Barton sweeps Pratt; finishes 2nd in West
The Barton County Community College baseball team did not control its own destiny heading into the weekend as far as the No. 2 seed in the West was concerned. The only things the Cougars could control were their two games with Pratt Saturday. And control them they did. Barton did its part by sweeping the Beavers, 10-2 and 12-5. Then came word that Garden City did its part for the Cougars as well. Garden City knocked off Hutchinson in a single make-up contest, moving the Cougars to 2nd in the West. Barton and Hutch both finished with 22-10 West marks, but the Cougars won 3 of 4 against Hutch this season to snag the tiebreaker and the No. 2 seed from the West in the upcoming Region VI baseball tournament. Barton finishes the regular season at 35-18.
Highlights
Ryan Phillips got off to a bit of a rough start Saturday in the opener, but settled into a groove after the 1st couple of innings. He did not allow a baserunner in final 6 innings of the contest. The Beavers moved to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning but that would be the end of the line for Pratt. Phillips didn't allow a hit after that as Barton scored the game's final 10 runs. At the plate, Jerry Cook started off what would be a huge day for the sophomore, driving in 4 runs for Barton in the opener. He gave Barton the lead for good in the 3rd inning, driving in Wes Renfro and Jeff Christy with a single for a 3-2 advantage.
In the 2nd contest, Ryan Wagner did have the same no-hit stuff of his last outing, but did enough to win the contest against the Beavers. He gave up 5 runs, but the Barton bats – headed a grand slam home run from Cook to cap an 8 RBI day – provided the offense to give Wagner his win. Cook's 4th inning grand slam gave Barton an 11-3 lead.
Barton has now won 10 of its last 11 games and will play the East No. 7 seed Highland Friday afternoon, starting a 2 pm for the right to move onto the Region VI double-elimination bracket in Wichita the following weekend. Barton and Highland will play a pair of games Friday in the best 2 of 3 series. If the games are split, a 3rd game will be played Saturday at 1 pm.
Stats
Stats can be found at the Barton County Website at www.bartonccc.edu/sports
Next
Fri., May 14 – v Highland, 2 pm (Region VI playoff doubleheader at Great Bend)