The Cooper baseball team didn’t generate a lot of offense Tuesday night at Cougar Field, but it was enough to hand crosstown rival Abilene High a 3-1 loss thanks to a strong pitching performance by Jeron Flores and Johnathon Rico and some excellent defense played behind them.

The two CHS pitchers combined to limit the Eagles to just two hits, putting out what few fires they encountered to keep the Cougars in the hunt for District 4-5A’s No. 1 playoff seed in the large school division.

The Coogs, who improved to 18-8 overall and 5-6 in district play with Tuesday’s win, will meet up with Abilene High (17-9-1, 6-5) again on Friday at Blackburn Field with the season series between the two teams on the line. The winner will take the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A Division I playoffs while the loser will take the No. 2 seed.