Barton sweeps Colby; closes in on home playoff series
The Barton County Community College baseball team not only kept pace with Hutchinson in the loss column for 2nd place in the West but also took a big step toward clinching a home playoff series Wednesday afternoon with a sweep of Colby at Cougar Fields. Barton beat the Trojans 14-2 and 9-2 on the day the wind was blowing out at 40 mph-plus. The win is the 5th straight in West play for Barton and improved them to 17-9 in the West, just 1/2 game behind Hutchinson (18-9) for 2nd. Barton also moved to within a pair of wins of clinching a home series in the opening round of the new Region VI format. The Cougars are 29-17 overall this season. Colby dropped to 12-13 in the West and 24-24 overall.
Highlights
The Cougars jumped on Colby early in the opening game, taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st on a monster home run from Jeff Christy. Christy belted a 3-run homer over the scoreboard, driving in Wes Renfro and Matt Hafner. Renfro provided the big blow in the 3rd inning as the Cougars put 7 runs on the board to take an 11-0 lead. With Barton on top 7-0 Renfro belted a grand slam over the left field fence to give the Cougars an 11-0 advantage. Harrison Harber joined in on the home run fun with a 3-run shot of his own in the 4th to push the Barton lead to 14-0. It was Harber's team-leading 7th homer. Christy and Renfro are tied for 2nd with 5 homers.
Derek McDaid shut down the Trojans on the mound, going the distance and allowing just four hits in the game. Both of Colby's runs in the 5th inning were unearned off McDaid and he struck out a season-high 9 batters as to improve to 6-4.
The 2nd game was closer most the way. Colby took a 1-0 lead off Barton starter AJ Knight in the 2nd inning. The Cougars rallied to take a 2-1 lead in the 3rd when Andrew Giambrone hit a 2-run homer. Barton put the game out of reach in the 5th with its 2nd 7-run inning of the doubleheader. A bases loaded triple by Harber proved to be the big blow in the inning. Renfro added a 2-run single as well to help the Cougars build a 9-1 lead.
Knight earned the win, going 5 innings and allowing just 4 hits and 1 run. The win improved the sophomore lefty to 4-2 on the season.
Several Cougars had big days for Barton County in the twinbill. Harber ended the day 4-for-5 with a homer, a triple, and 7 RBI. Harber is not hitting a team-leading .413 on the season. His slugging percentage is .867 with 17 of his 31 hits the year going for extra bases. Renfro finished the afternoon with a grand slam and 6 RBI. Jerry Cook reached base every time he came to the plate, going 5-for-5 with a pair of hit by pitchers.
Stats
Stats can be found at the Barton County Website at www.bartonccc.edu/sports
Next
Fri., April 30 – v Cowley County, 2 pm (non conference 9-inning game at Cougar Fields)