A combined twenty-eight hits with solid pitching on a windy day in Colby provided a much needed 8-0 and 7-6 sweep for the Barton Community College softball team Saturday at Colby Community College.
Missing a few opportunities last time on the field for a possible split hosting 17th ranked Butler, the Cougars scored in five of their six at-bat frames of the opener while getting a 2-hit, five strikeout performance from Brooklynn Angielski for a six inning, run-rule victory improving to 7-6 on the year.
Game two the Cougars showed some grit, trailing 4-0 through the first two innings with reliever Alicia Goseland coming in for 5.2 innings of relief in keeping Colby off-balance buying time for Barton's offense to catch-up. Plating the tying runs in the third frame, the Cougars surged ahead in the sixth in holding on for its first sweep in Colby since the 2019 season.
Barton improves to a KJCCC third best 15-7 record and 18-14 overall while Colby slips into fifth place at 10-8 and 17-19 on the season.
Next up is a Wednesday trip to Liberal as Barton looks to remain in third place taking on fourth place Seward County (10-6, 16-14) in a 1:00 p.m. first pitch doubleheader.
Aly Lawrence and Cameron Pelzel led the Cougars' hitting as each went 5-of-8 and connecting on a game two double, Lawrence's two-bagger driving in Barton's first run with Pelzel proving a fifth inning two-run double tying the game up for the last time at 6-all.
Among the Cougars' hits, just one left the yard in the sustained 30mph and gusty winds as Chloe Enslinger belted her team leading sixth of the year on a three-run shot tying up game two in the third frame.
The lower half of the lineup came up big in the opener with ten combined hits, Pelzel and Lani Dryden leading with three hits each coming out of the No. 8 and 9 hole respectively.
Allyson McDougal, who would collect a hit in each of the games extending her consecutive games with a hit to 11 straight, got the Cougars on the board with a 2-out double in what would be all the runs Barton needed before driving in game two's game winner with her lone hit coming in the sixth.
Colby took the early edge in the nightcap plating one in the first and three in the second to chase Lawrence from the circle. Goseland took over in holding Colby to just a pair of runs the rest of the way, the two coming in the fourth frame on the Trojans' second home run of the game.
Elina Bartlett batted .500 on the afternoon with two hits coming in each contest, her eighth double of the year coming in game two's fifth frame followed by Mikaila Herring's walk in scoring on Pelzel's game tying two RBI two-bagger.
Following Colby being sent down in order in the home half of the fifth, Leslie Ramos led off the Cougars' sixth with her program leading 26th badge of honor with Lawrence's third hit of the nightcap leading to McDougal's game winning single.