The Barton Community College baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference contests Thursday in walk-off fashion as Coffeyville Community College grabbed the first leg of the series 5-4 and 10-9.
The Cougars slip to 31-13 on the season with Coffeyville's fifth straight victory improves the Red Ravens to 24-17. The teams will switch locations to the Cougars' Lawson-Biggs Field on Saturday to complete the four-game set with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
Reigning conference and national player of the week Alex Rodgers led the Cougars going 5-of-8 including a pair of doubles and his third home run of the year. Henry Hayman also collected five hits within his nine plate appearances, belting his fifth home run of the season in driving in a team leading five runs on the day.
The Cougars outhit Coffeyville by three but the defense had its share of eight miscues resulting in just five of the Red Ravens' fifteen runs being earned.
A pair of game one's trio of errors occurred in the deciding seventh inning with Carson Cornelius absorbing the opener's loss in dropping to 0-3 in relief duty. Despite getting a career high three innings on the hill in tying a personal best three strikeouts, Hollis Huff's third pitch in the ninth ended up beyond the barrier to suffer his first career loss in fifteen innings of work.
Game 1 Recap
Barton grabbed its lone lead of the opener on Jace Stewart's first of two hits in the game with a two-out double driving in Dryden Howse's leadoff walk.
Stranded in the first inning drawing a leadoff walk, Rodgers again led off a frame in the third, driving a 1-0 pitch deep for his third home run of the year pushing the lead to two.
The first of Barton's three errors in the contest put a Raven aboard in the home half, one batter later driving in the first run with a two-out base knock tying it up.
Another two-out hit put Coffeyville ahead in the fourth as a leadoff single put the Ravens up 3-2 in scoring on a double.
Ricardo Sanchez knotted the game back up in the fifth with a one-out single following Rodgers hit and first of two stolen bases in the game.
Coffeyville resumed the lead in the sixth, pushing a leadoff walk around the bags on a sacrifice bunt and hit by pitch before its second sacrifice resulted in the go ahead.
Leading off an inning for the third time in the game, Rodgers stayed perfect in his three at-bats by driving a double to left, joined one batter later as Sanchez drew a walk. Down to their final out following a pair of fielder's choice plays, Coffeyville's lone blemish came on the second out allowing Sanchez to scoot across the dish for the tying run.
Beginning with a walk in the home half, two Barton errors loaded the bases setting up the game winner finding the right field grass with one-out.
Zach Thornton worked the first four innings of the no-decision outing, striking out four and allowing one earned run, with Ian Lanik spinning two frames in being followed by Cornelius working the final inning.
Game 2 Recap
Barton's first of five errors in the nightcap led off the first inning, scoring later on a one-out single followed by a sacrifice bunt plating a second run.
Joel Nieves extended the Cougars' ensuing second inning to join Stewart's drawing a walk with Rodgers following with an RBI hit. Nieves would tie the game on an errant pick-off throw on Rodgers with Hayman following Sanchez' walk with a go-ahead single capping the three run frame.
Coffeyville regained the advantage with a two run third inning, loading the bases on a hit by pitch and a one-out double and walk. Tying it up on a sacrifice fly, Barton's second error allowed the two-out go ahead run.
Doubling in the first inning after Sanchez' single as the pair were left stranded, Hayman connected on his second two-bagger in the fourth frame driving in Rodgers' two-out walk in tying it up.
An inning later, the Ravens looked on the verge of blowing out the Cougars in batting around with a five run fifth. Coffeyville began the frame with a double, adding just two other hits with Barton helping the cause with a pair of miscues.
Barton fired right back in the ensuing sixth, Stewart's single and Nieves' walk setting up the inning with Rogers driving one home on a double. An out later Hayman drew the Cougars within one with a three-run shot to left field.
The margin stood until the eighth with Howse driving in Sanchez's leadoff walk for his third of the contest.
Huff controlled the Ravens for three innings, scattering three hits and a walk, but the 53rd pitch of his outing proved fruitful for the home team in landing beyond the left field fence completing the day's sweep.
David Stuart began the contest with four innings of work, giving up seven runs with just two earned in paying the price for Barton's mistakes. Bryan Bartels' two runs were each unearned in one frame on the hill as Huff's lone run given up was the unfortunate ending.