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Comets sweep North Arkansas
The Cottey College Comets came into Tuesday afternoon looking to rebound after a shaky weekend and did so in a big way, sweeping North Arkansas College in a doubleheader 15-0 and 10-1.
"We've been working hard, had some time off here with the rain and the weather and haven't had a chance to play," head coach Greg Tietz said. "It was a good, solid performance. Pitching was real solid, Kelsey behind the plate really called a good game both games and Tara and Megan both delivered."
The Comets stood behind two outstanding pitching performances on the day and were able to follow that with even better offense. Through both games, the Comets went just one inning without putting a run on the board.
In game one, Cottey was able to get things going quickly, despite a bit of trouble adjusting to a slower paced pitcher than they have become accustomed to seeing. The Comets put up a quick three runs to give themselves the early cushion before starter Tara Mitchell ever took the field.
Mitchell gave a nearly lights out performance from the pitching circle, shutting out the Lady Pioneers and allowing just three hits. Mitchell capped off that performance by finishing out the game with nine strikeouts.
The Comets' offense was able to put on a near repeat of the first inning as they came to bat in the bottom of the second, putting up two more runs. The Lady Pioneers' defensive struggles began to become a course of issue in the second, as they committed the game's first error that allowed one of the Cottey runs.
In the third and fourth innings, Cottey was able to take advantage of very aggressive hitting and base running to add five more runs to their lead in each of their last two at-bats as a team. "We always want them to be aggressive in the hitting and laying down bunts and mixing it up," Tietz said.
In game two, starting pitcher Megan Steffens had a very strong performance of her own, coming out of the game without allowing a hit. The Lady Pioneers were able to touch Steffens for one unearned run, however, as they took advantage of a few defensive missteps.
"I have my moments," Steffens said. "Everything was pretty much working for me today. I had good defense behind me today, which is always awesome. And of course, we were hitting, which always helps. All in all, everyone was doing their part."
Throughout most of game two, Cottey's defense proved to be too much for the Lady Pioneers to handle, and a two error third inning proved to be their only blemish on the day.
The Comets offense got off to a strong start once again in the second game of the day, putting six runs on the board in the first inning and sending 11 hitters to the plate. The Lady Pioneers were able to make some adjustments for the remainder of the game, but were still unable to keep Cottey off the scoreboard.
The Comets continued to use very aggressive hitting and base running to put up two runs in the second inning and extend their lead to 8-0 early in the game, giving everyone present a mesmerizing show of offensive talent and making a quick run at another run-rule victory.
By the fourth inning, the Lady Pioneers were finally able to put a stop to the high-powered Comets offense, sending them down in order. That effort proved to be too little, too late, however, as the Comets had already used three multi-run innings to build a 10-1 lead.
North Arkansas was unable to get their offense going in their final at-bat and the Comets ultimately took the game by a final score of 10-1 and with it, the sweep. The Comets finished out the day combining for 18 hits and 25 runs in both games, quickly finding the rhythm they needed to earn the wins at home.
With those victories, the Comets pushed their record up to 6-10 in the spring season and they are scheduled to be in action again tomorrow, as they host Allen County Community College.