigers' lead to 5-3, Cowley added a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning to give the team some breathing room.

At least that was what they were hoping. However, the T-Birds rallied with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Harold, who leads the T-Birds with 13 home runs, hit a two-run homer to cut Cowley's lead to 7-5.

After a hit batsman, Emalee Johnson and Allison Adams each singled to load the bases. Emily Carver then drew a walk, scoring courtesy runner Bella Santin.

Cowley head coach Jenny Hoyt then removed Hannah Howard from the game and brought Morris back in to try and protect the one-run lead.

Unfortunately, Ava Boden lined a first-pitch two-run double down the right-field line to complete the 8-7 comeback.

"I didn't think we played badly; we just didn't play with the same edge that we had in the seventh inning," Hoyt said. "We've got to finish those games, and we lost sight of that."

Along with Harold doing damage with her bat, the freshman threw 127 pitches in seven innings, allowing seven runs, six earned, on nine hits with three walks and one strikeout to improve to 9-8 on the season.

Cowley was led at the plate by freshman second baseman Kiki Warner, who hit her sixth home run of the season and went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in. Taylor Clay went 2-for-2 with a run batted in and is batting .430 on the season. Morris added a pair of hits in the defeat.

"Offensively, I really felt like we competed hard throughout the day," Hoyt said.

Cowley earned the second seed in the Plains District Softball Tournament and will face seventh-seed Neosho County (18-26) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Overland Park, KS.

Score by inning:

Game one                  R H E

Cowley 2 0 0 1 3 6 – 12 12 1

Cloud   0 0 0 3 0 0 – 3 5 0

Game two                    R H E

Cowley 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 – 7 9 3

Cloud   0 2 0 0 1 0 5 – 8 10 0