Barton softball racks up four-pack of road victories from western Kansas swing #GoBarton #RoarCougs

The Barton Community College softball team's excursion to western Kansas began with an offensive explosion and ended in a grind for runs as the Cougars found a way in each to prevail unbeaten on its two-day four-game road tour.

Barton pounded out thirty-three hits in twelve innings of action Friday at Garden City Community College by defeating the Broncbusters behind a six-run seventh for a 13-3 tally before eight runs in the fourth would lead to fifth inning shortened 19-9 victory in the night cap.  Full Recap

Making the sixty-odd miles south to Liberal on Saturday, the Cougar offense was opportune in its fourteen hits but needed the combined effort of its three hurlers to hold off Seward County Community College 8-6 and 2-1.  Full Recap

The weekend results improved the Cougars to 16-2 in the Jayhawk East and 22-9 on the season with another road game next on the slate with a Wednesday trip to Hutchinson Community College for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader. The losses dropped Garden City to 4-10 in league play and 11-15 overall while Seward County dropped to 4-4 and 8-21.

Brooke McCollough led the Cougars in the four games with seven hits in her fourteen at-bats, driving in five with four coming in the back-end of Friday's doubleheader. Working a bases loaded walk to push in the Cougars' first run, McCollough capped Barton's fourth run clinching fifth with a two RBI single.

Also collecting seven hits in the four-pack of games, Jaelyn Carter set the tone at the top of the lineup to bat .467 in the series including driving in nine runs. Connecting on a home run in each of the first three games to tie Betsy Parmley's team lead with eight, Carter's long stretch of at least a hit came to a halt in the game two against the Saints to snap a fourteen game hit streak.

Carter got the Cougars on the board in Friday's game one third, driving in a pair before capping the seventh frame's six run explosion by launching a two-run home run to center. Carter stayed hot in the back-end of the doubleheader with a perfect three trips to the plate, none larger than leading Barton's six-run deficit comeback with a third inning game tying three-run dinger on two-outs in the frame.

A Seward County two-out error in game one's fourth frame opened the flood gates in allowing McCollough's leadoff single to score to tie it up. Two pitches later Carter went deep for her third straight game putting Barton up by two in the eventual win.

Tia Kohl picked up a pair of game one victories, striking out a combined thirteen in her ten innings of circle work, improving to 10-3 on the year. Karsyn Smith made three appearances in the four games, providing 6.1 innings of key relief work including earning the game two win against Garden City keeping the Broncbusters silent for 2.1 frames in the Cougars' comeback win to run her season mark to 6-3. Emma Horsch bounced back from Friday's outing to be the difference maker on Saturday holding the Saints to just six hits with no walks while striking out four for the complete game victory improving to 6-3 on the year.