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February 22, 2012
For Immediate Release
Contact Rama Peroo, Director of Institutional Communications and Public
Relations, (620) 441-5587 or
peroo@cowley.edu
Hargrove Reaches 1,000 Wins As Coach Of The Lady
Tigers
 Already
the winningest active softball coach in the NJCAA, Cowley head softball coach Ed
Hargrove joined a select group of coaches before him in reaching 1,000 career
wins as the Lady Tiger softball team swept a doubleheader at Rose State College
on Tuesday.
Needing two wins to reach 1,000 in his 28-year career, Hargrove’s team won the
opener 10-7. Like so many of Hargrove’s wins in his career, his team dominated
Rose State in a 8-1 win of the nightcap.
Hargrove began coaching the Cowley softball team in 1985 and has had only one
losing season in his 28 years as head coach. He has guided Cowley to at least 40
wins in 13 of the past 14 seasons and has amassed a .750 career winning
percentage. He is one of a handful of NJCAA softball coaches to achieve 1,000
career wins.
Winning 1,000 games made Hargrove look back on all the people he has coached and
worked with during his time at the school.
“Obviously, 1,000 wins couldn’t happen without each of the players I have
coached over the last 28 years,” Hargrove said. “The consistency we have had is
probably the neatest thing about the record. Twenty eight years ago I was just
trying to get through one year as coach.”
Cowley has now won four games in a row and is 5-3 on the season.
In the first game, Cowley hit back-to-back home runs on three separate occasions
and finished with six home runs by six different players.
Laura Seemann and Haley Strawn homered in the third inning, Kelsey Fisher and
Austen Hilt homered in the fourth inning, and Courtney Rash and Colby Dresher
homered in the top of the fifth inning to put Cowley on top by a score of 9-0.
Sophomore Taylor Parsons (1-2) pitched four scoreless innings before handing the
ball over to Molly Warren in the bottom of the fifth. Rose State struck for
three runs off Warren before Parsons re-entered the game to try to record the
final out. However, Chelsea Akers belted a three-run homer off Parsons to make
the score 9-6. Warren wound up being charged with five runs in 2/3 of an inning
pitched.
Cowley got a run scoring double by Strawn in the top of the sixth to increase
its lead to 10-6 and Parsons worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the bottom
of the seventh inning to earn her first victory of the season. Parsons allowed
eight hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched, while striking out six and
walking none.
In game two, Cowley pitcher Haleigh Sills surrendered a home run to the first
batter she faced as Randi Yousey put Rose State in front 1-0.
Sills would settle down on the mound and Cowley grabbed the lead with a home run
by Hilt leading off the fifth inning. Leading 3-1, Cowley would put the game
away by scoring five runs in the sixth inning. Seemann’s three-run homer
highlighted the scoring. Seemann and Strawn are now tied for the team lead in
home runs with three.
Cowley finished with 15 hits in the nightcap and 27 hits in the doubleheader, to
go along with eight home runs in the two games.
“I have said all along that this could be one of the better hitting teams we
have had here,” Hargrove said.
Sills won her third straight start and improved to 4-1 on the season. The right
hander allowed five hits and one run as she lowered her earned run average to
1.40.
The Lady Tigers will return home to play a doubleheader vs. Maple Woods
Community College Thursday at 2 p.m.
Score by inning:
Game one
R H E
Cowley 0 0 3 4 2 1 0 — 10 12 0
Rose St. 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 — 7 10 0
Game two
R H E
Cowley 0 0 0 1 2 5 0 — 8 15 0
Rose St. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 5 0
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