Cowley routs Neosho to earn return trip to NJCAA World Series

Cowley’s baseball team is going back to the NJCAA World Series, running unbeaten through the Region VI tournament and earning the title Monday night with a 17-8 rout of Neosho that wasn’t that close.

Freshman Dalton Dinkel’s four singles spearheaded a 19-hit attack by the Tigers (43-16), who also had three-hit games from Ross Messina, Bret Fehr, Jacob Means and Brooks Zimmerman at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Cowley also had four homers in the game. Messina hit a two-run shot in the second, Connor Litton and Zimmerman hit back-to-back solo shots in the third, and Kea’von Edwards hit a solo blast in the seventh.

Neosho (43-22) took a 2-0 lead in the first off Cowley starter Matt Krutsch. The Tigers went quietly in their first, but waited out Panthers starter Tyler McGrew, taking more pitches in the second and getting three balls in the count on five straight hitters.

Cowley then scored four more in the third for a 6-2 lead, then broke the game open with a seven run fourth.

Messina and Zimmerman drove in four runs apiece, and Means had three RBI.

The trip to Grand Junction, Colo., will be Cowley’s second straight.

“It never gets old,” coach Dave Burroughs said. “It’s going to be our eighth trip, we’ve won nine regional championships. It’s a fun time for the guys; it’s a fun time for the coaches.”

Cowley eked out a 2-0 victory over Neosho on Saturday, but unleashed a barrage Monday.

“It’s baseball,” Burroughs said. “Anything can happen.”

Neosho County 200 110 004 – 8 13 3

Cowley 024 701 12x – 17 19 6

W – Krutsch. L – McGrew. HR – Cowley: Messina, Litton, Zimmerman, Edwards.

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Cowley routs Neosho to earn return trip to NJCAA World Series."