Barton Softball rallies for victory, improves to 6-0 with sweep at Allen

The Barton Community College softball team kept its unblemished record intact Saturday picking up a doubleheader sweep at Allen Community College.  Primed to suffer its first loss trailing 7-3 into the sixth, the Lady Cougars rallied to tie then tacked on two more in the seventh to win 9-7.   Barton left little doubt in game two racing out to 5-0 lead behind a third inning grand slam in winning 10-4.  Having one of the best starts in Barton softball history, the Lady Cougars improve to 6-0 on the season while giving Allen two losses to begin the 2015 campaign.

With things not going the way of the Lady Cougars in the first, Briana Ward gave Barton new life leading off the sixth with her first collegiate homerun as the sophomore from Topeka cut the deficit to three.  Leadoff hitter and fellow sophomore Bailey Hensley cut it to two with her third hit of the game driving home McKenna Mauler with a triple to right center.  Following a Jenna Hosey sacrifice fly to center scoring Hensley, Kylie Everill and Holly Posegate each came through with singles.  Pinch hitter Braydee Bakovich beat out an infield hit which scored Everill and the Lady Cougars had tied it up.

Back to leadoff another Barton inning, Ward blasted her second homerun over the right field fence putting the Lady Cougars up by one.   Two batters later Hensley knocked her third homerun of the season with a line drive over the right field fence to complete her 4-for-5 day at the plate and give Barton an insurance run.

Everill, who would go the distance to earn her third victory of the season, didn't need much insurance settling in to mow down Allen in the sixth and seventh to secure Barton's fifth win to start the season.

Ward kept her solid day at the plate going in the second game of the doubleheader, moving up to the two hole and delivering a one out single.  Two batters later Ward came around to score on an error by the Allen shortstop.

Heading into the third with the one run lead, Hensley and Ward led off the inning with walks followed by Erika Harper's single to right in loading the bases.   Everill came through to break open the game delivering her third homerun of the season and eleventh RBI with a bases clearing blast to left center.  

Allen managed a single run in the home half of the third but Barton increased the gap in the fifth.  Posegate got things going with an RBI single then Mauler delivered the big hit with a two-RBI double to right center increasing the lead out to 8-1 after five innings. 

Caitlin Garcia gunning out an attempted stolen base and Posegate controlling the bats with two strikeouts, Barton looked to put the game away needing another run in the top of the sixth.  Ward again reached base via a walk and Harper delivered the big hit sending a gapper to right center easily scoring Ward.

Needing three outs to secure its third run-rule victory in six games, Barton couldn't hold the lead as Allen scrapped out a couple of infield hits and were aided by an error to extend the game pushing across one run.

The margin went back to eight in the Lady Cougars top of the seventh as Bakovich reached on error, stole second base, then scored on the second of Allen's errors in the inning trying to field Hosey's infield hit.   A two-run homerun in the home half did little to dampen the party as Posegate won her second of the season with the 10-4 victory.